3. TIL the average worker in the US today would only have to work 11 hours per week...

TIL the average worker in the US today would only have to work 11 hours per week to be as productive as his fellow worker in 1950.

Everything you're saying makes perfect sense, 100%

I have a few points to think about.

  • People in the market for homes generally want it all. Good neighborhood, schools, low taxes, convenient location. I doubt my parents had more than one thing on that list.

  • On that note I make more than the national average by a small amount and could definitely afford a home in my area if I wanted one, but I also recognize my place in the rust belt.

  • Is single family home ownership something actually worth encouraging? Imagine if every Chinese or Indian family lived in a single family home. Our city planning has been very unfortunately borked by the expectation of a yard and a car. While you can't own a single family home, you probably could own a condo if you wanted that and not give as much away to a landlord.

  • If home ownership is a goal, one has to be willing to move. There are so many great places to live that are very reasonable real estate markets.

  • If the population is as dense as it probably should be, what makes anyone feel entitled to be able to afford a fully separated home on a middle class income? Again with the China/India point...modern, very luxurious homes are not separated from each other if you want to be close to anything at all. The largest family home I saw in China was a condo in a 15 story high rise. It was very spacious and I imagine the family's wealth was equivalent to an American family in a 4 bedroom single family McMansion.

So if America wants the middle class to be richer, infrastructure and city planning needs to change, and unfortunately we can't go back in time so that'll happen slowly or not at all. If you don't need a car to get to work or the grocery store, big increase of wealth. But it isn't like Chinese don't buy cars either - their country in some ways is repeating our mistakes.

My grandfather built his house himself as well. Being more handy makes home ownership cheaper and I bet those who build their own homes now are a rarity compared to decades past.

I don't know, just puking out a comment for you.

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