What 30% increase in home prices? Certainly not on a national-average level, and only in places where speculation has been rampant and prices are historically very volatile (read: CA coastal cities, Phoenix, and maybe Vegas).

“This poverty stuff is hogwash…it just isn’t reality for most people who are doing really well.” Tautology much? Gotcha, must be trollin’ trollin’ trollin’.

The article is hard to plod through because it is a grab-bag of unrelated statistics, faulty reasoning, and jumping to conclusions with inadequate evidence.
The main sentence which seems to be resonating is the following:

“Higher recent rates of unemployment mean the lifetime risk of experiencing economic insecurity now runs even higher: 79%, or 4 in 5 adults, by the time they turn 60.”

This sloppy sentence reminds me of how my weakest students, and often worst writers, were journalism majors. (The best: engineers)
First, recent unemployment rates have been falling, not rising. Yes, there are huge measurement problems, and other well-known employment measures that are worsening, but these are not mentioned by the author. Second, how does the author so precisely conclude that 79% of adults will be “experiencing economic insecurity” by the time they reach 60? Where, by the way, is “economic insecurity” even defined? And finally, what is so bad about feeling some economic insecurity in the four decades of living and working up to age 60? Economic insecurity just might teach one how to budget and plan, educate oneself properly, move to where the jobs are, and improve one’s employability…kind of the American way. Lots of successful people, including us Piggs, had rough patches and bad luck and took the tough measures to overcome them.

[quote=EconProf]The article is hard to plod through because it is a grab-bag of unrelated statistics, faulty reasoning, and jumping to conclusions with inadequate evidence.[/quote]

I agree. A fairly worthless article, all told.

SD R, that’s because California is young, dumb and single. They’re too stupid to realize either how poor they are or how close to the edge they are.

32% of our population is under 24.
47% is under 34.
50% are currently single
with 1/3rd being never married.

Living five to a sh*thole at the beach and partying is the life.

Or they’re just working and haven’t gotten their first kick to the crotch.

Interesting comments. Having traveled a great deal also, you definitely realize and appreciate that your lifestyle (especially in San Diego) is an exception to the rule, and is something which should not be taken for granted.

I’ve always felt that it’s a lot easier to make a fortune than to sustain a fortune over a lifetime.

Throughout my life, I’ve known many people who have made loads of money, only to find themselves in a very different situation in their 50’s and 60’s+. Places like San Diego can eat people alive, financially, if they aren’t careful.

I am still predicting wage riots in the next few years.
Anyway in NY they’re back at it.

In much the same vein, a union-backed, New York-based community action group is trying for the third time since November to more than double the minimum wage of workers in the fast food industry via one-day walkouts they’ve organized in seven cities.
As my co-host Jeff Macke and I discuss in the attached video, in addition to their demand to earn a living wage, the group Fast Food Forward is, once again, also calling for better benefits, more hours and, unsurprisingly, the right to unionize.