My view is that the US has been in a long-term decline since the Vietnam War. There were definitely periods of peace and prosperity but overall the structural problems in the economy and in society in general have been showing themselves more and more. The TIME article talks about the problems of inflation, falling real wages, and entitlements and that they’d be a threat to the supremacy of the US if not addressed. Well, the article was right, they were and are a threat and have never been adressed. We’ve been living on borrowed time (and money) since the late 60’s.
I am also a Gen X’er and agree that my generation is F’d. We just have to make peace with it and learn to live simpler lives than the Baby Boomers. I think it’s not that hard to do if you have the right mindset. One of the key things in the next few decades will be flexibility. People will need to be open minded about how they manage their finances, where/how they live, etc. in order to adjust to the changes that are coming.
As far as buying a house, patience is a virtue. Waiting until the numbers pencil out and you’re not stretched too thin will pay off. A keeping up with the Joneses mentality is the best plan to go bankrupt! The Joneses aren’t even keeping up with the Joneses – they just look like they are. I see debt people.
Just think, once the Boomers retire or kick off, who will buy their houses? Us! How much will we be willing/able to pay? Not much! The problem will take care of itself. I think Gen Y will be even poorer than Gen X too. Does anyone really believe all the soon-to-be legalized illegal aliens will be pay these inflated house prices? Ha!
