The median home has tripled in price since 1980 after adjusting for inflation. Wages over the same period are up 18%.
That one gap explains more about the economy than any jobs report or GDP number ever will. Housing didn't become unaffordable because people got lazier. It became unaffordable because asset prices outran wages by a factor that compounds every single year.
In 1980, the median home cost 3.9 times the median household income. Today it costs 5 times. A 20% down payment went from $12,740 to over $83,000. The paycheck that's supposed to cover it barely moved in real terms across 44 years.
This is what currency debasement looks like up close. The dollar has lost over 70% of its purchasing power since 1980. That doesn't show up on a grocery receipt all at once. It shows up over decades in the growing distance between what people earn and what things cost.
The generation that bought homes at 3.9x income is telling the generation facing 5x income to work harder. The math doesn't back that up.
That one gap explains more about the economy than any jobs report or GDP number ever will. Housing didn't become unaffordable because people got lazier. It became unaffordable because asset prices outran wages by a factor that compounds every single year.
In 1980, the median home cost 3.9 times the median household income. Today it costs 5 times. A 20% down payment went from $12,740 to over $83,000. The paycheck that's supposed to cover it barely moved in real terms across 44 years.
This is what currency debasement looks like up close. The dollar has lost over 70% of its purchasing power since 1980. That doesn't show up on a grocery receipt all at once. It shows up over decades in the growing distance between what people earn and what things cost.
The generation that bought homes at 3.9x income is telling the generation facing 5x income to work harder. The math doesn't back that up.
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