There was some statistical kerfuffle, I believe last summer(?), between publications in the FT and WSJ, claiming completely opposite results: young people are POORER than previous generations vs young people are RICHER than previous generations.
It all basically came down to uses of different price indices, highlighting how specific version of deflators like CPI matters not just on the margin for assessing what is and isn't happening in our (monetary) economies.
Here's John Stossel for Reason ridiculing all these silly online trolls who got it into their thick heads that young people are doing poorly:
One popular meme says when baby boomers like me were young, "A family could own a home, a car, and send their kids to college, all on one income." "That's a fantasy," says economist Norbert Michel. "We are much better off than we were."
On social media, many young people say things like, "Most people don't live in houses because it's too expensive." Yes, homes cost more now, but census data show more Americans own their homes now than when I was a kid. And today's homes are much bigger and twice as likely to have central air, dishwashers, garbage disposals, etc.
which, of course is why we get graphs like these...
OOOPS, Messrs Stossel and Michel
No idea what figures they're looking at to reach these conclusions, honestly.
The following, though, I actually believe is correct:
Today, Americans actually spend a smaller percentage of our money on food, clothing, and housing than we used to, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data. Few people flew places for vacation. They didn't have the money, and flying cost much more. Adjusted for inflation, a cross-country flight cost $1,000. Now it's about $300. "People did not just go on vacation," says Michel, "did not fly all across the country."
"Gen Z, overall, is doing better than young people once did. A typical 25-year-old Gen Zer has annual household income that's 50 percent above Baby Boomers'."
Again, double-check the numbers (and price index deflators) on such claims.
Finally, yes, it's true—a family could own a car. But it wasn't anything like today's cars. It wasn't as safe or comfortable, and it broke down sooner. Today's cars last more than twice as long as cars did then.
OK fine, but SHOW ME the shitty cars I can buy? Oh, they're illegal bc regulations, and too gas-guzzling for California? Hm, ok, so technically they're cheaper but practically they're not...?
that's cool, but again, those houses and cars aren't really available, are they?
I'm with the internet trolls and doomers on this one.