Wha hoppen ??? purchasing power
American Dream - unaffordable
I’ll start with an example from my own Life: home ownership - the method of wealth building for the middle class. My wife and I, both 24 in 1975, bought a beautiful 2 story, 2 bdrm, 2 Florida room (1 up, 1 down), Spanish style house in Miami. 2158 SW 13 St. Nice neighborhood between downtown and Coconut Grove. We sold it in 1981 for $75,000, renovated - new windows, roof, appliances, electric panel and more - and moved to Denver to be near my ill Mother.
$42,000 in 1975. $2000 down and a mortgage for $40.000. I had a good job on a survey crew for the City of Miami Dept of Public Works. 2.5 times my annual salary could pay for this home in full. Today, according to Realtor.com (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2158-SW-13th-St_Miami_FL_33145_M59310-68578) that house is worth over $900,000. I would have to make $360,000/ yr to have the same purchasing power as I had in 1975.
THAT is Wha hoppen … Below is taken from Corbin Trent and America’s Undoing, Jan 13, 2026. “Since 1950, median income went up about 21 times. Sounds good until you see what that money buys. Housing went up 58 times. Healthcare up 175 times. A four-year degree up 114 times. Childcare went from something most families didn’t need - one income handled a household - to an expense that eats a quarter of what many families make.
The Fed says inflation averaged around 2% through all this. That number is a lie.
Your car costs $5,000 more but they call it cheaper because it has a backup camera. Your house doesn’t show up at what it actually costs - they use some made-up rent number instead. Healthcare explodes but they only count what you pay out of pocket. The nation drowns in debt to cover the rest. Their index stays flat.”
Wall St is buying up single family homes. Whole subdivisions before they are even on the market. They will make home ownership impossible for the majority of Americans. It is already impossible for many young people.
Let’s just throw in that Wall St healthcare will NEVER BE AFFORDABLE.
