Was it really true that middle class families could afford 2 houses, private schools, etc in the 50’s and 60’s? Or is this just another case of all socioeconomic classes in America calling themselves “middle class,” and some of the profiled individuals came from upper middle class families in the top 20% of wealth/income.
I’d also find it interesting to see how some of the profiled individuals made out over the ensuing 30 years. My guess: pretty damned well.
"The baby boom generation may never achieve the relative economic success of the generations immediately preceding it or following it."
"Members of the baby-boom generation were taught to appreciate the good life—the arts, books, good clothing, travel—and grew accustomed to it during a mass prolonged adolescence in which marriage and childbirth were delayed until after the magic age of 30."
I wonder how much of what this article describes (housing crisis, lack of spending power, inability to buy a home, etc) is due to demographic booms straining housing supply that doesn't react very quickly. The Millenials are another relatively large generation, and we have another housing crisis in almost every major city at around the time they're reaching 25-35.
What once was an issue in Manhattan has spread out in the following generations across the country. Their contemporaries in, well, Westchester County, were doing just fine. Ask anyone who was working at IBM in the 80s.
I’d also find it interesting to see how some of the profiled individuals made out over the ensuing 30 years. My guess: pretty damned well.
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