Will your kids have a higher standard of living than you?

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Saw this conversation on Reddit and thought it was interesting.

I wonder if this is becoming unlikely in the future. Housing and higher ed prices have a lot to do with it, I’m afraid.

Thoughts?

 

[McLovin32]

All I know is that if they do, then I should be upset about it because they should have to work as hard as I did.


/sarcasm

 

[lucas80]

Depends, if the oldest daughter doesn't change her major, probably not. But, she might also wind up being super happy in her life path and comfortable. The son, probably. I wish all of them had chosen to be accountants or something practical.

 

[BelemNole]

Not unless they get lucky.
We're not doing as well as my parents and I don't expect our kids to do as well as us.
My son might, but with the downturn in CS jobs since AI I suspect he'll have a hard time too.

23 years ago we bought a starter home for $170, now it's nearly half a million.
Everything has gone up except salaries.

 

[ThorneStockton]

They don't yet exist, but I would bet the impacts of climate change being the biggest deterrent to their potential standard of living, as opposed to more current issues like cost of housing, education, and political dysfunction.

National debt another potential landmine out there.

 

[3boysmom]

My oldest already does. Youngest is in really good shape as he has his degree with zero debt. Even owns his 2020 car outright. Middle son will be a little tougher. He has a pretty good job but a ton of medical debt right now from his medical issues in December. Buying a house will be more difficult for the younger 2 for sure. But, they will likely have an actual inheritance which neither my husband or I will have.

 

[jasonrann]

All I can say is their quality of living now is a HELLUVA lot better than I had when I was a kid.

 

[eb05]

I wish all of them had chosen to be accountants or something practical.

why on earth would you wish that on your children? sounds terrible.

 

[OrlandNole]

I'm doing much better than my parents, but I don't think my kids will (at least not financially). My daughter is a public school teacher and my son is taking 5+ years to get through the first two years of college. Neither work as hard as I did at their respective ages, so I don't feel bad about it.

 

[wjr1818]

They don't yet exist, but I would bet the impacts of climate change being the biggest deterrent to their potential standard of living, as opposed to more current issues like cost of housing, education, and political dysfunction.

National debt another potential landmine out there.

Climate change? Lol you’re joking right?

 

[artradley]

Unfortunately, unlikely. My wife and I chose careers based on earning potential. Our kids are basing theirs on what they enjoy.

I think we gave them too easy of lives, and they just assume vacations and nice things are automatic.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

Yes.

 

[TennNole17]

 

[ThorneStockton]

Climate change? Lol you’re joking right?

40+ years from now? Don't worry, I suspect you're well past your prime and don't have too much to be concerned with

 

[BrianNole777]

I don't have kids but there's more to quality of life than just money.

Technology now is much better than decades ago; travel, computers, cars, cell phones, health care, etc., etc.

I'd rather get surgery now than 1965, I'll tell you that. Or go to the dentist.

One can't predict the future. Technology may get better or ruin us like AI.

Or Trump may win and we're all toast.

 

[Tenacious E]

In

Saw this conversation on Reddit and thought it was interesting.

I wonder if this is becoming unlikely in the future. Housing and higher ed prices have a lot to do with it, I’m afraid.

Thoughts?

I have my doubts unless I leave them a pile of $.

 

[DogBoyRy]

Saw this conversation on Reddit and thought it was interesting.

I wonder if this is becoming unlikely in the future. Housing and higher ed prices have a lot to do with it, I’m afraid.

Thoughts?

Yes
They are being left a boatload compared to me and tbw.

 

[Tenacious E]

Unfortunately, unlikely. My wife and I chose careers based on earning potential. Our kids are basing theirs on what they enjoy.

I think we gave them too easy of lives, and they just assume vacations and nice things are automatic.

Same. Well at least for me. My wife is a social worker therapist so her clients almost by definition don’t have money. My job is what pays the bills.

 

[Jan Itor]

They don't yet exist, but I would bet the impacts of climate change being the biggest deterrent to their potential standard of living, as opposed to more current issues like cost of housing, education, and political dysfunction.

National debt another potential landmine out there.

More than a potential landmine, IMO

 

[ThorneStockton]

Yes
They are being left a boatload compared to me and tbw.

I'm not sure it will be the money that gives them a boost in quality of life

 

[jonesy5960]

Saw this conversation on Reddit and thought it was interesting.

I wonder if this is becoming unlikely in the future. Housing and higher ed prices have a lot to do with it, I’m afraid.

Thoughts?

My kids have grown up with and will acquire more than I'd ever dreamed of when I was young and being raised by a single mom with 7 kids. Unless they completely screw up, they will want for nothing and probably live a much more lavish lifestyle than I ever have.

With respect to young people in general, I think that story is yet to be written. It's a little ways out yet, but I think AI will create significant dislocations in the job market and drive a movement towards a guaranteed income at some point as efficiencies skyrocket and the number of people needed for white collar knowledge based and creative workers declines dramatically. Interesting times ahead to be sure.

 

[LBoogie28]

I don't have kids but there's more to quality of life than just money.

Technology now is much better than decades ago; travel, computers, cars, cell phones, health care, etc., etc.

I'd rather get surgery now than 1965, I'll tell you that. Or go to the dentist.

One can't predict the future. Technology may get better or ruin us like AI.

Or Trump may win and we're all toast.

Something a poor would type.

 

[RileyHawk]

Depends entirely on how you define "standard of living". If it's about making money and having a big house - no. If it's about experiences, a secure lifestyle, health and other less tangible measures - they already do. And it's not close.

 

[BrianNole777]

Something a poor would type.

I am a poor compared to the billionaires here...

 

[desihawk]

Saw this conversation on Reddit and thought it was interesting.

I wonder if this is becoming unlikely in the future. Housing and higher ed prices have a lot to do with it, I’m afraid.

Thoughts?

random related question for anybody who has pondered this already: if parents could make a choice between funding their kids college at a fancy place versus sending them to local state school but handing them the tuition savings (say 250k) at graduation, which will set them up better?

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

random related question for anybody who has pondered this already: if parents could make a choice between funding their kids college at a fancy place versus sending them to local state school but handing them the tuition savings (say 250k) at graduation, which will set them up better?

Our local state school is $40k/year… 😬

 

[desihawk]

Our local state school is $40k/year… 😬

bit steeper than most i think but maybe i’m totally out of touch. perhaps only 200k to be saved in your state
edit: you are right… they do seem to be 40kish

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

bit steeper than most i think but maybe i’m totally out of touch. perhaps only 200k to be saved in your state
edit: you are right… they do seem to be 40kish

College costs are out of control. It’s really ridiculous.

 

[bhawk24bob]

random related question for anybody who has pondered this already: if parents could make a choice between funding their kids college at a fancy place versus sending them to local state school but handing them the tuition savings (say 250k) at graduation, which will set them up better?

I can tell you from experience that you’re better off putting the limit on the cost of a state school and then letting them run to their grandparents to tell them that their father is ruining their lives. Then, grandma and grandpa pay for it

On topic, depends. I don’t think that anybody can reliably predict a job market when we don’t know how far and how fast AI will develop. There may be entire reliably-consistent industries that disappear.

 

[The Tradition]

My oldest son is WAAAAY ahead of where I was when I was his age.

My youngest son is probably doing a bit better, too.

The middle one? Not so much.

 

[seminole97]

Are your kids gonna be Canucks?


Secret RCMP report warns Canadians may revolt once they realize how broke they are

Right from the get-go, the report authors warn that whatever Canada’s current situation, it 'will probably deteriorate further in the next five years'

A secret RCMP report is warning the federal government that Canada may descend into civil unrest once citizens realize the hopelessness of their economic situation.

“The coming period of recession will … accelerate the decline in living standards that the younger generations have already witnessed compared to earlier generations,” reads the report, entitled Whole-of-Government Five-Year Trends for Canada.

“For example, many Canadians under 35 are unlikely ever to be able to buy a place to live,” it adds.

The report, labelled secret, is intended as a piece of “special operational information” to be distributed only within the RCMP and among “decision-makers” in the federal government.

A heavily redacted version was made public as a result of an access to information request filed by Matt Malone, an assistant professor of law at British Columbia’s Thompson Rivers University, and an expert in government secrecy.

Describing itself in an introduction as a “scanning exercise,” the report is intended to highlight trends in both Canada and abroad “that could have a significant effect on the Canadian government and the RCMP.”

Right from the get-go, the report authors warn that whatever Canada’s current situation, it “will probably deteriorate further in the next five years.”

In addition to worsening living standards, the RCMP also warns of a future increasingly defined by unpredictable weather and seasonal catastrophes, such as wildfires and flooding. Most notably, report authors warn of Canada facing “increasing pressure to cede Arctic territory.”

Another major theme of the report is that Canadians are set to become increasingly disillusioned with their government, which authors mostly chalk up to “misinformation,” “conspiracy theories” and “paranoia.”

“Law enforcement should expect continuing social and political polarization fueled by misinformation campaigns and an increasing mistrust for all democratic institutions,” reads one of the report’s “overarching considerations.”

Ironically, among the report’s more heavily redacted sections is one carrying the subtitle “erosion of trust.” “The past seven years have seen marked social and political polarization in the Western world” reads a partial first sentence, with the entire rest of the section deleted by government censors.

The censor’s pen also deleted most of a section warning about “paranoid populism.” “Capitalizing on the rise of political polarization and conspiracy theories have been populists willing to tailor their messages to appeal to extremist movements,” reads the section’s one non-redacted sentence.

In terms of declining living standards and inaccessible home ownership, the RCMP’s warnings are indeed in line with available statistics.

Canadian productivity — measured in terms of GDP per capita — has been trending downwards since at least the 1980s. But this has accelerated dramatically in recent years — even as per-worker productivity rises in many of our peer countries.

An analysis last year by University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe found that if Canada had merely kept pace with U.S. productivity growth for the last five years, Canadian per-capita earnings would be $5,500 higher than they are now.

Meanwhile, housing affordability has reached “worst-ever” levels in most of Canada’s major markets, according to a December analysis by RBC. On average, even condos are now so unaffordable that only 44.5 per cent of Canadian households had sufficient income to buy one at current prices. As for single-family homes, only the richest 25 per cent of Canadian households had any hope of obtaining one.

“Economic forecasts for the next five years and beyond are bleak,” reads the RCMP’s assessment of the rest of the decade, even adding a quote from French President Emmanuel Macron that “the end of abundance” is nigh.

 

[wjr1818]

40+ years from now? Don't worry, I suspect you're well past your prime and don't have too much to be concerned with

I’m genuinely curious why you think climate change is a bigger concern for your children than the other items you outlined?

 

[millah_22]

All I know is that if they do, then I should be upset about it because they should have to work as hard as I did.


/sarcasm

holy **** end the thread here

 

[Hawgk]

random related question for anybody who has pondered this already: if parents could make a choice between funding their kids college at a fancy place versus sending them to local state school but handing them the tuition savings (say 250k) at graduation, which will set them up better?

State school. Then if they’re truly academically elite, they’ll get funding to attend grad school at the fancy place for free and can use the money for other stuff.

 

[millah_22]

All I can say is their quality of living now is a HELLUVA lot better than I had when I was a kid.

Just by moving out of that area my kids will have a better life.

 

[BioHawk]

Too soon to tell for me, although it will be tougher for them to get to their current standards of living. We've been saving for college but we won't be able to pay for all of it. We're just hoping we can pay enough of it to keep their loans to a manageable level.

 

[ThorneStockton]

I’m genuinely curious why you think climate change is a bigger concern for your children than the other items you outlined?

Because I don't have children, the future children I am considering for the purposes of this hypothetical are 40+ years out.

I have some faith that things like relatively expensive housing, education and our current political dysfunction can be addressed, worked out. They are more so highly visible current or near term issues.

Since my consideration was for 40+ years in the future, I am considering long term problems of the future which I have less faith can be addressed. Which climate change will undoubtedly cause.

I'm not predicting Armageddon. I'm thinking of problems that are expensive to adapt to, global disruptions that are expensive to address. Natural disasters that are expensive to recover from, humanitarian issues from migration, coastal issues from rising sea levels, seafood chain issues from warming seas. And on and on.

Some will be relatively minor, some major, but much of it will be expensive, will require resources, resources that could have otherwise been allocated to raising the standard of living of the populace.

 

[Tenacious E]

Our local state school is $40k/year… 😬

Tuition or all in with room and board?

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Tuition or all in with room and board?

All in. $20k each

 

[goldmom]

My son has a very senior position in his company and has two Master’s Degrees and makes what my late husband was making 25 years ago as a senior executive of a large corporation. It’s still an excellent salary. But with my DIL’s salary it pushes them way up. She grew up in a fortunate circumstance herself ( Dad = Doctor) I do worry about what’s going to be out there for my grandkids. Not optimistic.
Admittedly my hubby and son were/are in different industries and company size, but my kids grew up very very fortunate.
Far more fortunate than my husband and I did to say the least.
My (no pic) daughter is in her early 40’s and had a great job $$$ but after her divorce she’s pulled back and is happy being a caterer’s event team leader. Far less stress and she’s absolutely okay not caring about driving a Porsche and buying designer handbags. No kids to worry about. She’s happier now than she was making lots of money.