WashPost OpEd: Young Americans ‘Must’ Shrink Their American Dream

Breitbart ^

[Tench_Coxe]

President Donald Trump says he’s running to restore the American Dream by cutting migration, but the Washington Post says young Americans should resign themselves to small houses in a nation packed with millions of government-imported renters and buyers.

“The new American Dream should be a townhouse,” two Washington Post journalists declared in the headline of their October 21 op-ed, adding:

The American Dream is fundamental to what it means to be American. Keeping that dream alive for millennials, Gen Z and beyond requires right-sizing it by building more apartments, condos, duplexes and, especially, townhouses.

“In an age of tight money and its Toyota Camrys and Kirkland wine, it’s time to readjust the scope … townhouses consume less energy and foster healthy habits and social connection better than single-family homes,” a Washington Post opinion editor added on October 21.

[Tench_Coxe]

Translated: "We said you peasants will own nothing and be happy. You're making it harder by not accepting that fate".

I'm sure our 'betters' envisioned this type of townhouse situation while writing the article:

[Ann Archy]

WTH WROTE THIS??? The LEFT wants us all in SMALL PLACES in URBAN AREAS in order TO CONTROL US!

[rdcbn1]

The First Law of Political Thermodynamics -

When you spread the wealth you have to shrink the dream

[Jan_Sobieski]

Our overlords have spoken

[BradyLS]

It’s Orwell’s Animal Farm. Toil, taxpayer, and lower your expectations. The dreams of your “leaders” and their chosen pets come first.

[Regulator]

“it’s time to readjust the scope”

You first Jeffie.

Don’t see Bezos downsizing.

[bobbo666]

Don’t bother with Bezos. It is the wannabees. The ones who cannot climb the ladder so they want to cut it off just below them.

Envious, self-centered commie trash.

[FlingWingFlyer]

So the commie RATS think Americans need to share OUR American Dream built by our parents, grandparents and great grandparents with the freeloading azhos of the world who are too lazy to build their own dream in their own country. The bass turds are looking to the “racist” and “evil” Americans to provide them with a “better life.” They don’t deserve it, and Americans shouldn’t bend over and give it to them.

[BenLurkin]

[Night Hides Not]

Directive 10-289, here we come!

[antidemoncrat]

“but the Washington Post says young Americans should resign themselves to small houses in a nation packed with millions of government-imported renters and buyers.“

So get used to the Bourgeoisie living high on the hog and the Proletariat eating their table scraps.

[napscoordinator]

This generation is going to get huge money in inheritance. I’m wondering why they just aren’t patient.

[cgbg]

The rich and powerful plan to get richer and more powerful.

They will not be lowering their expectations at all.

[neverevergiveup]

Well, if we are going to ‘downsize’ our expectations and our way of life, let the ‘journalists’ lead by example. They can have recent college graduates from the least expensive schools do all of the ‘anchor’ reporting - and save on all those high salaries. Those in the news media who live in the Hamptons or the equivalent can move out and into ‘affordable’ housing. They can all drive a Prius or equivalent, and never eat at expensive restaurants. Beans and rice should suffice.

[Army ret QM]

I have a Gen Z son who absolutely rejects the ideas of the left. He is going to inherit a decent amount of money (not from me) eventually, but he wants to get his life started now rather than waiting for the inheritance. He’s a young Attorney and his girlfriend is a teacher. Between high mortgage rates, along with the insane cost of buying a house they’re relegated to renting a small house in a not so great neighborhood. I sense his frustration every day.

[sphinx]

The fact is that our biggest cities are simply too large for the single family house, which on a large scale translates into long commutes, to be the norm.

We invented the automobile suburb and massive suburban sprawl after WWII. Prior to that, people were packed quite densely into the urban core. Suburban sprawl expanded the space available, but 60 or more years later, many cities have filled that space. The biggest cities are terminally congested, and even where congestion is less extreme, commutes are longer.

To preserve single family houses as the middle class norm, we have to accept limits to growth in the current urban cores and shift new development to smaller cities. This can include edge cities in existing major metro areas, but IMHO, the best potential lies in smaller cities and towns, nowhere near the metro area. There is no magic number, but a city of 250-500,000 seems plenty big to me.

I live in DC. The affordable housing lobby is in a permanent hysteria about our “housing crisis,” by which they mean that gentrification is rapidly squeezing the bad neighborhoods out of existence (a good thing) while younger people, who apparently think that bars, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. don’t exist in the suburbs, don’t want long commutes and think they are entitled to live centrally. This translates into a demand to upzone everything, eliminate the building height restrictions, and sacrifice our tree-lined streets and quiet, walkable neighborhoods in favor of turning DC into Manhattan on the Potomac.

I use this as an opportunity to suggest to young people that maybe we should control our borders, as opposed to doubling the U.S. population every 50 years. But more immediately, DC is big enough now. With modern communications, there is no reason to site any major new developments inside the beltway. And if I were planning something, I’d go a lot further out than that.

[Flag_This]

Or...people could boot the current “leadership” and find others who are actually competent and don’t despise their own country.

[Alas Babylon!]

Amanda Shendruk and Heather Long

Amanda Shendruk
The United Kingdom
Amanda Shendruk is a visual opinions journalist. She explores creative ways to explain ideas, and uses code, data and graphics in her reporting. She has reported from newsrooms in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Amanda’s work has been recognized with awards from SABEW, SND and Malofiej.

Heather Long
Washington, D.C.
Columnist
Education: Wellesley College, BA in economics and English; Oxford University, master’s in financial economics and medieval literature

Heather Long is a Post Opinions columnist. She was formerly U.S. economics correspondent from 2017 to 2021 and played a large role in identifying and covering the K-shaped recovery from the pandemic and the Great Reassessment of work. She was subsequently a member of The Post’s Editorial Board from 2021 to 2024. Before joining The Post, she was a senior economics reporter at CNN and a columnist and deputy editor at the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. She also worked at an investment firm in London.

Two AWFLS - Affluent White Liberal Females

[ridesthemiles]

MAYBE MUSK CAN BUY THE WAPO & CLOSE IT DOWN.

[oldbill]

Check the Tax Assessor records in DC and Maryland.
All those Washington Post editorialists live in million dollar plus single family homes or in million dollar condos.