I believe if you looked closely they’re all living on credit — at least that’s what I’ve seen amongst my peers... Instant gratification from plastic, and living beyond their means. There is no doubt that our generation has it harder than our parents — at least when looking at Manufacturing for instance. My husband earned a great living in the early 90’s — now we’re lucky if he gets 1/2 of what he used to earn. It started before 9-11 and went downhill further after that. A skilled machinist doesn’t make nearly what they used to, unless they are VERY lucky, and work in a union shop in Chicago...
My husband just passed along this little tidbit of info re: manufacturing. Machinists’ wages have not gone up since the late 80s... That means they are earning the SAME as their fathers did without any raise for inflation.