President Donald Trump has declared that this is the greatest economy in the history of the nation. While this is hyperbole on his part, the national economy is not as strong as it looks.
Yes, the labor market is booming – job creation is higher, wages are climbing, and weekly unemployment filings are sliding – but underneath the surface is an economy on the verge of collapsing, thanks to all the debt accumulation, various bubbles, and money-printing schemes.
An example of the economy not performing as strong as the president suggests? The homeownership rate for millennials – those born between 1980 and 2000 – is still at levels from 25 years ago.
Using Census Bureau data, Mother Jones compiled numbers that found the homeownership rate among young adults (under 35) is at 1994 levels. You can’t blame the mortgage market, either, because average monthly home payment as a share of median income has fallen to under 30 percent.
Here is a chart:
Indeed, student loans are part of the problem, totaling more than $1 trillion and crippling graduates. But there are other factors: a putrid savings rate, wasteful spending, and a lack of determination to move out of their parents’ basement.
Perhaps the next generation – Generation Z – will learn from their predecessors’ mistakes and stop whining about how unfair life is and start adapting to conditions.
A major problem I see is savings and cd rates are crap to what they were in 1994. Banks charge me between 19 and 27 percent on credit cards, but pay nothing for what is in my savings account. Until this changes, I will not be leaving any money in my savings account. Some banks charge fees on savings accounts and with the crap interest that they pay your balance goes down every month.