Regarding your assertion that one income families cannot buy a house anymore and that such a world is no longer possible, maybe not. However, I see no reason why both parents in a household should have to work full-time to afford those things. Wage earners are universally underpaid, and there’s no reason why we can’t get back to a time when workers make enough from their labor to afford a middle class lifestyle without crushing debt levels.
There is absolutely a reason and that reason is greed. Houses have become not just a place to live but an investment, a financial instrument. And the people and companies who own housing want maximum return on minimal investment. Same for everything else. Investors demand higher profit margins, more dividends, higher returns, and fewer people being paid less money.
Today's economics are about extraction, not long term stability and steady, reliable growth. Our tax and legal system incentivizes rent-seeking and financial strip-mining, and whatever casualties are a result of this behavior are not their problem.
![[ world of weird things ]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_80,h_80,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93728edf-9a13-4b2b-9a33-3ef171b5c8d8_600x600.png)
![[ world of weird things ]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93728edf-9a13-4b2b-9a33-3ef171b5c8d8_600x600.png)
Regarding your assertion that one income families cannot buy a house anymore and that such a world is no longer possible, maybe not. However, I see no reason why both parents in a household should have to work full-time to afford those things. Wage earners are universally underpaid, and there’s no reason why we can’t get back to a time when workers make enough from their labor to afford a middle class lifestyle without crushing debt levels.
There is absolutely a reason and that reason is greed. Houses have become not just a place to live but an investment, a financial instrument. And the people and companies who own housing want maximum return on minimal investment. Same for everything else. Investors demand higher profit margins, more dividends, higher returns, and fewer people being paid less money.
Today's economics are about extraction, not long term stability and steady, reliable growth. Our tax and legal system incentivizes rent-seeking and financial strip-mining, and whatever casualties are a result of this behavior are not their problem.