Re:Young 'to be poorer than parents at every stage of life'
by AnimalMuppet on Tuesday November 24, 2015 @04:34PM
(#10623723)
It's a bit more complicated than what you're presenting. Let's say I'm a buggy whip maker in 1890. I buy a house. 1908 comes, and I'm out of a job. I can't afford the house. But if I'm living in a town that wasn't too dependent on the buggy whip factory, then there are probably people who are looking to buy houses, so I'm still able to get out of the house without losing my shirt.
The problem comes when the town's economy crashed (because the buggy whip factory was the big business), or the nation's economy crashes (recession/depression/downturn/whatever), and I have to sell my house. Then I can really get burned.
And the next problem: When I buy a house, I can't be sure what the economic environment will be when I need to sell it.
I would say that, over the long haul, if you live in a town where there's enough variety of employment that you can probably continue to find work even if you lose your current job, most of the time owning your own house is a net win. (Be sure to hear all the caveats in that sentence!)
The problem comes when the town's economy crashed (because the buggy whip factory was the big business), or the nation's economy crashes (recession/depression/downturn/whatever), and I have to sell my house. Then I can really get burned.
And the next problem: When I buy a house, I can't be sure what the economic environment will be when I need to sell it.
I would say that, over the long haul, if you live in a town where there's enough variety of employment that you can probably continue to find work even if you lose your current job, most of the time owning your own house is a net win. (Be sure to hear all the caveats in that sentence!)