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Re:The Cheapest Generation by specialist on Thursday August 23, 2012 @10:39AM (#4422593)
Really? AEI?

Minimum wage hasn't kept up with inflation.

Debt financed consumption.

You're trying too hard. This stuff isn't that complicated.

Re:The Cheapest Generation by yummyfajitas on Thursday August 23, 2012 @10:51AM (#4422666)
The numbers all come from the American Housing Survey and Consumer Expenditure Survey. Are you claiming they are incorrect? Or are you merely stating your dislike for AEI?
Re:The Cheapest Generation by specialist on Thursday August 23, 2012 @12:39PM (#4423344)
Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

I rather like the AEI. It serves a purpose. Kind of like a honeypot.

Re:The Cheapest Generation by liber8 on Thursday August 23, 2012 @01:05PM (#4423508)
"Minimum wage hasn't kept up with inflation. Debt financed consumption."

You're right that minimum wage hasn't kept up with inflation. You're also right that debt financed (a lot of) consumption. But it doesn't follow that those earning minimum wage drove consumption by acquiring debt.

As yummyfajitas links above show, those earning minimum wage are a tiny percentage of overall wage earners. In other words, minimum wage earners aren't going to move the needle much. Double minimum wage (and magically don't have that affect employment levels) and consumption isn't going to go up all that much, simply because there aren't that many people earning minimum wage. For that reason, it is a bit of a silly metric to base an argument on.

Re:The Cheapest Generation by specialist on Thursday August 23, 2012 @03:22PM (#4424354)
OP is about why Millennials aren't buying cars and houses.

Whereas OP includes values (eg smartphones vs cars), thaumaturgy also says they don't have the cash.

No reasonable person can deny wage stagnation, rising unemployment, increasing costs (education, food, housing, and transportation).

yummyfajitas gets argumentative, citing some libertarian fallacies.

specialist refutes yummy.

liber8 gets pedantic, forgetting original point.