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Trade Offs

So we should make policy decisions because of the feelings of a minority of people in the country who couldn’t adapt?
Not sure they are a minority. And even if they are, yes, in some instances, that's exactly what we should do.

Feelings often turn into action and drive human's reason.
 
While I agree with ya these days, I think you may be misremembering a little bit. In 2000, 150k would buy you a nice house in a nice area of the suburbs of Indy (excluding far Northsie of course), new constructions and existing. If you were the least bit saavy, 150k would get you not only the house, but a brand new grocery getter or 2 in the driveway. I did it twice (once in 1996 in far southeast Marion County and again in 2004 in Hancock County) for under 100k. Both times great neighborhoods and move-in ready homes.
Southeast Marion County or Hancock County--sounds like cornfield country. I think being in a bit more of an urban area changes this.
 
Southeast Marion County or Hancock County--sounds like cornfield country. I think being in a bit more of an urban area changes this.

Not really...When we were looking in 96 we targeted Irvington, Broad Ripple and Beech Grove and found really nice homes around 100k. Good neighborhoods all, but IPS though lol. When factoring in the added costs of private or parochial schools for 3 kids, it made more sense to go out to the burbs. Still Indianapolis, but better school systems in the townships. Same thing in 2004, the urban sprawl took it's toll on the township schools, so we moved further east for Hancock County Schools (much better than IPS and Warren and Franklin Township).
 
This ignores value. The only reason people argue about car manufacturing (which China is not a Top 2 importer now) is nostalgia.

PPE products are very low value (low complexity, high volume, low margin). Same with most pharma products.

We don’t want to manufacture everything. Why does nobody understand comparative advantage any longer?
 
While I agree with ya these days, I think you may be misremembering a little bit. In 2000, 150k would buy you a nice house in a nice area of the suburbs of Indy (excluding far Northsie of course), new constructions and existing. If you were the least bit saavy, 150k would get you not only the house, but a brand new grocery getter or 2 in the driveway. I did it twice (once in 1996 in far southeast Marion County and again in 2004 in Hancock County) for under 100k. Both times great neighborhoods and move-in ready homes.
No, that is exactly my point. In 2004 I built a 1250 sq ft starter home in Hamilton County for slightly more than $110,000. That was 3 years after graduating college. That same house last sold for $265,000 3 years ago. That is a 140% increase in 18 years. I paid $140,000 for a house double that size in 2012. Similar sized houses in my neighborhood are now going for $330,000+.

When I bought that first home, I was making around $42,000/yr and that is around $70,000/yr in today's dollars. I know that people 3 years out of college aren't making that kind of money doing the same job now. They are lucky to be in the $60,000's.

We hollowed out our blue collar middle class jobs and you better believe with AI that people like Musk, who is getting to data mine the largest employer on the planet, are going to push to do the same in the white collar and service sector. That will mean declining wages for those folks as well, particularly when combined with offshoring. Your accountant, tech support, customer service agent, financial analyst, etc. will be in India or here living 5 to an apartment on an H1B (something both Elon and Ramaswamy both defended mightily at the end of last year). And GDP will keep churning because companies will be rolling in cash but the rest of us plebes will have to be on subsistence UBI.



You will own nothing and be happy....
 
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No, that is exactly my point. In 2004 I built a 1250 sq ft starter home in Hamilton County for slightly more than $110,000. That was 3 years after graduating college. That same house last sold for $265,000 3 years ago. That is a 140% increase in 18 years. I paid $140,000 for a house double that size in 2012. Similar sized houses in my neighborhood are now going for $330,000+.

When I bought that first home, I was making around $42,000/yr and that is around $70,000/yr in today's dollars. I know that people 3 years out of college aren't making that kind of money doing the same job now. They are lucky to be in the $60,000's.

We hollowed out our blue collar middle class jobs and you better believe with AI that people like Musk, who is getting to data mine the largest employer on the planet, are going to push to do the same in the white collar and service sector. That will mean declining wages for those folks as well, particularly when combined with offshoring. Your accountant, tech support, customer service agent, financial analyst, etc. will be in India or here living 5 to an apartment on an H1B (something both Elon and Ramaswamy both defended mightily at the end of last year). And GDP will keep churning because companies will be rolling in cash but the rest of us plebes will have to be on subsistence UBI.



You will own nothing and be happy....

Then we are saying the same thing, it's just that I took your "25 years ago in Fort Wayne" to mean then, not now. You could live in a very nice home in a very nice area, even Metro Areas, for 150k 25 years ago. These days though, nah not really unless you are buying a fixer that you will need to dump another 50-75k into.
 
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No, that is exactly my point. In 2004 I built a 1250 sq ft starter home in Hamilton County for slightly more than $110,000. That was 3 years after graduating college. That same house last sold for $265,000 3 years ago. That is a 140% increase in 18 years. I paid $140,000 for a house double that size in 2012. Similar sized houses in my neighborhood are now going for $330,000+.

When I bought that first home, I was making around $42,000/yr and that is around $70,000/yr in today's dollars. I know that people 3 years out of college aren't making that kind of money doing the same job now. They are lucky to be in the $60,000's.

We hollowed out our blue collar middle class jobs and you better believe with AI that people like Musk, who is getting to data mine the largest employer on the planet, are going to push to do the same in the white collar and service sector. That will mean declining wages for those folks as well, particularly when combined with offshoring. Your accountant, tech support, customer service agent, financial analyst, etc. will be in India or here living 5 to an apartment on an H1B (something both Elon and Ramaswamy both defended mightily at the end of last year). And GDP will keep churning because companies will be rolling in cash but the rest of us plebes will have to be on subsistence UBI.



You will own nothing and be happy....
Your first bit is what attracted voters to trump. That was going on while the rad left were on about trannies. Your second bit re Musk is incongruous with the voters that left blue for red. Pub party has competing interests with Musk
 
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No, that is exactly my point. In 2004 I built a 1250 sq ft starter home in Hamilton County for slightly more than $110,000. That was 3 years after graduating college. That same house last sold for $265,000 3 years ago. That is a 140% increase in 18 years. I paid $140,000 for a house double that size in 2012. Similar sized houses in my neighborhood are now going for $330,000+.

When I bought that first home, I was making around $42,000/yr and that is around $70,000/yr in today's dollars. I know that people 3 years out of college aren't making that kind of money doing the same job now. They are lucky to be in the $60,000's.

We hollowed out our blue collar middle class jobs and you better believe with AI that people like Musk, who is getting to data mine the largest employer on the planet, are going to push to do the same in the white collar and service sector. That will mean declining wages for those folks as well, particularly when combined with offshoring. Your accountant, tech support, customer service agent, financial analyst, etc. will be in India or here living 5 to an apartment on an H1B (something both Elon and Ramaswamy both defended mightily at the end of last year). And GDP will keep churning because companies will be rolling in cash but the rest of us plebes will have to be on subsistence UBI.



You will own nothing and be happy....

Can’t remember the podcast but heard a blip characterizing new US politics as Corporatist Democrats vs Oligarchical Republicans. One wants to keep grinding out profits for the sake of stock prices and the other wants to plug themselves in right at the top while cutting any checks/ balances on their policy initiatives. People without surplus capital don’t stand a chance, even more now than ever.
 
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