The Atlantic: The Graph That Should Accompany Every Article About Millennials and Economics
Real earnings for young grads with a college degree have now declined for six straight years. "Real average earnings for young grads have fallen by over 15% since 2000, or by about $10,000 in constant 2011 dollars," PPI reports.
There's clearly a shortage of "qualified" college graduates. Just look at those rising incomes!
This post inspired by About That Education Bubble ... as seen at The Echo Boom Bomb.
See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer
I didn't understand anything until I saw this graph:
ReplyDeletehttp://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CMDEBT
Then I understood everything.
We can recast this in terms of leverage -- debt / wages:
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=aWd
And that is pretty scary, and we can also switch the numerator to actual YOY debt take-on / wages:
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=aWe which makes the departure clearer still.
But missing in the above 2 graphs is the reality that the numerator has been feeding the denominator to a very great extent.
We can see that in the college earnings numbers, how they peaked during the 2005 mortgage fraud-fueled buzz.
My God is our goose cooked. The only way out is Clawbacks, but that requires going toe-to-toe with the most powerful people on the planet, the people Romney was entertaining in Boca Raton last May.
The world is a crazy place. I have no cause for complaint, but it doesn't have to be 1/10th as bad as it is now for people.
Hey Mark,
ReplyDeleteCompletely off topic, but I was wondering if you have purchased the new Borderlands 2 yet?
If so, what do you think?
It seems to be receiving rave reviews, but it's hard to cough up $59.99 when I know that sooner or later the price will come down.
Take care and my apologies for side tracking the thread.
WT
Troy,
ReplyDeleteMy God is our goose cooked.
That's because our economy is based on "crock pot" economic theories.
Gallows sarcasm. Sigh.
Watchtower,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you really think the odds are that I would shell out $59.99 (+ sales tax) for a video game? Not going to happen!
That said, there is a distinct possibility that I shelled out $59.96 two days ago at Fry's (saving 3 whole cents!), spent a few hours playing it with a friend, spent several hours playing it with my girlfriend yesterday, spent several hours more playing it solo, and intend to continue that pattern today.
I might say that if you loved the first Borderlands and you haven't burned out, then you should love its sequel. I might say that. One never knows. I just can't confirm or deny it. Hahaha! ;)
Watchtower,
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, I didn't have a hard time paying $59.96 once I amortized it over its game playing lifetime. I shouldn't have a problem getting it down to 20 cents per hour, lol.
I still haven't bought Skyrim (especially for PS3) though. Each bug found costs me at least one sanity point.
What's a sanity point worth? I'd say at least 25 cents! The more I play Bethesda games the more I lose! ;)
Mark,
ReplyDeleteThat's the confirmation that I needed.
If you say it's good, then I know it's good.
Thanks! : )
20c per hour! No wonder our real economy is collapsing.
ReplyDeleteTo make any money in this place you've got to find a juicy victim to attach your taps to.
Housing Rents are up-up-up:
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=aZ8 -- up 30% between the 1991 & 2001 recession and up 25% between the 2001 & 2008 recession.
Health care, that's another one, outpacing even housing:
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=aZa but young people generally don't consume much health care at least.
But real estate and medicine isn't a young person's game . . .
Good thing I chose computers -- money for nothin' and the chicks for free!
I didn't fully understand it, but back in the 1980s I sensed that computers were going to be great at creating a replacement economy, where wealth was encoded in bytes and shipped on discs.
Apple got to be 5% of the S&P 500 by seizing the moment to establish this new economy, 2007-2009.
With the proper peripherals, the iPhone 5 could be my universal computing device -- laptop, gaming console, DVR . . . it's a beast inside.
Troy (& Watchtower),
ReplyDelete20c per hour! No wonder our real economy is collapsing.
I'm down to 6 cents per hour on Rainbow Moon. It cost $14.99. I played about 80 hours and decided to start over. I'm up to 160 hours on the second pass. Although I technically completed the game many hours ago, there's still plenty of game left to play should I so desire (there is a deep post-game world).