Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
But I can’t get too sad that today’s young families can’t afford the vacation home that their grandfather could afford because vacation homes are not a necessity. If the vacation homes in prime spots are increasingly desirable, why shouldn’t the prices rise? Why must everyone who wants a vacation home, a cabin on the lake, get one? In the Bernie utopia, does everyone get a house on a lake?
I agree with you. Waterfront property appreciates much faster than other properties. I used that just as an example. It's just a little mind-blowing to me that the little shack I bought in 2018 for $164,000 is worth so much more just nine years later. And I know it's because there is so much more disposable income in a larger proportion of the population, but it feels like there is a lot less disposable income for the rest.

I agree with you that the culture has pushed "need creep" much higher, so these perceived needs have added to the sense of deprivation and lack of affordability overall, but again, some of this has been pushed by omniscience of social media. Anyone with an Instagram account can make it look like they are better off than you are. Yet, I still think that the rise of the middle classes to upper middle class in numbers a) doesn't tell the whole picture of what they are and aren't purchasing and b) the true impact of widening inequality overall.