General Politics Discussion (IX) [ARCHIVED] • Page 417

That's how we thought of our last house, the first one we bought. We bought into a neighborhood we knew and liked, also knowing that homes there would increase in value. We figured we'd sell in about 5 years at about a 25% increase in value, but it ended up being 6 years (because of the pandemic) and a 75% increase in value.

 

nothing is permanent, I always say.

 

And also now you have to contend with the fact that the value of all homes have gone up. It's a great time to sell right now but an absolutely atrocious time to buy. Really sucks.

 

I think the overall vibe/sound/mood is very much down to Lorde

 

Yeah, we lucked out that we got a decent deal on our current house. Knowing what we know now, we maybe overpaid a bit but, given the market and seeing what other houses in our current neighborhood are going for, it also could have gone for much more. We also talked to some neighbors and apparently the people who sold us our house didn't have the stomach for a bidding war, so when we made an offer that was better than they were expecting an initial offer to be they jumped at it.

 

I feel weird talking about this stuff unless I'm shit posting pictures of the largest house for sale in my state, but for me it just reinforces the idea of how arbitrary and cruel means testing is.

I feel like the ideas attached to the whole six figure thing are tied into the 20th century way of thinking, like hit six figures, worries are over, live the good life, smooth sailing.

 

Growing up at some point I read that 75k a year was the perfect income for happiness, any more you’d get greedy any less you would be limited in what you could do. 100k is probably that now after inflation.

had big existential dread the other week realizing that I’ll never be able to stop working, if I quit my job I’d have to figure out something else and it would go on until I’m dead or too old to enjoy life. So I hated that.

 

Honestly, and it's just my opinion, but I think that number would be much, much higher.

Not to sound like a broken record, but it's also why it's so frustrating when out-of-touch millionaires in their 80's are making policies and they pick $75,000 as a number where people should be fine and not need help. 75k doesn't go very far in Massachusetts right now, and I know there are a lot of places where it's worse, like DC, San Francisco.

 

I always think about this Liz Lemon quote: "I have to do that thing that rich people do where they turn money into m o r e money."

 

Just guessing on timing here, but: "$75,000 in 2000 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $118,903.75 today". Which makes sense, I think.

 

i mean even if 100k is not nearly as much as it used to be people will keep it as a benchmark in their heads because its still basically just as unobtainable for most

 

I’m reading David Graeber’s ‘Bullshit Jobs’ right now and I would highly recommend it. I bring it up because I think a lot of that class are working those types of jobs. Consultants, etc

 

When it comes to the people and companies generating and hoarding the wealth, those numbers have gone up exponentially, but when it comes to looking at numbers to help people, all of a sudden we are back in the early 20th century and they're like "$50,000 sounds like plenty of money for a family of 12 to survive on!"

 

It's only a mortgage, Michael. What could it cost, $10?

 

I definitely agree and just goes to show the horrible state of wage stagnation. It reminds me of the push for a $15 minimum wage, which would have maybe been sufficient 10 years ago, but now we need closer to $18-$20.

 

In my district You could have your PhDand be teaching in your 30th year and still not have your salary be 100k lol

 

not that it wouldn't be deserved but this does not surprise me at all i would have guessed that only admin people make that in any public school district with a reasonable average income

 

lmfao speaking of youtubers

 

When I saw five+ pages of new posts in a few hours, I assumed something actually significant in the world had happened while I was gone from the internet. Instead, some self-proclaimed socialist (does Hasan even claim to be a socialist?) decided to buy a house. I don't really care, because does anyone actually see Hasan being a legit leader of a future socialist movement. He's more like the gateway drug of the movement, imo, and, from everything I've heard, a quite good one at that. Let him have the house.

In general though, I do find it odd that socialists would criticize home ownership, considering it's really the only way to escape exploitation from the landlord class in capitalist society. And I've certainly felt the desire to be free of landlord exploitation over the last year... Mostly for that reason, I do hope to eventually buy a house (although I would certainly go small and without a yard due to the hatred of home maintenance), but I hope to make it pretty much as open as possible. I figure that'll be at least a decade down the road, so I don't know how I'd work it, but certainly at the very least make it open to anyone I know who wants/needs a place to stay, but also potentially organizing/mutual aid purposes as well, which would be harder (although by no means impossible) to do in a studio or one bedroom apartment.

 

Its the $8-14 dollars you have set aside in case you have an emergency that can be solved with $8-14 dollars

 

when my weed dealer is out and i have to pick up a dime from the guys at the subway

 

i've somehow lucked into a job making 105k with a bachelors in local government. I was making 32k just 3 years ago and I had that same "damn if I made 100k i wouldn't have to ever worry again" goal. But I make that money now in a much higher cost of living area and still budget and have to watch what I spend each month. We're still probably 3-5 years away from having enough saved for a downpayment on a house too. It's night and day difference in worry about being able to afford gas, groceries, etc but it definitely isn't the "never have to wrry again" type income I thought it was a few years ago.

 

Spotted in the historic district/national park section of Harper’s Ferry today lol