In The $140,000 Question, I went over recent viral claims about poverty in America.

The calculations behind the claims were invalid, the central claim (that the ‘true poverty line’ was $140k) was absurd, but the terrible vibes are real. People increasingly feel that financial life is getting harder and that success is out of reach.

‘Real income’ is rising, but costs are rising even more.

Before we get to my central explanations for that – the Revolution of Rising Expectations and the Revolution of Rising Requirements – there are calculations and histories to explore, which is what this second post is about.

How are costs changing in America, both in absolute terms and compared to real incomes, for key items: Consumer goods, education, health care and housing?

That's a huge percentage of where we spend our post-tax money.

And how is household wealth actually changing?

The economists are right that the basket of goods and services we typically purchase in these areas has greatly increased in both quantity and quality, in spite of various severe supply side problems mostly caused by regulations.

That is not what determines whether a person or [...]

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Outline:

(01:28) The Debate Continues

(03:04) The Cost of Thriving Index Redux

(05:05) The Housing Theory Of Everything Remains Undefeated

(10:46) Did We Halt the Rise in Healthcare and Education Costs?

(15:10) Healthcare Costs

(19:53) Higher Education Costs

(23:11) Services Productivity is Rising But What Even Is Productivity Measuring

(24:58) On Clothing In Particular

(25:40) Our Price Free

(26:29) By Default Supply Side Is The Problem

(29:36) The Kids Are Financially Alright In Historical Terms

(33:25) Live Like a Khan

(36:15) We Should Be Doing Far Better On All This

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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