Southwest Airliner Hit by Gunfire in Dallas 11/15/24

The concept itself isn't the problem, it's the fact that there are no limits.

I guess whatever the system, somebody will abuse it.

It’s the learning institutions themselves who are abusing the system. They’ve come to realize that students and families will take out a loan for whatever it costs to go to the school of their choice. IMHO that’s the biggest reason tuition has far outpaces inflation and cost of living. They know the well of money is deep due to loans.

This is the same reason a mid-level Ford XLT pickup now costs $65k. The manufacturers realize their customer base will do whatever it takes to get the truck they want, including taking out an 8yr note at 7%. Common folks are killing their financial futures by buying these expensive vehicles.
 
…I hope they've more than doubled their income in 21 years, because inflation takes less than half of that time to cut the value of those dollars in half.
That’s not quite the case, though. The Minneapolis Fed has a great tool to compare inflation adjusted values.

My first year post-college was 1986 and I made $40,200 gross that year; in today’s dollars that would be $85K.

That exact same job today pays $95K a year starting out. The cost of a gallon of gas in 1996 was $1.09/gal, adjust for inflation it’s $2.40. Gas Buddy says a gallon of gas is about $2.40 today.

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In 1996, the average new home price was $166,400; inflation adjusted that’s $332,335. Today an average new home price is $501K. In 1996 dollars, the new house was 4x my starting income. Today, it’s 5.2x.

Since 1996, my income has outpaced inflation as a whole. Sure, 2021-2023 sucked, but as a whole, more dollars today results in exceeding the impact of inflation. And that doesn’t even accounting for my wife’s income, which has grown at an even higher level considering she tool a decade and a half off to raise our kids.

Where the math stops working is for fixed incomes scenarios, and a 24 year old today shouldn’t be on a fixed income for life.
 
What a thread drift. From a bullets hitting a plane, to student loans in x posts.
 
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