A cartoon that isn't funny

[Bucky]

109. I think we have the same demographic profiles

That description of your family's situation is identical to mine. Of course in the 70s and 80s, making $60K was significantly above the median income, but it wasn't living high on the hog, either. In general, there was a more favorable distribution of income in those days. College today is prohibitively expensive. My daughter, who just got out of college, is up to her eyeballs in debt. The idea of me owning a home is near science fiction. Housing, cars, health insurance.... all the things that you have to buy to get by in live--the big ticket items that are commodities rather than luxuries--take up more of the family income than ever before in US history. This is the thing that's squeezing the middle class.

When I was in school, our economics teacher taught us that your housing costs (be it rent or mortgage) should cost 1/3rd of your monthly income. When I realized a few years ago that I and most of my friends were paying over 40%, some more than 50%, for housing I asked my dad what they taught him in his day. He said in the 50s the figure was 25%. This one item has in two generations gone from 25% to over 40% of income. Now THAT is a squeeze. I asked my colleague at the school I teach at what figure they use for today's kid. He replied, "Oh, the state curriculum in economics doesn't deal with practical matters like that."

The system wants us both squeezed and dumb.