I recently read the latest inflammatory article on how poor today’s youth is compared to their parents, via CNN:
Gen Xers are poorer than their parents
It had the standard fancy infographics, a random video about another subject in the middle, and an attempt to draw some conclusions around how much Gen Xers make versus their parents. The shocking revelation was that though this younger group earns more than the previous generation did at the same age they have much less in the bank. Also, Gen Xers have a lot more college debt.
How is this exactly a surprise?
Are we to be shocked that someone that chose to borrow a lot of money in order to earn more per year would currently earn more money per year and have less money than someone that didn’t?
Is that not obvious?
If I pay all the money I have to buy a goose that lays golden eggs am I not both broke and likely to earn more than others going forward?