With young people like college student Ben Salas dying, families and experts are searching for answers.
  • foggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1084·
    8 months ago

    … No clear answers?

    I’m 35. I make enough to pay bills but a home is still out of reach for me and my gf, together we pull about 175k

    When I was 21, expensive drafts were $5/16oz. Cheap ones were $1. Rent was ~$750/mo, utils and stuff brought you close to $1000. I worked 40 hrs a week in a kitchen making $15/hr. I got free food the burritos there were $9.99, fair at the time.

    Today, someone makes the same wage, gets 12 hrs a week, the food isn’t free when you work there a burrito is $17.99, and the apt I was in is $1750/mo

    I wanted to die plenty in my 20s. I can only imagine the bleak hellhole they see and exist in.

    …the clear answer is more opportunity, more money, more education, less burdens.

    What the fuck happened? Like it was bad for me and my friends. Our parents pitied us. But now a draft beer is line $11 for 10 oz. A cheap McDonald’s order is $15.

    • pete_the_cat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      266·
      8 months ago

      It’s clickbait. There was an article like this a while ago about teens and suicide and they were like, “we have no idea why this is happening!”, even though for years people were saying social media was harming teens.

      • i_am_not_a_robot@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        3·
        8 months ago

        Social media is not the cause. There are so many problems that young people are helpless to do anything about. Congress’s desire to restrict and censor internet access for minors has to be more impactful than social media itself.

        • pete_the_cat@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          8 months ago

          I guess we should say that it’s an “intensifier”. If you get bullied at school, it no longer stays at school. If there’s gossip or someone does something embarrassing it’s no longer forgotten, but quickly plastered all over the Internet. I graduated high school in 2004, so I didn’t have to deal with any of this.

      • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
        31·
        8 months ago

        even though for years people were saying social media was harming teens.

        And that article, had you bother to read it, pointed out that there was plenty of conflicting evidence as to whether social media was the cause, and warned that by mindlessly blaming social media because it is easy might lead us to overlook the real culprit.

        But good on you for demonstrating it’s point.

      • This is fine🔥🐶☕🔥@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        293·
        8 months ago

        Enough for what? They clearly stated that home ownership is out of reach for them.

        Rest of their comparison is about things now vs things 10 years back and how it’s worse for someone in their teens and 20s.

        Learn to read.

          • thejml@lemm.eeEnglish
            201·
            8 months ago

            I know I’m probably feeding the troll here, but how is someone “entitled to live in an expensive area”? Like sure he could probably move to a cheaper city… but then they won’t have the same jobs getting the same salary. They are likely only making that much because of the area they currently live in. Sure there might be some variation from block to block or subdivision to subdivision, but in many areas in the country that isn’t enough for even the cheapest housing in the metro area.

            Not to mention, that’s both of them working full time jobs. 15+ yrs ago, one salary should have been enough for a house. Now if they ever have a kid, they have to take the cost of child care into account and that’s not cheap. This leads to some of the drop in fertility we see in many places. It’s simply not financially possible.

              • nac82@lemm.eeEnglish
                10·
                8 months ago

                Okay, professor. What is the exact maximum people are allowed to earn and exist in high expense areas?

          • nac82@lemm.eeEnglish
            9·
            8 months ago

            It’s called “passing a bunch of money around at the top.”

            You think earning less than 100k is in the top earning block lmao.

            They shouldn’t let people this dumb comment.

            How about instead of tearing down something, you post something of substance.

            How much do you earn? What do you do? How much is your rent?

            And what is the maximum amount people are allowed to earn before they can criticize expensive living

                • NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth
                  101·
                  8 months ago

                  They shouldn’t have to though.

                  Not acknowledging that is just making the problem worse.

                  People should work to live not live to work, and if you can’t afford a little entertainment than you aren’t living you are barely surviving.

                  But there are people out there who would take what little stress relief you can get and tell you to just tighten up your belt.

                  You do realize that phrase comes from people having to take their food money and spend it on other necessities right?

                  You have to tighten your belt because you can’t even afford full meals.

      • Obinice@lemmy.worldEnglish
        516·
        8 months ago

        Jesus wept, if I earned HALF that I’d be very comfortable for the rest of my life. That’s an insane income.

        Imagine earning almost two hundred grand a year as a family and then suggesting it’s a struggle. That’s wild.

        I mean sure, if you live in a gated wealthy community and only buy the finest things, and have very high wealthy standards, then I imagine that would seem like pocket change.

        But 14,500 dollaroos a MONTH? That’s enough to support multiple families. That’s equivalent to SIX adults working a full time minimum wage job. SIX!

        Imagine being two people, bringing in the wage of six people, and suggesting it’s a tough life. I would kill to be in that highly privileged position haha.

        • Maalus@lemmy.worldEnglish
          113·
          8 months ago

          I got like $60k a year as a programmer, and spun up my own company after a year of that. Like, how are you not able to save for a house / pay off a mortgage on 175k a year.

          • NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth
            8·
            8 months ago

            I struggled at $15 an hour living in a low cost area.

            When rent is $2k a month, plus food and utilities, that money goes quiiiick

  • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    562·
    8 months ago

    It can’t be the soul crushing capitalism, commoditization of everything (love included), and isolation guys, right? It’s definitely not our corporate profits.

    • AzalEnglish
      341·
      8 months ago

      Can’t be added on with multiple “Once in a generation” natural disasters happening on a yearly basis with temp records breaking yearly, nations with the power to demolish the world rattling sabers over a fight that’s been going before we were born, zero chance of moving upwards in the crushing capitalism, all the while the leadership is fighting over identity politics instead of acknowledging any of the problems. Surely none of those are add on factors.

  • Beryl@lemmy.worldEnglish
    521·
    8 months ago

    I think it mostly comes down to increasingly unfair distribution of wealth, which leaves people with no hope to better their standards of living.

    Our civilization creates things with constantly increasing productivity, which should lead to better pay and less time spent working, and more time to live a fulfilling life. Instead, all this added wealth is funneled towards a few mindbogglingly rich individuals.

    This happens with the help of a sizable fraction of the population, which has become convinced that their mediocre situation is in fact caused by even poorer and more miserable people, rather than the assholes siphoning everything and everyone from the top of their already obscene piles of riches. And there’s no sign of this changing anytime soon. No wonder people are desperate.

  • ChihuahuaOfDoom@lemmy.worldEnglish
    47·
    8 months ago

    Our country sucks, what other answer do you need? The boomers fucked it up for the rest of us and now there’s no joy, just constant struggle.

  • dhcmrlchtdj__@lemmy.worldEnglish
    371·
    8 months ago

    Our society benefits those who manipulate and cheat, and punishes those who choose not to. Pretty simple

      • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        51·
        8 months ago

        Nope, it’s full spectrum. An asshole cashier that manages to fudge their drawer so the next shift comes up short and they get the cash in their pocket is considered “clever” for pulling one over on the rube. Arbitrary division and competition has soaked through all levels of America.

        • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
          11·
          8 months ago

          p short and they get the cash in their pocket is considered “clever” for pulling one over on the rube.

          lol. How does garbage like this get any upvotes? No one but other assholes and thieves would think this is clever. To everyone else they would be a theif.

  • eronth@lemmy.worldEnglish
    271·
    8 months ago

    The only reason there’s no clear answer is because it’s several answers all together.

    • TheFriar@lemm.eeEnglish
      31·
      8 months ago

      It’s a lot of things. Climate hopelessness, a political system that seems hellbent on maintaining this negative feedback loop, yes, the economic situation, but also a soulless life under late stage capitalism where it’s proven over and over again you matter less than a line going up, we are commodified at every turn, our personality traits are nothing more than economic indicators or data points to sell us more shit…we live in a hostile world. And it’s hostile by humanity’s own making. And it’s soulless by our own making. Maybe humans used to die at 25 by a mountain lion attack more frequently, but some kind of purpose was found in that survival life. Depression and anxiety and a feeling of pointlessness are capitalism-made.

      This problem seems so framed by experts as “why do these kids want to die?” When the question they should be asking is “what is society giving them to live for?”

      • SwingingTheLamp@midwest.socialEnglish
        17·
        8 months ago

        I’m on a train trip across the U.S. today, so I will add what I see out the window: A landscape systematically strip-mined of beauty, meaning, and sense of place in service of extracting maximum profit from the people who have to exist in it.

        • TheFriar@lemm.eeEnglish
          12·
          8 months ago

          Yup. That too.

          We are detached from anything close to a life tied to meaning. All meaning was bought and sold. Our ancestors were turned into bricks to build the foundation of capitalism, and we aren’t even that important anymore. We’re the fuel that the massive engine of capitalism runs on. The machine is built. Now it’s running over capacity and more and more of us are needed to stoke the fires that keep the over-indulged engine running at max capacity to spit out some goddamn pitiful little line that means further excessive wealth for those who were born from the people who turned our ancestors into goddamn bricks.

          And they ask, “why are kids so darn melancholy?!”

    • aodhsishaj@lemmy.worldEnglish
      221·
      8 months ago

      Please point to the bootstraps I may pull to fix:

      Income disparity

      Inflation

      Price Fixing

      Expensive Medical Care

      Rising rents

      Increasing Fuel Costs

      College Debt

      Climate Crisis

      Subsidized Oil,Gas,Corn,Beef,Eggs

      Water Rights Crises

      Because if they exist I will pull them.

      • Excrubulent@slrpnk.netEnglish
        7·
        8 months ago

        Mutual aid. It has a real shot at working because it crucially isn’t about pulling yourself up, but people getting together to lift one another up.

        And longer term, a lot of mutual aid organisations have explicitly revolutionary goals.

        • aodhsishaj@lemmy.worldEnglish
          7·
          8 months ago

          Agreed. A lot of these problems are generational and stem from a twisted view of individualism. The “I got mine” mentality.

          My reply was more about the ambiguity of “take matters into your own hands.” I cannot solve this with my own hands. I need help. Mutual aid networks provide that.

          • Excrubulent@slrpnk.netEnglish
            3·
            8 months ago

            Food not bombs is a decent name, although it’s decentralised so every org will be different. If you search “food not bombs” + your city or state you’re likely to find something. All these orgs are local and decentralised because it’s a primarily anarchist method, but once you get in contact with one group they can point you towards others.

  • Mango@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    8 months ago

    We’re being robbed of stability, autonomy, and sleep. Economical demands are above our physical capability. Also the legal system is predatory. What’s to live for?

    Music is cool for the limited time I have where my ears belong to me. Maybe when I can afford furniture I’ll be able to relax between shifts.

    I’m saying all this even when I practically hit the jackpot with rent cost and work for a pretty decent company. I’ll be ok but the rest of my life before this has just been a demonstration that life outside my control isn’t worth anything.