While the world has got both better and worse in many ways over the last few decades, some people believe life was much better 30 years ago. The conversation was stirred by Redditor u/zombiem00se, who asked the question, "What was normal 20 to 30 years ago but is considered a luxury now?" on the forum r/AskReddit.
Here's what people said
The Reddit post shared last year quickly amassed thousands of responses with users sharing various things. "New furniture made out of real wood," was the first item listed by user u/Juls7243/. The user referred to the rise of cheaper materials being used in modern furniture.
A report from the Washington Post suggested since wood got expensive and the import/export of furniture increased, companies turned to lighter and economical materials that may not last as long as solid wood.
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Another user shared a rather blazing issue of the modern world. "Pay no more than 30% of your income in rent," user u/newsaggregateftw suggested. The median rent was about $602 in 2000, about 24 years ago, as per Census.gov. Today, the median rent has gone up to $2,106, according to Zillow.
While most talked about prices, one user spoke about the work culture. Pointing to the toxic, burnout-prone culture, user u/Siukslinis_acc wrote, "Not being expected to be reachable 24/7." This is also backed by data, as in APA's 2023 Work in America Survey, a whopping 77% of the respondents said they experience work-related stress, and 31% further shared that they were experiencing "emotional exhaustion."
Another user pointed out that the cost of entertainment has also gone up, making it a luxury. "Concert Ticket prices," wrote user u/Quality_Street_1. Another true fact, as a Marketplace.org report pointed out that in 1976, a ticket for a Springsteen concert in Los Angeles cost about $8 or $44 in today's money. However, in 2022, tickets for his world tour went as high as $5,000 on Ticketmaster, thanks to the higher venue fees, various commissions, taxes, platform fees, and more.
Meanwhile, another user u/Working-Finger3500/ recalled the times when driver's ed was a part of high school education. In California, driver's ed for students ended back in the 90s, when the state pulled back funding in response to a decrease in people getting their licenses, as per a blog. Thus, unlike 40 years ago, today young drivers need to go through expensive classes to get their license.
Meanwhile, user u/SuvenPan/ listed, "Retirement plan built-in to your job", as a thing that was normal years ago but is considered a luxury today. This is true according to experts as well. In a blog, the Economic Policy Institute declared that the modern retirement plan, which is the 401(k) is “a poor substitute” for the defined benefit pension plans that workers relied on years ago. The institute noted that plans that provide a fixed payout for employees at retirements have now become increasingly rare.
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