OCI, not when but why?

[asilverblazer]

3 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Oops I did leave one stat out, pay. High pay for an equipment operator in 1974 was 5$ per hour. Today it’s 25-45$ per hour. Specialties and unions pays are higher. Now I’ll leave you to it.

Careful, you'll find yourself on his ignore list too. Some people can't or won't discuss things when they encounter disagreement.

[Atlas]

In most areas of the country, wages have trailed CPI increases over time (let's say, since the 70's) and things like housing, energy, and food have vastly outpaced wages on the whole. Can't ignore that, it's very real.

 

That isn't to say there aren't ways to live in ways that mitigate some of that, including moving to cheaper areas of the country. In KNut's neck of the world, median housing prices in "nearby" Dallas are more like $500k. If you're raising a family and young in a successful career, your economic opportunities are probably going to be better living closer to Dallas than Cornhole. A 3 hour (6+ round trip) daily commute probably isn't tolerable for most folks. Grumpy mentioned economic migration; but we've seen what happens when people populate and grow an area. It becomes more expensive when economic opportunities come to roost.

 

One thing different now from back in the 70's is our quality and standard of living has changed. Healthcare is light years better, for example. But it's also much more expensive. And we have communication and information/tech tools that folks in the 70's could never imagine, and they're accessible to people of just about all incomes. Cars are light years safer, faster, and filled with tech advances. Homes are larger, more energy-efficient, and more luxurious on the whole, from starter homes to luxury homes.

 

Seattle was once affordable. My folks came here in the 70's with a lot of other people from California looking to escape uncontrolled sprawl, smog, and rising prices in the Bay Area. Seattle and the surrounding area has grown considerably; The home they bought for, I think it was $70k or $80k in the late 70's is now worth $1.2M today. The same house.

 

So while there have been obvious boosts in some areas of quality and standard of living, regarding opportunity, that's a bit more nuanced. It's really not possible for young people to get started in similar situations in areas of the country that have become "HCOL" (high cost of living). There are many more areas than before, which is to say they exclude younger workers or make their lives significantly harder. They have to commute farther and longer to afford to live in the area. They have to take outsized risk, take on more debt, significantly delay family planning. Or, they could move somewhere cheaper, but there's usually a loss of economic opportunity that comes with that. Even for the same job, it may pay a lot less in a LCOL.

 

What I don't like are Boomers with phones thinking they have all the answers and outright saying that if people stopped paying for their cell phone that they'd be rich. It's as stupid and misguided as people who think they'd only be rich if taxes weren't so high. Sorry guys, Elon proved you wrong on that one, I guess you're just lazy and blaming your own situation for the reason you're not wealthy. Mobile communication is basically an expectation in a modern society and workforce and it's often cheaper than having a copper landline these days, so... What's your point?

[KARNUT]

9 minutes ago, Atlas said:

In most areas of the country, wages have trailed CPI increases over time (let's say, since the 70's) and things like housing, energy, and food have vastly outpaced wages on the whole. Can't ignore that, it's very real.

 

That isn't to say there aren't ways to live in ways that mitigate some of that, including moving to cheaper areas of the country. In KNut's neck of the world, median housing prices in "nearby" Dallas are more like $500k. If you're raising a family and young in a successful career, your economic opportunities are probably going to be better living closer to Dallas than Cornhole. A 3 hour (6+ round trip) daily commute probably isn't tolerable for most folks. Grumpy mentioned economic migration; but we've seen what happens when people populate and grow an area. It becomes more expensive when economic opportunities come to roost.

 

One thing different now from back in the 70's is our quality and standard of living has changed. Healthcare is light years better, for example. But it's also much more expensive. And we have communication and information/tech tools that folks in the 70's could never imagine, and they're accessible to people of just about all incomes. Cars are light years safer, faster, and filled with tech advances. Homes are larger, more energy-efficient, and more luxurious on the whole, from starter homes to luxury homes.

 

Seattle was once affordable. My folks came here in the 70's with a lot of other people from California looking to escape uncontrolled sprawl, smog, and rising prices in the Bay Area. Seattle and the surrounding area has grown considerably; The home they bought for, I think it was $70k or $80k in the late 70's is now worth $1.2M today. The same house.

 

So while there have been obvious boosts in some areas of quality and standard of living, regarding opportunity, that's a bit more nuanced. It's really not possible for young people to get started in similar situations in areas of the country that have become "HCOL" (high cost of living). There are many more areas than before, which is to say they exclude younger workers or make their lives significantly harder. They have to commute farther and longer to afford to live in the area. They have to take outsized risk, take on more debt, significantly delay family planning. Or, they could move somewhere cheaper, but there's usually a loss of economic opportunity that comes with that. Even for the same job, it may pay a lot less in a LCOL.

 

What I don't like are Boomers with phones thinking they have all the answers and outright saying that if people stopped paying for their cell phone that they'd be rich. It's as stupid and misguided as people who think they'd only be rich if taxes weren't so high. Sorry guys, Elon proved you wrong on that one, I guess you're just lazy and blaming your own situation for the reason you're not wealthy. Mobile communication is basically an expectation in a modern society and workforce and it's often cheaper than having a copper landline these days, so... What's your point?

My area is one of the most affluent areas in Texas. And yet affordable housing is close by. My family business pays top wages and turnover is very low. You can’t but people in a box if you want to succeed the opportunity is there. 

[KARNUT]

1 hour ago, asilverblazer said:

Careful, you'll find yourself on his ignore list too. Some people can't or won't discuss things when they encounter disagreement.

It really doesn’t matter to me. Making a blanket statement that can be refuted will be. As I pointed out the information is out there. Hey google.

[Atlas]

9 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

My area is one of the most affluent areas in Texas. And yet affordable housing is close by. My family business pays top wages and turnover is very low. You can’t but people in a box if you want to succeed the opportunity is there. 

 

And yet the median household income there is a hair over $50k and 12% of families and 16% of the total population lives below the federal poverty line. That's low, and high, respectively.

 

You can choose to ignore reality...that's not what I'd call affluent but hey, you've got yours so nothing else matters or could be true, right?

[KARNUT]

5 minutes ago, Atlas said:

 

And yet the median household income there is a hair over $50k and 12% of families and 16% of the total population lives below the federal poverty line. That's low, and high, respectively.

 

You can choose to ignore reality...that's not what I'd call affluent but hey, you've got yours so nothing else matters or could be true, right?

I don’t know where you get your information from.

[KARNUT]

Just now, KARNUT said:

I don’t know where you get your information from.

You’re trying to cherry pick. Have a nice day.

[KARNUT]

Now back to our regular schedule program. Once I return home from Waco. The Stan Van will be almost ready for an oil change. And she still reads full.

[Atlas]

6 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

Now back to our regular schedule program. Once I return home from Waco. The Stan Van will be almost ready for an oil change. And she still reads full.

 

WHoops, even AI gets it wrong, guess you should check your work. According to the US census, median income in Cornhole is actually $76k. More than 10% of residents live in poverty, and median home value is $309k

 

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/conroecitytexas/INC110224#INC110224

 

 

 

[KARNUT]

24 minutes ago, Atlas said:

 

WHoops, even AI gets it wrong, guess you should check your work. According to the US census, median income in Cornhole is actually $76k. More than 10% of residents live in poverty, and median home value is $309k

 

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/conroecitytexas/INC110224#INC110224

 

 

 

I don’t live in Conroe. You seem to want to cherry pick a location to call my home. I live in an acre subdivision between lake Conroe and the Woodlands. Conroe does have a lot of residents from south of the border. Trying to make a go in a new country. My church is in Conroe and the highway cuts through Conroe. Ok you got it. Let’s put this thread back on track.

[diyer2]

Again, really you two.

[KARNUT]

6 minutes ago, diyer2 said:

Again, really you two.

It’s over for almost 24 hours. Are you playing Eddie Haskell? 

[diyer2]

You have to have the last word. 

[KARNUT]

2 minutes ago, diyer2 said:

You have to have the last word. 

Well if you insist.

[Grumpy Bear]

On 6/22/2026 at 12:25 PM, KARNUT said:

I don’t live in Conroe. You seem to want to cherry pick a location to call my home. I live in an acre subdivision between lake Conroe and the Woodlands. Conroe does have a lot of residents from south of the border. Trying to make a go in a new country. My church is in Conroe and the highway cuts through Conroe. Ok you got it. Let’s put this thread back on track.

 

Lets see if I can sum up two pages of nothing useful. 

 

You want to refute your own governments data of the "Purchasing Power" Index FOR THE ENTIRE USA and its territories replacing it with the experience of a single family and its business and label that reality?  Then pound on that for a week hoping it will find traction? 

 

Stan, I've told you several times. I don't do irrational. There are more people in the USA than your family. 

 

I'm pretty sure this tread is so blown up. I'll give you a few days or months if need be to post yourself silent then I'll see if I can find enough parts of the train to reassemble it.