> -----Original Message----- Of Mark Klein
> On Mar 29, 2010, at 10:50 AM, Jim Phillips wrote:
>
> > As someone wiser than me pointed out, the economy is being
> > globalized and flattened.  ... ours is lowered everytime we lose a
> > higher-paying job to someone willing to work for less. ...
>
> That's a very profound statement and it is so true. I've had
> to reduce my consulting rates to compete, which means my standard of
> living has gone down ...
>
> Everyone is saying that we're seeing the first generation (our kids)
> where their standard of living is going to be less than that
> of their parents.

I was just talking to someone else about this - it is already happening even for "my" generation - my sister and her family is currently in a situation where their "standard of living" already exceeds their [dual] incomes (and has for quite a few years now) - unfortunately, this is due to the fact that my brother-in-law, though technically competent, has not been able to get jobs paying him what he is worth.  My sister has had to take on jobs at call centers [yes, we still have a few that haven't gone "over there"] to make ends meet.

For myself, I've managed to "live within my means".  I suppose it is a good thing that I've been so adept at PC's that I haven't felt the desire to buy a game console [x-box, wii, etc.] and the associated $$$-drain in buying "the hottest new title" each month [or week]; likewise my TV is an old 26" "monster" [old enough that it has a "wired" remote, not infrared]  I did break down and get a DVD player, but the majority of movies I buy are from Big-Lots at $3 each [meaning they are NOT "last year's titles", but rather a bit older than that even...]

In comparison, growing up, we had an atari "pong" clone as our first "console" game, that same TV I have now [when I moved out at 21, my parents gave me the family TV and they bought a newer bigger one...], and we went "out" to movies only occasionally - in short, my "standard" hssn't changed much, but then, I've been easy to please ;)