College grads entering work force at 1970's wages.

I think the whole economy should collapse so we could sort of "re-boot" so to speak... and make everything afforadable and better again cos this shit is rediculous

define that exactly lol

The world's globalized, AtreusDesign. You're not only competing for a job in your area but also with others from countries. With the internet and VOIP phones, companies can easily outsource processes offshore.

I came from the Philippines where the outsourcing industry is still going strong (well, not so lately considering the economic slowdown here in the US). A lot of companies have outsourced customer service, design, programming and manufacturing.

That's why one of the more stable industry is in the medical field -- you simply cannot outsource patient care (although they've already outsourced transcribing patient data elsewhere).

And I can't see this trend stopping. Entrepreneurs would always want to have their costs lowered while getting the best bang for their buck. Countries, too, would dare not renege on their treaties since it would end up as a tit-for-tat trade off; the best thing countries can do are non-tariff barriers (higher standards for products, etc).

i would like to pay for everything in dance

I find it disheartening when I tell a young co-worker what I was making in the late 90's, and then he asks what that translates to in today's market.

"Ummm... pretty much the same."

disco's coming back. im psyched.

Without an internship and some serious experience, I don't know where the guy fresh out of college has a chance.

When Cerulean said the economy needs to be "rebooted" to get these insane prices back under control that is absolutely correct!

Prices have been disconnected from reality! A crash was simply inevitable.

Housing costs have quadrupled in the last 30 years! Christ, my parent bought their house BRAND NEW for $70,000. 30 years later that exact same house -- with ZERO improvements or modifications -- is selling for $550,000! I couldn't believe it when I drove past my old neighborhood and saw the flyer.

What the fuck??? That piece of shit house (with no central air!) is not worth HALF A MILION DOLLARS! Even after this "credit crash" it's been "dramatically marked down!" to only $400,000. Nope, keep going. Call me when it hits $100,000 because that's the reality price. Houses today are still hyper-inflated.

A cup of coffee 25 years ago was 25 cents. Now it's $3. A comic book was 15 cents, now it's $2.99. A new car was under $10,000....now the Big 3 only make SUV's that start at $47,000.

Were prices really expected to just keep rising forever???

In 2025 was a studio apartment really going to cost $5,000 a month in Boise? Were used cars really going to sell for $250,000? Is a Coke at McDonalds really going to be $25.75? Because if prices keep rising at the same rate they have from 1970 thru 2008 that's exactly what things will cost!

And wages and jobs? You must be referring to the TEMP jobs we're all working at now for $7/hr. Or if you want to be directly employed you can work directly for Wal-mart for $7/hr.

So the cost of everything has quadrupled but our wages remained too low to actually afford it....so how did the economy keep running?

Credit cards. We were ALL forced to use Visa and Mastercard to pay rent, put gas in the car, pay the electric bill, PAY FOR MEDICAL BILLS, etc.

Instead of wages and benefits...we were given credit cards.

This crash was inevitable. You cannot run a national economy of 300 million people on $7/hr jobs and credit cards.

There was simply no possible way you could quadruple costs, keep wages frozen at 1970 levels for 300 million workers and make up the difference with credit cards.

This crash sucks...but it's the Act of God that was required to force all these hyper-inflated prices back down to reality. Noting else ever seemed to work.

that´s hapening all over the world, it´s not an american problem
here in portugal the same is hapening, not 70´s salaries but equivalent.

Yay 1970's!

This is scary knowing I am going to be in that market pool in a year and a 1/2.

I'll be there this summer... ugh. 6 years of college for this??

I don't know why anyone would come to New York to look for a job anymore. And even if you have a job your rent will be so absurd that you will have virtually no disposable income. I don't see the logic in handicapping yourself like that so early in your life.

The wages in that graph are way larger than what I started at when I graduated and are still larger than the salary I will be at when I get my raise next year.

It's sad. People in this country don't value academia. Someone can go to college for multiple years and end up in a crap job or even with no job. It's even worse because we now have student loans to pay off on top of it. I feel grateful to at least have a job in my field.

Don't worry, I'll sit around with two degrees, surviving on Ramen Noodles at the end of each month while millionaires get trillions of dollars in bail outs. It's the American Dream!

This whole system is designed to keep people down.

We're easier to manipulate if we're overworked, underpaid and overstressed.

No shit. If you wanna make money it has nothing to do with an education. YOU GOTTA GET YOUR HUSTLE ON! WORK FOR YOURSELF.

Do you here that large sucking sound, don't be alarmed, that's just the wealthy sucking all of the money out of everything and everyone.

And my parents wondered why I dropped out of college and became a male prostitute.

I , personally, would like to beat the living hell out of everyone that was involved in the financial meltdown.
Aside from that, college is definately not worth the cost and time of attendance. Tuition continues to rise at an unimpeded rate and the degree you receive is nothing more than fancy piece of paper. I've been out for a few years and have busted my butt to get into any type of job that pays anywhere near 35K. Still haven't got there. So much for a business degree from a private university. There is too much of a discrepancy in this economy. You only get somewhere when you have the good ole' boy system working for you. Several people that I know are making over 100K per year. It is definately not what they know. Combined business knowledge would probably fill up one page on the proverbial "Business for dummies" book.. Knowledge and skill doesn't mean crap. It's all about who you know.