Thread by @NeckarValue

Fantastic by @morganhousel

"1973 was the first year where it became clear the economy was walking down a new path."

"A combination of lucky economic advantages and a culture hardened by the Depression and anchored in cooperation shifted when Baby Boomers began coming of age."

"Everything in finance is data within the context of expectations. One of the biggest shifts of the last century happened when the economic winds began blowing in a different, uneven direction, but people’s expectations were still rooted in a post-war culture of equality.

Not necessarily equality of income, although there was that. But equality in lifestyle and consumption expectations."

"Sharp inequality became a force over the last 35 years, and it happened when, culturally, Americans held onto two ideas rooted in the post-WW2 economy:

That you should live a lifestyle similar to most other Americans, and that taking on debt to finance that lifestyle is acceptable."

"Rising incomes among a small group of Americans led to that group breaking away in lifestyle."

"And everyone else was watching – fueled by Madison Avenue and the internet."

"The lifestyles of a small portion of legitimately rich Americans inflated the aspirations of the majority of Americans, whose incomes weren’t rising."

collaborativefund.com/blog/how-this-…