Rising Costs
October 23, 2012 | ∞ CivSource reports on the relative rising costs of housing and transportation:
The combined costs of housing and transportation in the nation’s largest 25 metro areas have swelled by 44 percent since 2000 while incomes have remained stagnant and in some cases fallen. In the 25 largest metro areas, the report finds that moderate-income households spend an average of 59% of their income on housing and transportation. […] For every dollar household incomes have gone up, housing and transportation costs have risen about $1.75, cutting into wealth, savings and even budgets for essentials.
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A recent Brookings Institute report on transportation issues across the US notes that a broad based lack of access to lower cost public transportation options in many states is not only adding to the cost burden for many Americans but may be effectively keeping them from ever advancing. Limited mobility also has limiting effects on access to higher paying jobs or job training programs that may not be located immediately near where someone lives. In states with suburban growth patterns walking to work may simply be impossible. Data from that report showed that while access to some form of public transportation is available to 70% of Americans, only 30% of them can actually use it to get anywhere in a timely manner.
We have developed an expensive way of life with high overhead. When you consider that a popular concept for personal finance is to limit spending on necessities to 60% of income to enable long and short term savings, that 59% just for housing and transportation starts to feel extremely high.
Reader Comments (1)
I agree. And I think the rising costs relative to income has a lot to do with an inflation rate that is much higher than what is reported. That's what happens when you print trillions of dollars, no matter the intentions.