It doesn't, and you’re slicing a narrow cohort and using a generic basket. Under-25/25-34 spend a much bigger share on housing, and rents ripped; that combo compresses “real” gains even when wages tick up. If you match the cohort to the basket, the situation looks tighter for young renters. Unless you'd want to come from the position or angle that young people AREN'T renting or buying groceries that these data points support?
I don't think what you're saying is true actually, do you have data? I assume young people actually spend a smaller proportion on rent because older people spend a very large portion (65+ spend around half)
I mean partly, but it's because you’re mixing up aggregate vs within-group numbers. In this BLS table [1], the housing tenure lines do the work: 85% of under-25s rent, 58% of 25-34 rent, and only 22% of 65+ rent, while 53% of 65+ own outright. That’s exactly the exposure I’m talking about: young adults are mostly renters, so the rent surge bites them first.
You're going to have to share with me what that means. Are you using GPT to come to your conclusions? Did you read the BLS table and literally CTRL+F the data percentages I gave?
