Name: 為什麼「美國夢」感覺越來越不可能達成？ (Why ‘Making It’ Feels Impossible In The U.S. Now)
Uploaded: 2025-05-13T02:52:50.000Z
Duration: 11 min 55 s

This is a mock monthly household budget for an American family in 1985.

這是 1985 年一個美國家庭的模擬月度家庭預算。

If we compare that to a hypothetical budget in 2022, we can see that most expenses scaled with inflation, with a few exceptions.

如果我們將其與 2022 年的假定預算進行比較，就會發現除少數例外情況外，大部分支出都與通脹同步增長。

程度副詞

Rent, out-of-pocket health care costs, and child care are notably more expensive in 2022 even when accounting for inflation.

即使考慮到通貨膨脹因素，2022 年的房租、自付醫療費用和兒童保育費用也會明顯增加。

And costs associated with retirement increased by more than 60%.

與退休相關的費用增加了 60% 以上。

But these numbers are not accounting for a big X-factor — consumer debt, such as credit cards and student loans.

但這些數字並沒有考慮到一個重要的 X 因素，即消費債務，如信用卡和學生貸款。

Total outstanding consumer credit was nearly $600 billion in December 1985.

1985 年 12 月，未償消費信貸總額接近 6000 億美元。

到 2022 年，這一數字接近 4.9 萬億美元。

隨著時間的推移，債務一直在增加。

Student loans weren't really a thing for baby boomers.

對嬰兒潮一代來說，助學貸款並不是什麼新鮮事。

Millennials have larger student loan balances, bigger mortgages, much bigger car payments than their parents did a generation ago.

與上一代人相比，"千禧一代 "的學生貸款餘額更大、抵押貸款額度更高、汽車還款額也更大。

In addition to more expensive child care costs, higher price is pretty much across the board.

除了更昂貴的托兒費用外，價格上漲幾乎是全面的。

So that does make it more difficult to set extra money aside or make any long-term plans.

是以，要預留額外資金或制定任何長期計劃確實比較困難。

我們生活在兩個不同的經濟體中。

The American dream that was pitched to the Gen Xers and the boomers is no longer present in today's world.

X 代人和潮一代人的美國夢在當今世界已不復存在。

A lot of people, particularly the working class and the part of the middle class, don't think their children will be as well off as they were.

很多人，尤其是工人階級和部分中產階級，認為他們的子女不會像他們一樣富裕。

Many, many people live in what I describe as a break even.

很多很多人都生活在我所說的收支平衡中。

Over the course of the year, they might make enough money to pay for basic living expenses and cover their bills.

一年下來，他們賺的錢可能只夠支付基本生活費用和賬單。

But if one major thing happens, then they can get behind.

但如果發生了一件大事，他們就會落後。

Here's why young American adults are struggling to make ends meet and what can be done.

以下是美國年輕人入不敷出的原因，以及可以採取的措施。

Millennials net worth quadrupled from $3.9 trillion to nearly $16 trillion between 2019 and 2024.

2019 年至 2024 年，千禧一代的淨資產翻了兩番，從 3.9 萬億美元增至近 16 萬億美元。

But more than half report living paycheck to paycheck.

但超過半數的人表示，他們的生活捉襟見肘。

A lot in this group have benefited from a strong jobs market and rising wages.

這個群體中的很多人都受益於強勁的就業市場和不斷上漲的工資。

And during the pandemic, many people bought a home that made a lot of people wealthier, but more on paper.

而在大流行病期間，很多人都買了房，這讓很多人變得更加富有，但更多的是紙上談兵。

The disconnect between being rich on paper and feeling well off has been referred to as phantom wealth.

紙上富貴與感覺富足之間的脫節被稱為 "幽靈財富"。

Your net worth has gotten greater, but you're not feeling richer necessarily.

你的淨資產增加了，但你並不一定覺得自己更富有了。

It's taking young adults longer than their parents to meet some milestones, such as living on their own, buying property and starting a family.

與父輩相比，年輕人需要更長的時間才能達到某些里程碑，如獨立生活、購買房產和組建家庭。

It's a lot harder for young people today to save up for markers of the American dream than it was for previous generations.

與上一代人相比，今天的年輕人要為實現 "美國夢 "而儲蓄要困難得多。

When we look at home buying, as we all know, we're in historically tight housing markets.

眾所周知，在購房方面，我們正處於歷史上房市緊張的時期。

And those that are on the market are extremely expensive, not to mention expensive mortgage rates.

而市場上的那些房子都非常昂貴，更不用說昂貴的抵押貸款利率了。

The prices of homes has escalated over the last few decades much faster than actual incomes.

在過去幾十年裡，房價的上漲速度遠遠超過了實際收入的增長速度。

So it is actually much harder for a millennial or a Gen Z to save up for a down payment to buy a home.

是以，對於千禧一代或 Z 世代來說，要攢夠首付買房其實難上加難。

I think the middle class, unfortunately, is dead for millennials and Gen Zers or best case scenario, the goalpost has just moved and it's still obtainable.

我認為，不幸的是，對於千禧一代和 Z 世代來說，中產階級已經死了，或者最好的情況是，中產階級的目標只是移動了一下，但仍然可以實現。

But you have to make over six figures to have that middle class life.

但你必須掙到六位數以上，才能過上中產階級的生活。

But people who are older were in a better economic time growing up because the big difference is what I call the big three.

但是，年齡較大的人在成長過程中經濟狀況較好，因為最大的區別在於我所說的三大因素。

Millennials and Gen Zers are faced with outrageous housing prices, whether it's rent or owning massive monthly college student loan debt payments and daycare.

千禧一代和 Z 世代面臨著高得離譜的房價，無論是房租還是每月鉅額的大學生貸款和日託費用。

Freddie Smith made a career shift from actor to real term and started making content about the state of the housing market.

弗雷迪-史密斯的職業生涯從演員轉向了房地產，並開始製作有關房地產市場狀況的內容。

In the summer of 2023, I was maybe one of the first or the handful that was able to say, hey, the housing prices hit 420, the interest rates at 7 percent.

2023 年夏天，我也許是第一批或少數幾個能夠說 "嘿，房價達到了 420 美元，利率達到了 7%"的人之一。

You now need one hundred and twenty thousand dollars to qualify for a home.

現在，您需要 12 萬美元才有資格買房。

And then it just bled into people asking comments and making more videos.

隨後，人們紛紛發表評論，製作更多視頻。

Then it got into the boomer versus millennial debate.

然後就進入了 "潮一代 "和 "千禧一代 "的爭論。

And it just kind of continued to grow from there.

I had to rebuild my life in my early 30s.

我不得不在 30 歲出頭時重建自己的生活。

So I'm really relating to the 22 year olds who are building their life.

所以，我真的很喜歡那些正在建設自己生活的 22 歲年輕人。

And it's a totally different economy than when I built mine and when I was 19.

現在的經濟形勢與我 19 歲時的經濟形勢完全不同。

Not being able to save for a home has big retirement implications for millennials and

無法為買房存錢對千禧一代的退休生活有很大影響。

Those who don't own homes, now those are people who are in real trouble.

那些沒有房子的人，現在才是真正有麻煩的人。

They're trying to save to get their own place.

他們正努力存錢，準備買自己的房子。

他們正在某處支付高昂的租金。

They're commuting a long distance or trying to work at home so they can save on childcare or so they can save just on housing costs.

他們通勤路途遙遠，或試圖在家工作，以便節省育兒費用，或節省住房費用。

Those living patterns are increasingly what's happening for younger workers.

這些生活模式正越來越多地出現在年輕工人身上。

In the 1980s, the typical first time homebuyer was in their late 20s.

20 世紀 80 年代，首次購房者的年齡一般在 20 多歲。

With a 30 year mortgage, that would mean they own their home outright by the time they're retired in their 60s, providing them with a better chance at sticking to a fixed income in their retirement.

如果按揭 30 年，這就意味著他們在 60 多歲退休時可以完全擁有自己的房子，為他們在退休後堅持固定收入提供了更好的機會。

A national housing shortage, high rent prices and competition from wealthier buyers are all making it harder for young adults to buy their first home.

全國性的住房短缺、高昂的房租價格以及來自富裕買家的競爭，都加大了年輕人購買第一套住房的難度。

In 2024, the median first time homebuyer was 38 years old, an all time high.

2024 年，首次購房者的年齡中位數為 38 歲，創歷史新高。

You have a lot of people 25 to 34 who are looking to start a family and cannot find a home for their families.

有很多 25 至 34 歲的人想成家立業，卻找不到適合他們家庭的房子。

Maybe the homes aren't where they want them to be inside the city, but even outside a city it's been very difficult for young families to find a place.

也許城市裡的房子不是他們想要的，但即使在城市外，年輕家庭也很難找到住處。

So I think it's healthy for us to try to find different ways that maybe home ownership doesn't have to be the symbol of the American dream.

是以，我認為，我們應該嘗試尋找不同的方式，也許擁有住房並不一定是美國夢的象徵。

But then to counter that on my own point, I encourage those who can afford homes to buy it because once it's paid off, you're going to have a more comfortable retirement because you're not going to be subject to the ever increasing rent prices.

不過，為了反駁我自己的觀點，我鼓勵那些有能力買房的人買房，因為一旦付清房款，你的退休生活會更加舒適，因為你不會受到不斷上漲的房租價格的影響。

Many Americans are navigating a new kind of economic instability, which traditional financial advice may not prepare them for.

許多美國人正在經歷一種新的經濟不穩定，而傳統的理財建議可能無法讓他們做好準備。

Rachel Snyder co-authored the book The Financial Diaries with NYU professor Jonathan

雷切爾-斯奈德與紐約大學教授喬納森-斯奈德合著了《金融日記》一書。

Mordock. They spent a year tracking the granular spending habits of 235 families.

莫多克他們花了一年時間跟蹤調查了 235 個家庭的消費習慣。

What we saw was a huge amount of volatility.

The majority of Americans work hourly jobs.

大多數美國人從事小時工工作。

And so for them, the amount of money that they earn fluctuates week by week.

是以，對他們來說，每週賺的錢都不一樣。

I get 30 hours this week versus 45 hours next week.

我這周的工作時間是 30 小時，而下週是 45 小時。

And so as a result, income is really up and down over the course of a month.

是以，一個月內的收入確實時高時低。

And that flies in the face of all of the budgeting advice we usually give people.

這與我們通常給人們的預算建議完全背道而馳。

There is a difference between surviving and thriving.

And I just think if we're going to claim that we're the richest country, the best country in the world, why isn't everyone who's working 40 hours, 50 hours a week thriving?

我只是想，如果我們要宣稱我們是世界上最富有的國家，是世界上最好的國家，為什麼不是每個每週工作40小時、50小時的人都在茁壯成長呢？

On top of income instability, cost of living is increasingly unstable.

除了收入不穩定，生活成本也越來越不穩定。

Tariffs have added a lot of uncertainty into future economic conditions.

關稅給未來的經濟形勢增添了許多不確定性。

We don't really know how this is going to play out just yet.

我們還不知道事情會如何發展。

And if people start to feel nervous about what lies ahead, then they may dial back on things like consumer spending.

如果人們開始對未來感到緊張，那麼他們可能會減少消費支出。

The tariffs are creating uncertainty for those people.

關稅給這些人帶來了不確定性。

They don't know what to do. Businesses aren't hiring more people.

他們不知道該怎麼辦。企業沒有僱傭更多的員工。

They're just waiting to see they have a stable business environment.

他們只是在等待一個穩定的商業環境。

They can't. At the same time, the tariffs are going to create a big sales tax on lower income people who spend more on the basics, which are going to go up.

他們做不到。與此同時，關稅將對低收入人群徵收鉅額銷售稅，因為他們在基本生活方面的支出會增加。

And so that's going to create problems for them, too.

是以，這也會給他們帶來麻煩。

What the historians tell us that every single new generation gets complaints from the older generation about how they're behaving irresponsibly, immorally, blaming millennials for spending too much on avocado toast.

歷史學家告訴我們，每一代新生代都會受到老一代的抱怨，說他們的行為不負責任、不道德，指責千禧一代在鱷梨吐司上花了太多錢。

It's not student loans or a tough job market keeping millennials from buying homes.

阻礙千禧一代買房的不是學生貸款，也不是嚴峻的就業市場。

The one piece of advice for young people out there for spending their money on on avocado toast and don't have any goals, what would you say to them?

對於那些把錢花在牛油果吐司上卻沒有任何目標的年輕人，你有什麼建議？

I would say to them, you know, get as much pleasure out of saving as you do spending.

我想對他們說，你知道，從儲蓄中得到的快樂要和消費一樣多。

This kind of advice is usually framed as a warning against lifestyle grief, which is the idea that as people earn more, they subtly start to spend more.

這種建議通常被視為對生活方式悲痛的警告，即隨著人們收入的增加，他們會巧妙地開始花費更多。

And that's what prevents them from properly saving.

而這正是阻礙他們正確儲蓄的原因。

I think that's why there's so much confusion, because you can point to a millennial who spends $1,200 on DoorDash.

我認為這就是為什麼會有這麼多的困惑，因為你可以指出一個在 DoorDash 上花費 1200 美元的千禧一代。

Not good. But you can also point to a millennial who's very financially conscious, making $80,000 and is drowning in debt and is living with a roommate and is a lawyer at 29 years old.

不好。但你也可以舉出一個千禧一代的例子，他非常注重理財，年薪 8 萬美元，卻負債累累，與室友同住，29 歲就當上了律師。

If someone got straight A's in school, straight A's in college, got a bachelor's, got a master's degree and is 29, making $80,000 and can't even get their own apartment, let alone purchase a house or have financial stability.

如果一個人在學校成績全優，在大學成績全優，拿到學士學位，拿到碩士學位，29 歲了，掙了 8 萬美元，卻連自己的公寓都買不起，更不用說買房或擁有穩定的經濟來源了。

So that's where I think there's something broken in the system.

所以，我認為這個系統有問題。

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為什麼「美國夢」感覺越來越不可能達成？ (Why ‘Making It’ Feels Impossible In The U.S. Now)

struggle

thrive

term

straight