With the economy and wage stagnation, inflation, and dour world outlook, it's increasingly clear that safety nets are only for the wealthy. For years, my immediate family (mom and sibling) have been saving up to get a house that would be our only bit of family wealth and safety net in case something happened to any of us. Just having a place to go and something to inherit in the future is a really big deal. We started adulthood on food stamps without startup money and only car debt to our names; it's taken my whole life to become lower middle class.
With the housing market completely inaccessible, we're not really sure what we can do. Stock market investing is gambling for rich people and not wise when your situation is just as volatile as the economy. Raises aren't happening and job hopping for better pay only goes so far. It feels like there's nothing in the future we can work towards anymore.
At this point picking some remote land to squat on and starting a commune is seeming pretty attractive. Sorry for the doom and gloom, but I'm having a hard time coming to terms with not being able to get a house for my mom in her approaching old age. Give me hope?