Many Americans have never experienced a “good economy,” if a good economy is defined as one in which an individual can graduate from high school or college and find a job that pays four times the cost of housing.
At one time that was considered a rule of thumb for personal finance — 25% of an individual’s monthly income was what could prudently be spent on monthly rent or a mortgage payment.
Today that would make anyone laugh, or cry. And what’s worse, a rising number of working-age...