There are a couple of issues here I think, assuming one accepts the basic claim…

The cause of the present situation and whether this is necessarily a bad thing for our society.

The cause; in part I suspect the IT revolution, which took off for ordinary people from the early 2000’s. A few years ago, I made the flippant observation that mobile phones and some social networks were producing a generation of illiterates. Today I’m no longer sure that’s completely wrong, at least as part reason.

In recent years, I keep hearing the complaint that today’s young adults can’t read an analogue clock and cannot read or write cursive script. That’s true of some 30 year olds I know.

Is this a bad thing? People learn what they need to learn to function. It seems to be a fallacy that illiterate/functionally illiterate people can’t function in our society. That depends on the tasks they need to do domestically and to earn a living. My observation is that these days [and earlier] people were often trained by their employers.

Perhaps the need for universal literacy began with the Industrial revolution and the emergence of a large middle class. Perhaps the hoi poloi were eventually taught a basic level of literacy because their work required them to be able to read at a basic level. Learning to keep time became essential for even unskilled labour.

So, what happens to the functionally illiterate today? In many Western countries, economies have moved away from secondary industry into service industries.

Now I’m aware these ideas are a bit simplistic. It isn’t my intention to prove a point, but only to question the assumption.

Yeah, I’ve lived in Melbourne and loved it. But that was in 1966, I was 18, and the joint was jumpin’.

I was born and spent most of my life in Adelaide. A 14 month overseas posting to Malaysia/Singapore as a conscript 1969-70. Did extensive over seas travel in the 1980’s.

From memory, I think about three Australian cities are rated among the world’s most liveable. But, liveable is not a synonym for “affordable”. Will it change for the better? I really don’t know.

One life observation is that once housing prices have gone up, they don’t tend to go down, although the rate of increase may slow.

Up to last year, I’ve been optimistic about dying before climate change and other catastrophes become personally inconvenient. Today I’m not so sure

“Can’t afford” is a loaded phrase. I think it depends on one’s life gaols. IE A high standard of living or a lower standard of living, but high quality of life.

I just looked it up. In Australia it costs between $300,000 to $450,00 to rear a child to age 18. The assumption is that a couple will both work, producing an AFTER TAX income of about $130,000 PA.

We have been conned. Somewhere along the line we came to believe that a high standard of living equals a high quality of life. Good little consumers buy lots of “stuff”

BUT yes, there is certainly a housing bubble in Australia, making our houses among the most expensive in the world. Today, the median house price in Adelaide is between 900-$1 million.==== I live in a so-called dormitory suburb. Today my modest, 120 square metre house has a council valuation of $700,000.

Today, cheap houses can still be bought. That’s fine, as long as you don’t mind living from 150 km [and more] from the City.

I have no answers. I’m 78 years old. I can’t tell if things are distorted through the lens of advanced age, or things really are as bad as they seem for young adults just starting out in life.