Stock Market update: Everybody panic!

[Politenessman]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Certainly the expenses of day to day living before the late 80's is much less than what we experience today. For example, today's world just requires a cellphone and cable TV. Both of these cost. These are expenses my folks did not have before the late 80's.

At risk of stating the obvious. no it doesn't.
Most of the world has neither.
What has changed for many 1st world people is expectations and an ability to prioritise, they expect to be able to afford a high end mobile phone and TV/broadband and an annual vacation, a 'gap year' at the end of university and all sorts of things that were considered luxuries not that long ago and will take on debt to get it.
Also, in many cases a willingness to go into debt to study subjects that have no likelihood of paying that debt off - I put that down to well meaning fools telling their kids to study "what they love" or "follow their passion" rather than telling them to study what will pay and use that money to fund following their passion/doing what they love in their spare time.