About a third, or 31%, of Generation Z adults are living with their parents, according to a 2024 report by Intuit Credit Karma. While poor finances and student debt are top reasons, rents were among the top concerns. Last year was the least affordable for homebuying in at least 11 years, per Redfin. While people have cited several reasons behind the affordable housing crisis, one TikTok creator, Samuel Smeltzer (@elyon113), has blamed the billionaires.
Here's Why The Billionaire Class Should Not Exist
The popular creator did a viral #stitch with another creator who asked people to explain in "crayon-eating terms" why he wasn't able to afford a home. The creator argued that he was earning three times the minimum wage and was still out of reach.
Smeltzer went into detail about the issue and drew up calculations on the federal minimum wage in the United States. Smeltzer said that for the creator to buy a home, the federal minimum wage needs to be a whopping $52 per hour. Currently, it is about $7.25 per hour.
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Smeltzer went on to explain the math behind his claim. He said when the federal minimum wage was first established, the average cost of a home was about four to six thousand dollars.
The creator then puts the average value of $3,900 in an inflation calculator and the cost of the same home comes out to be about $90,000 in 2023. He then explains that if someone wants to buy a home at federal minimum wage, they need to make a down payment of $18,000 for a loan of 30 years. Further, at a good interest rate of 3.25%, the person would need a little under $14,000 to afford the home. This is right below the annual federal minimum wage.
However, Smelter argues that people have allowed the billionaire class to blow up the housing market because of which the average cost of a home is now over $400,000.
Thus, as per his calculations, people would need to pay over $2,900 per month to afford the same property. He argues that billionaires and hedge funds bought every property that was on the board to play the monopoly game and jack up the prices.
"Billionaires should not financially exist. You pay the price for their yachts. Know your place," Smeltzer says in the video.
Smeltzer explains that to afford a home in the current housing market, people need to make at least $52 per hour and that's what the federal minimum wage should be.
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Viewers largely supported Smeltzer's opinion and rallied support. "Your anger is refreshing. We should all be this angry," one user @leilypei suggested.
Several others shared their despair of not being able to live the simple life that they dreamt of. "I was told growing up “just get to $20 an hour and you’ll be fine” I make $25 an hour and can’t afford a car payment once mine dies," wrote user @sagedegas.
According to a poll of renters conducted by The Guardian, the American dream of owning a home is dead. Thus, Smeltzer suggests that everyone needs to fight for it.
For more such interesting videos, follow Samuel Smeltzer (@elyon113) on TikTok.
This article originally appeared on 7.29.24.
