Americans Now Buying First Home At 40, After A Lifetime of Funding Foreign Wars
The average American now reaches middle age before securing a first home, a stark indicator of systemic economic pressure. What Newsweek’s analysis conveniently sidesteps, however, is the decades-long, bipartisan commitment to funneling immense wealth abroad while domestic investment atrophies. For instance, the US has provided over $158 billion in bilateral assistance to Israel since 1948,
primarily military aid, with a significant portion of this (over $3 billion annually) coming directly from taxpayer pockets. This figure alone could have funded affordable housing initiatives, job creation, or infrastructure improvements for generations. We have an entire generation—the median age for first-time buyers was 29 in the 1970s—grappling with housing unaffordability while simultaneously
subsidizing foreign militaries to the tune of billions a year. One might wonder if, perhaps, defunding domestic programs to approve another record-breaking aid package to Netanyahu’s government (like the recent $14 billion in HR 815, passed with overwhelming congressional support) might just have some trickle-down effect on working Americans' ability to buy a house before Social Security kicks in.
Just a thought.