This article was born when I was just firing up my excel sheets just plot a rough estimation what really is for 'the average man' capability to buy its own house.
It's always nice to have some self awareness / financial awareness. I sat down and plot and I found something interesting.
It was inspired because my mom kept telling me about the "traction" of my dad's cousin that he is 27 yet he already owns a house and a brand new car. Knowing the current price of house in this economy, I grow some skeptical sense that he bought the house in full payment. Like any or even most families, they agreed to some form of loan payments for a house. In which I'm probably no different, I see myself planning to do this in the future might as well do it now.
I start by estimating a good estimation for indonesians, the important variable here is income and tax, I categorise everything else aside than income and tax as 'disposable cash'.
What I found that for average Indonesians that lives in Jakarta it probably takes 20 to 30 years to buy their own house assuming rate doesn't change drastically.
Continuing from 'American Jesus', there's this funny conversation between me and my German friend:
I come to feel weird when my friend from Germany asked me "It's not hard to work and buy a house in Indonesia right? As per salary and taxes sense." I didn't know what to answer him as my dad is 50 years old and have yet to finish the loan payments for his house, in fact his this month's salary is to pay last month loan payment for the house and it has been that way for so many years now. I simply said to him "Maybe." Assuming that it can be much worse in Germany and with their taxes but I have no idea but I know that my dad is a reputable software engineer that worked in IBM.
I know for sure that taxes in Germany can be very exhilirating. I talked to my Indonesian friend about this in which she thought that Indonesia wage is ludicrous in respect to housing prices and living expenses. In which that is not a point that I'm sharing these facts to her, my point is that "it's the length of multi decades labor that is normal everywhere in the world. It's somewhat the price of admission." I am not potraying it as if it's a bad thing.
I don't hate jobs if its make me happy and fulfilled, I like solving hard problems. Problem only begins is if I'm being put in a job that I don't wish to do.
And 'Job-Satisfaction' is an issue to many people.
Later I reply to my friend that
I just find it interesting that it makes me think ‘is this the cost of civilization?’
Because like you can always opt out from civilization and live in zimbabwe and survive through hunting wild boars and drinking river water
then is it really the cost of ‘well furnished and organized real estate’ and to have a house comfortably, its the price of admission through multi decades of 9-6s
i dont see there’s any other way to see it
Its very interesting because it seems that capitalism went first, then karl marx wrote das kapital and then russia is a proclaimed communist country and it actually has a strong rate of inequality as well
Almost as if, all men is born to become a warrior by first lifting itself to wealth, through bows and arrows and now to multi decades of 9-6s
and through all of it, it seems that ‘We did it to ourselves’
Indonesia poses a great irony because we claim ourselves that we are beyond capitalism and communism, we even killed all communist! We pride pancasila and we come back to what we can call just another capitalist country
Like an inexplicable force of nature
Aristotle once wrote in his book 'Politics':
Men cling to life even at the cost of enduring great misfortune, seeming to find in life a natural sweetness and happiness.
It implies that how people will live despite living under a form of great suffering whether it is under a form of an oppressive government of financial scrutiny, people just TEND to find 'natural sweetness and happiness' in life regardless of society's flaws.