MEET TIM GURNER.
HE IS A WEALTHY INDIVIDUAL LIVING IN AUSTRALIA, WHO
RECENTLY HAD AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUSTRALIAN VERSION OF
60 MINUTES.
THAT INTERVIEW, HE ADDRESSED MILLENNIAL'S AND THEIR
INABILITY TO AFFORD HOUSING.
AND OF COURSE, I LOVE WHEN YOU HEAR WITH OUT OF TOUCH WEALTHY
PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALTERNATIVE THEORIES ON WHY
MILLENNIAL'S CAN AFFORD TO BUY HOMES.
IS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY: "WHEN I WAS TRYING TO BUY MY FIRST
HOME, I WASN'T BUYING SMASHED AVOCADO FOR $19,
AND FOUR COPIES AT FOUR DOLLARS EACH.
WE'RE AT A POINT NOW WHERE THE EXPEDITIONS OF YOUNGER
PEOPLE ARE VERY, VERY HIGH.
THEY WANT TO EAT OUT EVERY DAY, THEY WANT TO TRAVEL TO
EUROPE EVERY YEAR.
THE PEOPLE THAT OWN HOMES TODAY WORKED VERY, VERY HARD FOR
IT, SAVE EVERY DOLLAR, DID EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO
GET THE PROPERTY INVESTMENT LADDER."
OKAY, FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD BE SHOCKED TO FIND ANYONE WHO GOES
TO STARBUCKS FOUR TIMES A DAY, TO BUY 4 DOLLAR COFFEES.
MAYBE ONCE A DAY, BUT YOU ARE EXAGGERATING.
NOBODY BUYS $19 AVOCADO TOAST, THAT'S CRAZY.
AND EVEN IF SOMEONE DOESN'T BUY THAT KIND OF MONEY ON THAT
KIND OF FOOD, AND THEN STOPS, THEY STILL WOULDN'T BE ABLE
TO SAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY A HOME.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT?
BECAUSE I JUST DID THE MOST EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION INTO
SEVERAL DIFFERENT COUNTRIES THAT ARE HAVING A HOUSING CRISIS
RIGHT NOW, AND YOU CANNOT COMPETE WITH FOREIGN INVESTORS
WHO COME IN WITH ALL CASH OFFERS, DON'T NEED TO TAKE
OUT A MORTGAGE, DON'T NEED TO WORK WITH ESCROW, DON'T
NEED A LENDER.
COME IN, MAKE IT RAIN, AND THEY SNATCH UP ALL THE HOMES.
THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, SO YOU WANT TO TALK TO ME?
SOMEONE LIVING IN LOS ANGELES, EXPERIENCING THIS FIRST-HAND?
NOT BUYING IT, THIS SHOWS HOW INCREDIBLE HE OUT OF TOUCH
THESE PEOPLE ARE.
SO THERE'S TWO PARTS TO THIS, ANA IS SAYING THAT THIS HAPPENS
IN THE BIG CITIES ñ
IT IS HAPPENING IN SMALL CITIES AS WELL, THIS IS NOT JUST A
PROBLEM IN THE U.S., IT IS A PROBLEM IN AUSTRALIA, IN
JAPAN, IN CANADA.
WE ARE SEEING IT ALL OVER THE WORLD.
PART OF THE REASON IS THAT FOLKS IN OTHER COUNTRIES LIKE CHINA
AND RUSSIA AND THE GULF, THEY'VE GOT TO WASH THEIR MONEY, AND SO
THE REASON THEY ARE COMING IN WITH CASH IT IS BECAUSE OF
THE LAWS SET UP IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY ON WHAT THEY CAN
AND CANNOT MOVE THROUGH BANKS.
INSTEAD THEY MOVE IT THROUGH CASH, AND THEY LAY DOWN
PROPERTY, AND IT CANNOT BE TRACED.
ESPECIALLY CHINA, BUT CERTAINLY RUSSIA AS WELL AS OTHER
COUNTRIES.
SO, THAT IS PART OF THE PHENOMENA THAT IS DRIVING
UP PRICES.
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO EAT AT AN ECONOMICAL PRICE
ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD HOUSES IN THE CITIES, THAT
ARE WAY WAY HIGHER THAN WHAT THIS GUY IS TALKING ABOUT.
BUT, I THINK ñ I ACTUALLY THINK THAT EVEN THE BIGGER ISSUE
HERE IS, IS THAT EVERYBODY LIVES IN THEIR OWN BUBBLE.
SO, FOR THE RICH LIKE TIM GURNER, HE ACTUALLY DOES KNOW A
LOT OF MILLENNIAL'S THAT EAT AVOCADO TOAST, BECAUSE THEY ARE
HIS RICH FRIENDS' KIDS.
SO WE LOOK AT THEM AND GOES, THEY ARE ENTITLED, NOT WORKING
HARD ENOUGH, ALL THEY DO IS SPEND MOMMY AND DADDY'S MONEY.
WELL, FOR SOME OF THEM THAT'S TRUE, BUT WHAT YOU DON'T
SEE IS MIDDLE CLASS AND POOR MILLENNIAL'S, WHO DON'T
HAVE MOMMY AND DADDY'S MONEY TO SPEND, WHO AREN'T SPENDING
$20 FOR AVOCADO TOAST, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THAT MONEY,
LET ALONE TO BUY A HOUSE.
HOW MANY TIMES HAS TIM GURNER HUNG OUT WITH A MINIMUM
WAGE WORKER?
HOW MANY TIMES HAS HE WITH GUYS WHO ARE WORKING AT
MCDONALD'S IN THE MIDDLE OF AUSTRALIA?
IF HE MET THOSE GUYS HE WOULD BE SHOCKED.
IF HE WENT ñ IF YOU JUST WATCHED VIDEOS ON TYT POLITICS, WHEN
JORDAN INTERVIEWED THOSE GUYS WORKING AT THE BURGER
CHAIN, AND HE ASKED THEM, WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?
THEY HADN'T BOTHERED TO DREAM OF A BETTER FUTURE, BECAUSE
ALL THEY KNEW WAS MINIMUM-WAGE.
AND YOU THINK THOSE GUYS ARE EATING AVOCADO TOAST?
IT IS RIDICULOUS, BECAUSE IT PLACES ALL OF THE BLAME ON
AN ENTIRE GENERATION.
THEY BECOME THE SCAPEGOATS, AND IT'S A REALLY GREAT WAY OF
DISTRACTING PEOPLE FROM WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON BEHIND THE
SCENES.
UNDERSTAND THAT I AM NOT EXPECTING PEOPLE TO HAND
OUT HOUSES, I AM NOT EXPECTING IT TO BE EASY.
I UNDERSTAND THAT HOMEOWNERSHIP IS DIFFICULT.
IT IS NOT A RIGHT, IT IS A PRIVILEGE, YOU WORK HARD
AND YOU EARN IT, RIGHT?
BUT HERE'S THE THING, EARNING IT HAS BECOME INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT.
IT HAS BECOME IMPOSSIBLE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL OF
THESE THINGS WORKING AGAINST YOU.
AND IT'S NOT JUST ONE FACTOR, IT'S NOT JUST THAT
FOREIGNERS ARE COMING IN, BUT THAT HAS DRIVEN UP THE COST
OF HOMES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW.
ISN'T IT KIND OF INTERESTING HOW WAGES CONTINUE TO BE STAGNANT?
I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON, I'M LIKE, WE
AREN'T EARNING MORE MONEY, THIS IS CURRENTLY A HUGE
ECONOMIC PROBLEM, BUT WHY ARE THE PRICES OF HOMES GOING
UP SO QUICKLY, SO FAST?
AND THEN YOU DO A LITTLE RESEARCH, AND YOU FIND OUT,
YOU CAN'T COMPETE WITH CASH BUYERS.
YOU CAN'T.
SO YOU HAVE COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD RIGHT NOW THAT
ARE TRYING TO PASS SPECIAL TAXES TO DETER FOREIGN INVESTMENT.
AND LOOK, FOREIGN INVESTMENT IS GOOD TO A CERTAIN EXTENT AS
WELL, THEY BUILD UP CERTAIN TOWNS THAT HAVE BEEN
NEGLECTED, OR MAYBE A CITY DOESN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO
DO THAT, SO FOREIGN INVESTMENTS SOMETIMES MAKE SENSE, BUT
IT HAS GOTTEN SO OUT OF CONTROL THAT NOT ONLY DO MILLENNIAL'S
HAVE TO DEAL WITH A SYSTEM THAT IS RIGGED AGAINST THEM, BUT THEY
ALSO HAVE TO DEAL WITH WEALTHY PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
COMING IN AND SNATCHING UP OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL.