u/PanzerWatts

Figure 1: Percentage of the US population with dementia by age in 1984 vs 2004 based on National Long Term Care Survey data.

The personal incidence of dementia is declining but since the elderly population is rapidly growing the actual numbers of dementia patients is increasing.

"If current trends continue, dementia prevalence is expected to rise by 25% by 2050, driven by a doubling of the older population. Supporting this projection, a previous analysis from researchers in the Netherlands, using data from the Rotterdam Study (Brück et al., 2022), estimated that dementia cases in 2050 would be 30% higher than in 2020. These findings highlight the complex interplay between declining individual risk and an ageing population, reinforcing the need for robust healthcare planning and investment in dementia care and prevention."

https://www.carnallfarrar.com/dementia-trends-a-declining-incidence-but-a-growing-burden/

For retirees, it makes more sense to let a home sit vacant and when they die, it will go to their heirs sans taxes than it does to sell it, take a large capital gains hit and pass that money onto their heirs. The result is homes sitting vacant for years instead of getting added to the market.

"Millions of Americans are holding onto empty homes, fearing the tax hit a sale would bring.

Roughly 7.2 million single-family homes are sitting empty and being kept off the market, according to the real estate investment service Flock Homes, contributing to a nationwide housing shortage. But a closer look at these “zombie homes” shows that for many owners, selling just isn’t worth it.

This is especially true for older homeowners, many of whom have paid off their mortgages. In the 49 most populous U.S. metro areas, the data showed a correlation between the number of vacant single-family homes and the share of owners 65 years old and older.

According to Flock Homes, for many retirees “the tax bill triggered by a sale far exceeds the cost of simply leaving the home empty.” This includes capital gains taxes (paid on the profit from the sale) and depreciation recapture taxes (which sellers of rental properties face). 

In the country’s biggest markets, the total tax liability for sellers 65 and older often adds up to more than $100,000 on a sale, and it can take years before the annual costs of keeping an empty home approach that amount. In the Los Angeles area, for example, the average exit tax for homeowners 65 and older is $185,000, while the annual cost of insurance, maintenance and property taxes on a zombie home is only about $10,000, the data showed.

When owners sell, they pay capital gains tax on the increased value of the home. But if they pass it down, their heirs inherit it on a “stepped-up basis” to the current market value, effectively eliminating the accumulated capital gains. The same applies to depreciation recapture tax, in the case of empty rental properties."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/realestate/zombie-homes-exit-taxes.html

Roughly 1900 to 2016. This is what the world looks like according to the actual data.

From the poster TI1l1I1M (please give him an upvote for the work) below addressing the last 10 years.

Child mortality has improved since 2014: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/under-five-mortality

Life expectancy improved by 2 years: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/data/SPDYNLE00INWLD

GDP per person improved by nearly 20%: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/data/NYGDPPCAPKDWLD

Female secondary enrollment improved despite COVID: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.SEC.ENRR.FE

Drinking water access went up: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.H2O.BASW.ZS

Note: This is adjusted for inflation /cost of living. Including the cost of housing per the CPI-U index. It is also median income so it's not distorted by billionaire income or wealth.

This represents what the typical American household is experiencing over the past decade. Contrary to the doom and gloom you read on social media and if it bleeds it leads mass media, this is actual statistical data.

Obviously not everyone is doing well but it's undeniable that the typical American family has had substantial income gains in the past 10 years.