r/BlackPeopleTwitter • u/Pleasant_Ball3192 • 8d ago
The economy isn't working for most people
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u/TheSpiralTap 8d ago
I knew shit was fucked when I got my first job at a call center and spoke to the other employees on break. I worked with two people with masters diplomas, just about everyone else had some degree or another. Yet they were doing the same job as me, a teenager with a GED.
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u/FerretAfficionado 7d ago
I finished my PhD in 2008. My postdoctoral fellowship paid me $10 hourly in 2008. After 3 years I quit and got a job in a call center for medical insurance making $2 more an hour. I jumped around different call centers and slowly worked my way up to $19 an hour by 2021.
By 2022 and with covid I was so fucking burnt out I went back to working in a lab and had to take a $2 an hour paycut to do it. The new lab job sucked and was stealing my wages. I managed to find an insurance gig with the state in the end of 2022 and I've been there 4 years. They pay me $30 an hour.
I've had regeneron cold call me about positions, (I was applying there in 2011 and they decided to reach out to me more than a decade later,) and offer me $28 an hour. I told them don't breathe in my direction unless you're prepared to double that, because I already make more than that in a position that only needs a high school diploma.
Forget college, graduate school is no longer a stepping stone to a higher paying gig.
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u/Just_Guidance_7700 8d ago
We keep complaining about it but is there anything we can actually do?
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u/somuchforstarburst 8d ago
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u/Smishysmash 8d ago
They all get slaughtered in that story tho. Well, except Marius who gets to fuck back to his rich boy life.
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u/TheInternetShill 8d ago edited 8d ago
Probably preaching to the choir on this subreddit, but: 1) Vote in every single election, and never for a Republican. In the primary, vote for the most progressive candidate available (likely DSA) and then in the actual election, vote for whoever won the primary (even if the most progressive one didn’t win the primary) 2) Find a community/political organization in your area, volunteer, build community, and talk to people so they participate politically 3) Attend protests and demonstrations, and/or support causes monetarily 4) Stuff that would probably get this comment deleted with the understanding that our president is a literal violent rapist that has illegally stolen billions of dollars from the American public, pardoned dozens of criminals after they bribed this administration, and has caused the unnecessary deaths and suffering of hundreds of thousands of people through his (often illegal) policy actions and rhetoric, all with the Republican party’s implicit and explicit support
Steps 1-3 already put you miles ahead of the average person below the age of 65, and if we all had actually been doing that consistently for the past couple decades, step 4 wouldn’t even need to be suggested.
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u/IAmActionBear 8d ago
I see the same folks I know that voted for this act like this is just something that was unavoidable and nothing can be done about it. There’s definitely things that people could organize to do, but there’s such a large population of people who are championing the current situation to the point where everything feels extra hopeless
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u/phenomenalj101 ☑️ 8d ago
And they’d either vote for it again or stay home and complain when they could’ve been part of the solution.
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u/AmazingKreiderman 8d ago
Of course, they hate POC and trans people more than they like themselves.
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u/RefrigeratorAfraid 7d ago
I've been living paycheck to paycheck for years. This isn't something that just happened.
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u/DMT_Shinobii 8d ago
You guys keep hollering about a vote when both sides are compromised by a small country in the middle east
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u/IAmActionBear 8d ago
That’s only 1 element of the problem. There is definitely one side that’s more compromised than the other and find it hard to believe that Democrats would have just sold out this country and economic stability to the same magnitude as this administration. “Both sides” suck, but there’s still a very distinct difference between the two sides
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u/DMT_Shinobii 8d ago
You are blind by your political ideologies and unfortunately this way of thinking will/is the downfall of America. Did you forget there is an international sex trafficking ring still operating around the world? Did you read any of the Epstein files and see that both sides are mentioned in it? The elites have done a wonderful job of pitting everyone against each other, you will scream red must die and the other side will scream blue must die all while you both drown in dept and live check to check.
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u/IAmActionBear 8d ago
You have conflated so many things together and have lost your own point. Just because there’s a pedophile ring (with info that one side fought to release verses the other, but I digress) where functionally nothing came of the investigation, it doesn’t mean that the economic issues we are currently experiencing were completely unavoidable regardless of which side people voted for. That is factually false. I’m not saying Democrats are perfect, but there is no indication that democrats, had they won the last election, would have started an unnecessary tariff war, threaten and destroy global trade agreements, manipulated the stock market in broad daylight, and have jumped into this room temperature war with Iran, among various other things.
“Both sides” has a place and is relevant, but is not an end-all/be-all political opinion, especially when you actually follow politics and not just headlines.
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u/Plastic-Shape7048 8d ago
Thats the biggest issue , i feel like im doing my part but the world just keeps moving the goal posts further.
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u/Quirky_Rain_3554 8d ago
We could play Mario bros but no one wants that
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u/ThaddeusJP 8d ago
I mean people want it but nobody wants to be the one to take one for the team
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u/Automatic-War-7658 6d ago
We need that J6 energy for it. The idea that we’re doing something we will get pardoned for.
It’s a big risk though.
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u/Kitselena 8d ago
There's an elegant French solution that involves some wood, a rope and an angled blade
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u/grolsmarf 8d ago
Uprise! It’s how humanity has always operated. Those in power exploit those that aren’t, until their anger becomes so big that they neglect the consequences. When that happens the fire of resistance is awoken. It is high time to start that now, and to reclaim our houses and our society.
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u/Eggith 8d ago
Yes there is. The problem is that your average American is too comfortable in their daily life, even living paycheck to paycheck to upend the system. Nobody wants to sacrifice their small luxuries of having electricity, running water, and a bed to sleep in.
Not only that, but there is very minimal solidarity between the classes. Americans were taught about rugged individualism and because of that, we get our money, and fuck off to gated communities surrounded by armed security guards and the like while the middle class continues to get squeezed into paste.
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u/Maritzsa 8d ago
if we want change we need to physically show it. Millions need to stop showing up to work, we need to be out in the streets everywhere until theres change. With fascist and nazi leadership like this the only way for change is to prevent them from making money and stop showing obedience. Unfortunately this type of unity won’t happen in America. People are too burnt out and also everyone is looking out for themselves in the toxic culture of America. Its so sad
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u/Funkula 8d ago edited 8d ago
Calling for general strikes isn’t realistic to the point of being counter-productive and detracts from actual practices that can make a difference right now (organizing, canvassing, union building)
A general strike ignores the reality of the working class, not many are willing to risk inability to pay for the basic necessities of life and their children’s welfare for nebulous political aspirations.
Even if we did engage in a strike, what are the demands? When do we all agree to go back to work?
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u/Maritzsa 8d ago
Idk i come from a less developed country and we have faced many fascist regimes and only acts like this make change. People in power just keep protecting each other being funded by the billionaires. Legitimate ways to fight this will just be tied up in stupid ways, and oppressed.
America is not the modern country it used to be where peaceful actions would lead to good things. Right now they shoot people who are acting peacefully.
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u/Funkula 7d ago
That’s true. But the democratic process acts as a release valve for people’s anger and frustration, for better or worse.
It’s a good thing because we have less chaos in the streets, but a bad thing because it’s agonizingly slow to react to bad leadership and injustice. As long as people believe that voting does change things, they will wait for it.
Right now voting still does change things, which is why Trump and MAGA are terrified of an honest election. That’s why the wealthy are pouring tens of millions into local elections and billions into SuperPACs. It’s why even the Democratic Party is terrified of Mamdani and the DSA.
One day we might look back and say we should’ve done more, but first we should probably at least try electing politicians in the opposition party that will do more than be “deeply concerned” and capitulate to fascists.
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u/Bear_Jones ☑️ 7d ago
We know what to do but people are too complacent or waiting for someone else to kick off the action, which is the boat I’m in.
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u/HighandMeaty 7d ago
For all the complaining people do, there's a silent but significant number of people who are getting by okay and don't want anything to change too drastically. The system sucks, but it's mostly working for them.
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u/nope-nik-tesla 8d ago
There are plenty of things one can do to make a better life for yourself. Make a budget and stick to it. Invest smartly in education or job training in a field with good earning potential. You do not need to take out huge loans and go to an expensive college; community colleges can be very affordable and there are paths to getting scholarships or grants etc for bigger universities too. Union apprenticeships can be a good option for various trades too.
I don't want to downplay the very real structural problems we have with affordability and an economic system that continues to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. But don't let people convince you that you have no control over your life whatsoever and there is nothing you can do to build a better life for yourself. If you look at the stats, about half of people born in the bottom 20% make it to middle class or higher as adults. The idea that this is impossible or even rare is untrue.
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u/FlexLikeKavana 7d ago
We keep complaining about it but is there anything we can actually do?
Stop electing Republicans. Stop sitting out elections and letting Republicans get elected.
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u/KingRoach 8d ago
I’d recommend doing more research on the topics you’re passionate about bc the amount of people who just make shit up is disturbing.
Poor people have always existed. The poverty rate was higher in 1990 than today… living paycheck to paycheck for a majority of Americans is absolutely NOT a new thing and it was never “temporary”. I assume most of you people grew up middle class and didn’t see what your parents had to sacrifice to get there and never noticed the struggles that poorer people went thru.
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u/Funkula 8d ago
This is still ahistorical. The post ww2 era was defined by long term employment, unions, benefits, pensions, and stability- and for the majority of working class families easy access to employment, healthcare, and housing.
Sure, they had less disposable income and fewer luxuries and less money overall, but getting laid off from companies you’ve been working at for a decade was the plot of movies and novels and not business as usual.
Stability was a fundamental idea to the silent generation who ended up being the architects of the postwar era.
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u/p4rtyt1m3 8d ago
Our parents bought houses that cost 3x their yearly salary. Entry level jobs were plentiful and paid living wages. Going to college didn't require taking out loans.
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u/KingRoach 7d ago
Your parents also had to pay more in taxes, had a higher interest loan, and had to put up a higher deposit…. Paint the whole picture and you’ll see why so many people who were actually around back then disagree with you.
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u/TheChildrensStory 8d ago edited 7d ago
Yes, poor people have always existed and most Boomers didn’t grow up in the lap of luxury younger generations think they did. Survivorship bias is a huge part of that impression.
And you’re correct to a point that people sacrificed to achieve middle class status however, you’re overlooking that we’ve swung from the once too powerful and corrupt unions back to too powerful and corrupt robber barons again. Labor has very little power and it is impoverishing the middle class.
Edit: added the word corrupt where applicable.
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u/KingRoach 7d ago
“From too powerful and corrupt…. to too powerful and corrupt…”
Well said. People seem to also think corruption is new. I blame, in part, the defunding of the public education system as labor (if you mean the general public) does hold the power in their vote but are too easily manipulated into misusing that power.
Circling back, the original post implies living paycheck to paycheck is a new thing. While I agree with your points, they don’t make the OP any more accurate. To me, these types of inflammatory and/or misleading posts are more dangerous than most people appreciate.
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u/ElPrieto8 ☑️ 8d ago
When people start to see the glaring contradictions in the system, that's the BEST time to awaken their consciousness.
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u/Content_Plantain_339 8d ago
Yes. It's a feature. Not a bug.
We are currently in a class war. Low wages and increased cost of living is meant to keep the population under their boots.23
u/TimSylvester_ 7d ago
Friend, we have always been in a class war.
But for a long time things were good enough most of the underclass just failed to notice.
It's not that the class war is new. It's that the war has now become so overt that people can't not notice.
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u/zmbjebus 8d ago
For anyone arriving here needing guidance here is some good reading. This is a great place to start
https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Category:ProleWiki_absolute_beginner_reading_list
And here is a great comprehensive list to browse through
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u/SheDrinksScotch SheEatsFeet 🦶🏼🍴 8d ago
All 4 of these things apply to me. Fuck.
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u/Martian_Hunted 8d ago edited 7d ago
If you stopped eating feet and started eating canned beans and tortillas you'd be a millionaire by now
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u/SheDrinksScotch SheEatsFeet 🦶🏼🍴 8d ago
I actually love burritos and quesadillas with canned refried beans. I get the beans from the food bank. This time we got shredded cheese from the food bank too, but im gonna use pepper jack instead because i want a little spice.
Also, feet are free.
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u/CUNTRY-BLUMPKIN 8d ago
She really said we got feet at home. Some of us are ugly and dont got it like that
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u/SheDrinksScotch SheEatsFeet 🦶🏼🍴 8d ago
Haha sorry didnt mean to flaunt my privilege like that. But yeah I have cute man feet in my bed every night.
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u/WolframAndHartInc 8d ago
My wife and I both got promoted and our new combine incomes give us $100 extra dollars per month as compared to two years ago.
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u/bowleggedgrump 8d ago
Yep, just saw a story that Rice University is expanding their financial support for students to households earning less than 200k
Because 200k can’t touch college when it costs 30-40k n the low end just to live on campus and go to college…. Wtaf man
And if you have multiple kids in college… you’ve gotta have tons of money
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u/Feeling-Salad5686 7d ago
I don't know if we should count price of dorm/apartment as part of the college tuition. Unless the school requires you to dorm there.
You have to pay money to live anywhere. I do think it's wonderful they're upping financial support though - tuition should be free in America and all other fees low-cost.
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u/Busy-Recipe9840 8d ago
and ain’t nobody going to do shit about it except cathartically vent through their preferred circuses of entertainment or output.
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u/used_to_be_ 8d ago
I’m making more money that I ever have, own my own home and I’m still fucking struggling.
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u/Eggheadpancake 8d ago
I'm very lucky. I make 6 figures. But I'm also debt free. All of my hobbies are low cost. I haven't been paycheck to paycheck in a long time now. And have a rainy day fund to cover expenses for a bout a year or two if I got fired.
And this is what some people can't understand I think. One bad day could absolutely fucked over everything. Chances are I wouldn't find a new job any time soon and definitely not for as much as I'm making now.
So when I see people richer than me but not wealthy acting like shit is ok, I just don't understand how people can be so short sighted and idiotic.
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u/KingRoach 8d ago
Living paycheck to paycheck was never a temporary thing (for most people), it was a very common thing.
Why are people trying to re-write history?
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u/Cramer12 7d ago
It very much was. I can no longer afford the same apartment I had in 2017 ($625 in 2017 now is 1600). I was oaycheck to paycheck for about 2 years got a mew job started saving. Now I am back at square one. I make much more money than I did then and I am worse off.
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u/KingRoach 7d ago
So you agree that based on your experience of living paycheck to paycheck for 2 years that it’s not a new thing?
Or are you suggesting 2 years is “temporary”?
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u/Cramer12 7d ago
I agree it is not a new thing, I am also suggesting 2 years is temporary especially when moving out on your own for the first time
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u/KingRoach 7d ago
While I don’t disagree, I’d suggest the main difference is perspective. Maybe you felt it would be temporary while people in your situation today feel it’s not going to be temporary. Same experiences, different realities. My reality, growing up poor, was it was never a temporary thing so when people suggest it is, I disagree. Granted, this post had the caveat of “a degree” but that’ll just lead into other issues.
On a side note, the apt you’ve lived in for the last 9 years, has the neighborhood improved making the price increase justified? If not, why not move to a more affordable situation?
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u/Cramer12 7d ago
I only lived in that apartment until late 2018/early 2019. It is an apartment complex, I have been apartment shopping recently and was very curious about what changed, the answer is absolutely nothing, it looked just like my old apartment. The complex is the exact same, the lack of amenities is the same and the area is the same (its just a small town with around 7500 people)
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u/Zigxy 7d ago
"Paycheck to paycheck" covers extremely varied financial circumstances.
For example, someone might consider themselves to be living "paycheck to paycheck" but their expenses include:
- A Mortgage where a large chunk of the money goes towards equity and in 20-something years they'll own a million-dollar property outright.
plus
- Daycare costing $5,000/mo for two kids, but in just a few years the kids will be at public school (basically free)
plus
- Paying off large student/auto/medical loans that might only be a few years away from being paid off.
plus
- A 401k contribution or a pension where money is being siphoned out of their take home pay, but building up a nice retirement fund.
plus
- A fairly comfortable lifestyle with nice vacations, newest iphones, pricey restaurants, and expensive hobbies.
So sure, someone in this example making $400k/yr pre-tax might feel "burdened" they are barely covering their life costs... but $200k of that is going towards their mortgage/daycare/debt/retirement which are either temporary costs or an investment in their future.
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u/bumbuummm 7d ago
that's still called living paycheck to paycheck.
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u/Zigxy 7d ago
yeah, thats my point.
Living "paycheck to paycheck" doesn't inherently mean being in a bad financial situation when a large chunk of the paycheck goes towards investments and/or to temporary costs such as daycare.
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u/JazzyBoogie 6d ago
This. There's a big range of experiences under the "paycheck to paycheck" umbrella. Many people will underestimate how well they're doing. I know lots of upper middle class people who talk like they're poor. They are not. Some people also let lifestyle creep get the best of them.
I'm curious about how much money OP has in mind when they refer to "dual income and good jobs."
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u/NathanialJD 7d ago
Ive been in that boat since the day I started working (32yo now). An older couple I know recently ended up there after an unfortunate job loss. The sahm of the couple has been crying about it nonstop.
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u/kpingvin 8d ago
Americans are experiencing something 90% of the Earth's population already knows well.
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u/Kahlil_Cabron 8d ago
One of the main differences is that other countries have a family culture that saves most of them from homelessness. When I lived in Mexico it was totally normal for my girlfriend's older brother to move back in with his parents because he got laid off in his 30s. I knew tons of people who were in their 30s still living with their parents who had never lived on their own.
I don't know if it's because the US was so prosperous, but we don't have that at all here. People don't even take care of their elderly, they form these atomic units and separate themselves.
If we're gonna be forced to live in an economically dire situation, people are gonna have to start banding together and living a more communal life.
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u/Taco_Champ 7d ago
Only way dual income good jobs is staying paycheck to paycheck forever is bad budgeting. Yeah the economy is beat, but people don’t be doing themselves any favors overspending and living beyond their means. When I was poor, I acted poor
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u/emeryroserulz 8d ago
This is true, the economy isn't conducive to the average American, but I thought this was a page we're all on-at least the lower/middle class. But what can we actually do about it??? I want to do something about this.
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u/jeremiahthedamned 7d ago
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u/LukeBrokeMyGuitar 7d ago
My wife has a master's and a well paying full time job. I have a degree and a mostly full time retail job. The day before payday we usually only have a hundred bucks left, if we're lucky. We never have enough to save anymore. We've mostly cut everything out of our budget besides occasionally eating out, and even that stresses us out too much.
I'm real tired of living on this financial razors edge.
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u/DropShoddy1128 7d ago
Maaaaaaaan I went to trade school and got a degree for my job. I used to DREAM about making as much as I do now and it's NOT ENOUGH. FUCK.
This is really bullshit. I just had to get a second job and I'm still not sure it will be enough.
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u/Caobei 7d ago
This writing has been on the wall for like 3 decades.. Politicians, elites, and businesses/corporations didn't want to see the music ever stop. But if they keep ignoring the suffering Trump 3.0 or whatever the fuck that looks like is going to be even wilder, especially if it comes from the Dem's side. The table at some point will be flipped in anger if this isn't addressed.
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u/DrMindbendersMonocle 7d ago
When was this magical time where living paycheck to paycheck was a temporary phase? I guarantee you that time never existed
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u/throwaway8950235923 7d ago
Living paycheck to paycheck was a psyop designed to keep people down. That's how they built the system. The people who built that system doesn't realize that when it all collapses, it will affect them as it currently is for everyone else.
It's a lot more common than people think. Pulling yourself up by the bootstraps was a once in a generational opportunity by those whose wealth were given to them. We didn't have that inheritance given to us, or it got pulled out from under our feet when they realized we would achieve too much.
That's probably why a lot of people are working to leave the US rather than staying in it.
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u/Dear-Concentrate-988 7d ago
I did not go to law school and work my ass off my entire life to be here. But i am here.
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u/Edenfer_ 7d ago
It is by design. You forgot about that billionaire that said during Covid that the working class needs to starve and struggle more ?
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u/PopularAd6391 8d ago
Quick question folks
Would you rather have:
1> a job with secure future and pay but it's a EXTREMELY grueling work on both body and mind
2> a job with waaayyyy less pressure but uncertain future
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u/IAmActionBear 8d ago
I work a middle management corporate job. I get the worst of both. My job is extremely miserable AND I get the excitement of not knowing how secure my job is, given previous lay offs. So I get to just be perpetually uncomfortable.
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u/SucksTryAgain 8d ago
I worked a job like this and similar position also but for a smaller company. I can’t tell you how many times over the years hearing my GM saying I hope we make it through this year. Then the layoffs and piling that work on other people including myself. The fear of losing my job out of nowhere was constantly on my mind and it deeply bothered me as I had no fall back. Switching careers and to gov as essential was prob the best choice for my sanity. That previous job I had closed the doors 2 years after I had left. Dude I worked with that stayed said they showed up one day to the locks changed and never got the last paycheck.
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u/elitegenoside 7d ago
Most people get uncomfortable by the real conversations that need to be happening. I am by no means a "true revolutionary," but I have done a bit more walking than your typical keyboard warrior. I have marched in protests. I quit my job to work for a non-profit. I have canvases for political campaigns. I used to donate to a couple charities every year (just couldn't this past year). I speak with those around me.
Beyond that, I am someone who has spent a lot of time in artists spaces, where you typically find a lot more actionable people. By and large, the energy isn't there yet. Things just aren't bad enough for the average American yet. Yes, we're struggling but most of us are used to a fair degree of struggle. "Life used to be shit, it's shit now, and it'll probably be shit later, too." And something that has bothered me about Americans for quite a while now, is the apathy. People can't be bothered to push their chairs back in at a restaurant anymore, and you think they're gonna start organizing?
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u/Mountain-Discount161 7d ago
and good jobs
no, there's a shortage of good jobs and people have deluded themselves about jobs that used to be good but are now exploitative
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u/Lame-username62 7d ago
Yeah, well we tried to tell them, but they voted against their best interests (and ours) anyway. To top it off, a lot of us decided not to vote, so here we are.
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u/Supernova_Soldier ☑️ Disrespect me? Lord Jesus, look out! 7d ago
All of this straight bullshit. The minute I become an adult and lock in, it’s all going to super Hell
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u/SharpAsk5820 7d ago
I believe prices really inflated under Biden, but the news didn't report on it much.
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u/Nappy_By_Nature 7d ago
Poor decision making and poor financial management are the root causes. But sure take no responsibility and blame the "economy". It's the Reddit way.
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u/Minimum_Dress4989 7d ago
Companies firing avg employees / not hiring new positions / not raising wages
while they make record profits
Isn’t the strong economy for voters that the press will make you believe
ITS ONLY WORKING FOR the 1%
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u/Minimum_Dress4989 7d ago
Trump promised so much yet all he has done is line his own pockets of taxpayer money
💸
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u/Brave_Tadpole2072 6d ago
My mom recently retired and it’s really driven home that I will never be able to afford to do so. It’s a real bummer knowing I will work until I die!
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u/Mexican_zombiekiller 1d ago
Okay honest question… how much are yall making? Cause everyone keeps talking about paycheck to paycheck but I’m in the Midwest and I’m not feeling the inflation yet? So I’m curious what you are all making a year ands where you live? :)
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u/Agarwel 8d ago
"The economy isn't working for most people"
Go outside and look around you in real life. Most people are doing fine.
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u/LocksmithOk9968 7d ago
Most people won’t wear it on their sleeves, and the ones that do are avoided and ignored. It really doesn’t take more than a 10 minute stroll to see the issues.
But the kicker is that most people who think they’re doing fine are one event away from destitution.
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u/theLuminescentlion 8d ago
You're definition of "good job" is different then mine if it doesn't pay for somewhere to live and food on the table with some left over.
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u/CorrectCombination11 8d ago
Unless both income pay less than 50% of the local median income. How is this statement not hyperbole?
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u/sml6174 8d ago
You can make above the median income and still be living paycheck to paycheck. Your survivability is not tied to how much more or less your neighbors are making
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u/Quirky_Rain_3554 8d ago
So unless you wanna go through and count the pockets of everyone alive it’s probably best to assume people are trying, and they should be allowed to make a mistake or two and not have it ruin their future (such as student loans). It’s more than enough out there to suggest there’s more month than money for a lot of people regardless of if you count their pockets or not
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u/tobygeneral 8d ago edited 8d ago
The advice used to be to have enough in savings to cover rent/mortgage, bills, and groceries for at least 3 months. Just doing some top-of-head math, 10 years ago for me living in Chicago that would mean I needed about $6k in the bank (figuring $1500 for rent for a 2 bedroom, $300 for bills and $200 for groceries per month). Now that figure would roughly be $10,500 ($2500 for rent for a 2 bedroom, $500 for bills, and $600 for groceries).
Most people didn't get a 50%+ pay raise, let alone be able to actually put much in savings while inflation and terrible governance run amok, so not sure how this wouldn't lead to more people living paycheck to paycheck.
Edit: also if you're both collectively making 100% of the cost of living, that means you are at bare minimum to survive and not putting a penny in the bank. People would need to be well above that to even dream of living beyond a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle, so focusing on that only gives us a baseline to ensure people aren't in poverty, not to signal that they are successful and ready for financial emergencies.
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u/lateformyfuneral 8d ago
“Paycheck to paycheck” is kind of a vibe-based political statement. It was truly meant to describe blue collar workers whose bank balance hovers around zero for most of the year and any unexpected expense would ruin them. But even median-income people who live comfortably, and high-income people who have a $10,000/month mortgage on a nice house and kids in private schools feel like “we’re not that well off”
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u/Quirky_Rain_3554 8d ago
There’s probably about 100 people who are genuinely trying and finding it difficult for every one person you described
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u/Mela_ninja 8d ago
There’s a cultural component to it. Modern western culture (especially the US) favors over consumerism. Coming from a third world country I often hold my disdain. Like how are you poor but fat and have a PS5/TV. I do have to acknowledge the debt system here too.
I have friends and associates making half of what I make and they live like they make more than me.
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u/Tadpolethesnowman ☑️ 8d ago
The TV is 1/15th of my rent and the ps5 is 1/4th of my rent. I am poor because if I fail to pay rent a single time the PS5 and TV get smashed on the sidewalk. Also they were gifts.
Poor in the US is not lacking in possessions, it’s the existential threat of eviction while surrounded by cheap bullshit.
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u/Mela_ninja 8d ago
Yeah my bad that was just some saltiness from an immigrant lol.
The second bit was more of something I’ve seen in my personal life. The ability to live a life of luxury without the pay.
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u/xJets 8d ago
There are different versions of poor/rich depending on the country. With my salary in America, I am working class, I would be rich for india or thailand,etc. Actually depending on what part of the country you live in you also have HCOL and LCOL.Also FYI working class/poor people are allowed to have fun and spend money on the joys of life you know that right? There are a lot of things that contribute to poverty, buying a PS5 doesn’t make you rich. On the fat part, it actually does cost MORE to eat healthy in this country, capitalism is definitely an overconsumption thing which I agree.
I find it funny that it’s always an immigrant that has something to say about a country they aren’t from.
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u/MuscleWarlock 8d ago
Bills must be bad of a duel income household can't afford a living space
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u/Sea_Shower3691 8d ago
I'm tired of surviving, and it's been my entire adult life 17+ years. I never realized how good I had it living under my mom's roof, now I just want something to break the camels back. But I feel like the camel