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Why Americans are going hungry despite a strong economy
(www.nbcnews.com)
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this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2023
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Do you think everyone is poor? With the right training or college degree a path to moderate wealth is quite open. Trade jobs are especially in high demand and bring in a huge income.
No, I don't think everyone is poor, but I do think that unless you're in the ultra wealthy category, you're having less and less agency over how the government runs things in the US.
Maybe every generation says that because it's been more and more true for each generation. That's how capitalism works, continually cutting out the legs from underneath the working class. That's the entire concept, you continue to squeeze as much as you can to increase profits and one of the easiest places to squeeze is labor costs.
china will start honoring oopyrights and patents before western civilization gives up on it.
Yikes, yeah you're in a fucked up place forever. Get the hell out of there by any means possible.
Gen X and middle class, I'm not rich, but I'm bringing in more income than I am spending, and that only really started in 2016. It took about 15 years of working before I started to break even and another five years before we started being in the green every year. Many want free income, but you must work for it. You are not the first and will not be the last, but you'll eventually break even if you work for it. This isn't what many want to hear, but that is how it is done.
I am also GenX and hate to break it to you, but we may be the last generation who had that reasonable assurance that if you were willing to make changes, go to school, you could get a better job, and if willing to hop jobs often for better pay, could work up some ladder and be well off.
I don't think my kids got the same deal. Like we didn't get pensions but our parents did. We got no guarantees but an environment of opportunities, that has flattened out a lot.
No, Millennials will do better than us.
Hope springs eternal in the hearts of men.
As of 2022, 33.9% of US HOUSEHOLDS made less than $50k/year. The median rent for the same year was $1874/month. That is $22,488/year. That is 44.976% of 50,000. 50,000 was the highest end of the range from 0 to 50,000. That means that ~⅓+ of the country have a very high probability of paying more than 45% of their annual wage in rent alone. Taking the low average from here, that is another $562/month out the window for utilities, or $6,744/year. So shelter and basic utilities for survival has us up to $29,232. For reference, that is 38% of the annual income for $75,000/year, the next line up in that chart. That is another 16%+ of households, which means that more than 50% of the US population is spending 38%+ of their annual income on housing and basic utilities, not even food. And just in case you are curious, that initial <=50k group is paying 58% of their income just to have heat, electricity, and housing to use them in. And to make sure that these numbers were not being biased by rents among income distributions, I was able to find raw data to check my estimates. They were actually low. Of the 45,221,844 households renting as of 2022, 10,492,596 of them make less than $50,000/year AND pay more than 40% of their annual income in rent. That is 47.2% of people making less than 50k/year and accounts for over 23% of all renters in the country.
So, in long, yes, everyone is poor. And to think otherwise is to either buy in to blatant propaganda, functionally not understand statistics but still think you know better than those who do, or be disingenuous representing reality in a bid to mislead the public. Only you can answer which one that is.
That supports what I am saying. 33.9% is about 85,239,000 Americans. There are 40 Million Adult Americans without a High School degree and another 45 million with only a high school degree and no trade skills or college degree. I feel for them, they will be left behind. Stay in school kids.
Except I have a master's degree and don't make 50k and am nearly destitute. Both my undergrad and graduate degree are in demand, I just can't get anyone to give me an interview.
Then you have red flags you need to eliminate. There is a personal reason for your situation.
Yeah dude, all those carpenters and plumbers are driving lambos.
In Colorado, they are driving $100K+ trucks and live in huge houses. Trade jobs pay close to six figures here, with a median salary of $97,860 per year.
You keep saying "trade jobs". Be specific.
You don't know what a trade job is? Carpenter · Carpet installer · Construction worker · Drafter · Framer · Home inspector · Housecleaner · Mason · Mechanical installer.
I work in the trades. That's how I know carpenters don't make a hundred grand a year you fucking idiot. Or plumbers, or drywallers, or housecleaners.
You must be a really bad carpenter or live in a really shitty area. All the carpenters on the West Coast are rich AF.
Yeah dude, I'm sure you know lots of rough trade guys who drive lambos. You sound like a really down to earth, relatable guy lmao.