It’s absurd that in this day and age, $31,000 for a FAMILY OF FOUR is how low the supposed poverty line is. And $15,000 for an individual?! These people have no idea how little money that is today.
They know exactly how little money that is. Poor employees are the fuel for the American economy. We work ourselves to death, desperate for the chance to “earn a living” and too tired to fight for an actual fair wage. If people aren’t working too hard, they might get educations, they might find creative outlets, or engage in the civic and political processes. That shit is reserved for the rich, and they like it that way.
15 grand divided by 12 months = 1,250 dollars a month. Average rent is $1,713 nation-wide for an average apartment size of 900 sq. ft. There’s definitely variation and this is a simplification, but it should still be noted only 14 states have an average rent below 1,250/month and only Oklahoma has an average below 1k. I’m sure there are lots of exceptions (rural areas come to mind), but stats say in much of the USA you’ll find a poverty line of 15,000 doesn’t even cover monthly rent for a 20ft x 45ft space, much less food, transportation, etc.
If I made 31k - after taxes, rent, health insurance, and utilities there would be almost nothing left for anything else, including food.
I make just under 70k and am the sole income for a family of 5. It’s just enough to afford the essentials since the cost of groceries has gotten so damn high, and any attempts to save money are thwarted by the disaster of the month - which is usually an unexpected car repair, appliance repair/replacement, medical expenses, etc.
Asset-Limited, income-constrained and employed, fyi
The lower half of Americans (about 170ish million citizens) are sharing about 3% of the nation’s wealth. The general population needs to realize that neither major party has their wellbeing as a priority and stop championing one side or the other as the ones that will “fix the economy for average Americans”. That data clearly shows that exploiting the bulk of US citizens is a bilateral policy and has persisted for decades regardless of who holds majority.
Forbes just released a report that 1 in 3 Americans have maxed out their credit cards trying to deal with inflation.
The empire is collapsing.
Is this how it was to be Roman during the fall?
Probably fewer Goths sacking and pillaging. The modern ones are more artistic and morose as opposed to their violent historical namesakes.
Idk I’ve been sacking goths
People didn’t know shit that wasn’t relayed to them by the village elder. They probably thought God cursed them for having sex or the independent woman (who lives alone in the woods and recently rejected the village elder’s sexual advances towards her children) is a witch and needs to die because they cursed them or some shit back in the day.
While this is true, you should look up the fall of Rome and a lot of the accepted factors. Its scary how close we mirror them today. Our pols are reading from their playbook, they may not even know it.
We all know. Even the shitters that vote republican know. That’s why they voted for “Making America Great Again”.
I thought the group living just above poverty limits were called the working poor. Does United Way think the new “sexy” acronym will get this group more attention?
I’ve always felt pretty bad for these folks. They’re working and struggling. Minimum wage really does need to triple or quadruple.
Society is in love with new clinical terms that help detach emotion for the people using them.
And when people ask for help without using the new terms they can be marked as incorrect more easily and ignored.
Capitalism is working as intended. Support ticket closed.
When being employed still leaves you unable to have a car or rent a place to live, still leaves you eligible for food stamps and state-offered medical care (where applicable): Why even bother to be employed?
