Despite strong economy, many Americans struggle to get by (credit report, borrowing, $50,000)
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You just refuse to recognize that many are simply irresponsible. If the average "struggling" middle class family cuts back on the cable, cell phones, eating out, etc., that alone will result in significant savings. I watched a Frontline episode last night about Dayton, Ohio and they showed these low income families with 3, 4+ kids. Why are people having children when they can barely afford to take care of themselves? And this isn't an indictment on Dayton, this is the case all over the country.
Well, the birth rate is down, way down, for most Americans. So most of them are not doing that.
It's better now than it was in 1900, so we should shut up and lower our standards. There was a brief blip in American history where prosperity was within reach for the masses and which created the middle class, but it was such a short blip it should be considered an anomaly and not something we should strive to reach again....okay, got it.
Yes, glad you got it. You're just deluded if you think life was not a struggle for most people for most of history. That "blip" was the 50's and 60's when Amercica prospered, partly becuase the rest of the world was in ruins. We can reach it again by destroying the rest of the world again.
What has changed is that many people today believe life should be struggle-free.
Yes, glad you got it. You're just deluded if you think life was not a struggle for most people for most of history. That "blip" was the 50's and 60's when Amercica prospered, partly becuase the rest of the world was in ruins. We can reach it again by destroying the rest of the world again.
What has changed is that many people today believe life should be struggle-free.
Yes, life has been a struggle for many people throughout history but do this for me..name another time in the history of the US when a full-time minimum wage wasn't enough money to a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S
I was poor when I was a kid, we lived in a one bedroom house, my brother and I slept in the dining room but we had a place to sleep. Now I'm seeing several families drive up to my grandson's school in motorhomes or RV's to drop their kids off, it's clear that most of those kids are living in those vehicles. I never knew any homeless kids in the 50's or 60's...not one.
Yes, glad you got it. You're just deluded if you think life was not a struggle for most people for most of history. That "blip" was the 50's and 60's when Amercica prospered, partly becuase the rest of the world was in ruins. We can reach it again by destroying the rest of the world again.
What has changed is that many people today believe life should be struggle-free.
he 1960's are on record as the worst time frame in history for any retiree group .
In the years after 1965, the perfect storm of retirement killing conditions took place. Inflation grew rapidly over the following decade, exceeding 10% in several years in the 1970’s and averaging 6% a year from 1965 to 1985. Interest rates rose rapidly, from ~4% in 1965 to ~8% in 1970, up to 15% in 1982, causing bonds prices to plummet. The combo of fast rising high inflation and rising interest rates destroyed bonds.
Stocks also performed horribly. Adjusted for inflation, the stock market didn’t rise above its 1965 value until 1992, 27 years later. Dividends moved sideways over 2 decades
Yes, life has been a struggle for many people throughout history but do this for me..name another time in the history of the US when a full-time minimum wage wasn't enough money to a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S
I was poor when I was a kid, we lived in a one bedroom house, my brother and I slept in the dining room but we had a place to sleep. Now I'm seeing several families drive up to my grandson's school in motorhomes or RV's to drop their kids off, it's clear that most of those kids are living in those vehicles. I never knew any homeless kids in the 50's or 60's...not one.
What a bunch of crap. $15/hr doesn't cut it in Texas? That's $2400/mo and I can guarantee you there are plenty of places where 1BR are around $600-700. They took a "rule of thumb" traditionally used for homebuyers, that housing costs be 30% of income, and applied it to apartment renters.
You are bringing up apartment rates and minimum wages so how about you showing me proof that it ever was using the methodogy.
Btw, to meet your challenge I only need to use your own link, which disproves your claim of "full-time minimum wage wasn't enough money to a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.
"Only five states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — have one-bedrooms affordable for minimum-wage workers across 22 counties." Or maybe you don't consider those 5 states part of the U.S.?
What a bunch of crap. $15/hr doesn't cut it in Texas? That's $2400/mo and I can guarantee you there are plenty of places where 1BR are around $600-700. They took a "rule of thumb" traditionally used for homebuyers, that housing costs be 30% of income, and applied it to apartment renters.
You are bringing up apartment rates and minimum wages so how about you showing me proof that it ever was using the methodogy.
Btw, to meet your challenge I only need to use your own link, which disproves your claim of "full-time minimum wage wasn't enough money to a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.
"Only five states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — have one-bedrooms affordable for minimum-wage workers across 22 counties." Or maybe you don't consider those 5 states part of the U.S.?
So you can afford a 1 bedroom apartment in 22 counties out of 3007 in the US, that's really wonderful news, thanks for pointing it out!
It's not BS,it's a real problem. 1/3 of the kids attending school in East Palo are homeless. https://edsource.org/2017/homeless-bay-area/588094 But it is puzzling that you are so defensive about this, maybe you can explain that?
It's not BS,it's a real problem. 1/3 of the kids attending school in East Palo are homeless. https://edsource.org/2017/homeless-bay-area/588094 But it is puzzling that you are so defensive about this, maybe you can explain that?
I'm not, just amused at how you put forth a challenge to find affordable rent "anywhere in the U.S." when your own link pointed to 5 states.
And you have not shown that it has ever been any less of a problem throughout our history which is pretty much the point of this thread.
And you have not shown that it has ever been any less of a problem throughout our history which is pretty much the point of this thread.
Here you go:
Quote:
"With rents rising in cities and states across the US, many renters struggle with affordability. In Miami, Los Angeles, and Orlando, for example, more than 55% of renters were cost-burdened in 2014, spending more than 30% of their income on rent. Rents have moderated recently in expensive metros like San Francisco and New York, but continue to climb rapidly in Dallas, Seattle, and Denver.
To better understand how rents and affordability have changed over time, Apartment List analyzed Census data from 1960 – 2014. We find that inflation-adjusted rents have risen by 64%, but real household incomes only increased by 18%. The situation was particularly challenging from 2000 – 2010: household incomes actually fell by 7%, while rents rose by 12%. As a result, the share of cost-burdened renters nationwide more than doubled, from 24% in 1960 to 49% in 2014."https://www.apartmentlist.com/renton...th-since-1960/
Yes, glad you got it. You're just deluded if you think life was not a struggle for most people for most of history. That "blip" was the 50's and 60's when Amercica prospered, partly becuase the rest of the world was in ruins. We can reach it again by destroying the rest of the world again.
What has changed is that many people today believe life should be struggle-free.
I don’t think that’s true of most. The exceptions stand out more, but to me that is no more representative of most than the old myth that people on food stamps eat lobster and drive cadillacs. Again, the exceptions are just more noticeable.
Struggle is one thing, but these kids today trying to pay off $150,000 in student loans, older people like me paying more than 3 times my car payment for insurance, these things combined with stagnant wages for many, often means working multiple jobs and scrimping and still not making it. I see it every day. The CNAs at the nursing homes I work in work double shifts all the time. Our rehab aide does it every night, works 7-3 for us then goes onto the floor as a CNA till 11pm. Home and midnight up at 5:30 to do it all over again. And that’s to pay the bills, an unexpected emergency could still easily destroy him. Peoples grasp on the middle class is more tenuous than ever, all it takes is one illness. You just can’t tell me people aren’t willing and able to work hard given the opportunity, because I see it.
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