1y ago

Half of America Makes Less Than 35k

US Authoritarianism @lemmy.world

alphanerd4 @lemmy.world

1y ago

61 comments

Major life experiences have been stolen from a large % of the population, all to make a handful of people richer. It's tragic.
- On the bright-ish side, there’s an even more tragic fate waiting for those handful of people in the coming years…
  
  We'd only have to eat one billionaire and the rest would fall in line
  
  Which is?
  
  What does this mean?
  
  Still an optimist I see
If we team up we could afford a fleet of bulldozers. Just sayin.
- Bruh there is enough of us we could topple buildings without bulldozers. We just can’t agree on anything in a meaningful way.
  
  But ... Killdozers :(
Half of America makes more than that now. Though not by much.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/05/17/half-americans-make-less-35000/
- It's tough because the snopes article moves between individual and household income amounts--which are two very different things. Kinda wish articles were written more clearly, and provided contextual data regarding how many households have multiple earners.
  
  Yes. If you add up mine and all five of my roommates in our one bedroom apartment we make more than 35k lol
  
  This has been driving me crazy. I try to compare the median income in the twin cities and it always provides the median household income. Why is it so difficult to find indivual median income for regions.
- The latest (2022) “median net compensation” from SSA is $40,847.18
  https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/central.html
- If half is making less, the other half is obviously making more.
  
  The article found the numbers the OP image was based on.
  For 2019, according to the SSA, the median net compensation for American workers was indeed less than $35,000 — it was $34,248.45, to be precise
  The $35k was rounded. Less than half make more.
  
  Come on, it can't be half and half. Won't somebody think about the poor bastards making EXACTLY 35k?
- Ah there's the evidence
Ugh, I'm sick and tired of these whiny employees not thinking about the real hardworking heroes of America. Shareholders.
My first job out of college paid $28k/year. Of course that was in the mid 80s. Almost 40 years later, half the country is making less than $7k more than that.
- My first teaching job out of college paid $32K/yr and that was in one of the best states for teacher salaries in the country, and this was in 2015
Because there's not enough unions
But we already know the answer to that question.
- Ronald Reagan?
  
  In a more perfect world, people would demand union representation, and flee from "right to work" (anti-union) states.
  Unfortunately the billionaires have used millions to convince the thousandaires that the hundredaires are the real threat.
Have you tried voting
I know a few people in the 100k range. Only a couple have kids. I think that is more than that. It's never stopped people in the past. I think a combination of education and poverty may be part of this.
- I mean, even if you're financially well off, your income isn't going to make you blind to things like climate collapse or the prevalence of right wing neonazis.
  There are a lot more factors than just money that make this planet not a suitable place to raise children.
  
  Sure, but we know about that because we tend to be more educated. My point was that money alone isn't the only reason we aren't having more kids. Thank you for agreeing with me. The way I put it could have used more examples.
- This guy is shitty, but I don't disagree with the lazy comment. Alot of problems can be solved by not being lazy.
- Illegal immigrants deserve more then 35k. Those people are getting away from the worst places imaginable with nothing to their names
Is it not more suited for firstworldproblems? 35k a year is what most people in the world can't dream about. World median is less than 3.5k
- While you're completely correct, the cost of living in America is also much higher than than the world median.
  What we really should be looking at is the ratio of pay : cost of living but raw salary is just easier for the masses to see and be mad about.
  As an example, 3.5k USD is about my monthly bills.
  
  3.5k USD monthly is a lot. If I might ask where does this amount come from? I looked at rent prices a bit and they are not really much higher from where I live right now while the average salary is more than 4 times lower here.
- Flaunt that privilege! Yeah people who make 3.5k a year don't have to pay 1-2k a month in rent. But you took that into account right?
  
  Technically, our standard of living is much much lower. A lot of us don't have water heating, so we just shower (or dunk, if you use a pail, because some of us can't afford showers) with cold water, unless you want to spend precious time and fuel to boil it. I see Americans who glorify cold showers, saying that it develops you as a person. Heating and cooling is a no-brainer for Americans, but many of us are still hesitant to use air conditioning even at 30°C. In my country, we still have regular service (water and electricity) interruptions, even in the cities. Yes, rent can be lower outside of major cities, but development is centralised there, so you'd rather move to those cities anyway. I would hear of families having to seek treatment in a more developed city, because their city doesn't have resources.
  
  Quit the privilege. Just have to look south like in Palestine right now.
- I bet you complain about the American economy every 15 minutes.
  
  Why would you bet that? I just think that what you see as a dystopia is what most of the world can't even dream about. Does not mean that what you are experiencing is great, but from the outside of the "rich bubble" it does look as a funny complaint. Now that is the dystopia for you.

61 comments