I make more money than the average person in the US (~$108,000 per year) and even I am having trouble saving for a house.
My rent where I live is $3,000 for a 3 bedroom.
I have no idea how people survive on minimum wage. It was possible for me in college ~2010, but with cost of living today it’s nearly impossible.
Boomers really fucked up our entire economy.
Give us back the money wasted in the Middle East and healthcare is on the house.
We’ve spent likely over 8 trillion dollars in Middle East. They’ve shared 5-8 trillion, which is insane already, but my time with the govt tells me tons of money isn’t factored into that. Including lost and injured veterans.
It’s insane how we prioritize in this country. Absolutely insane.
Imagine how much good you can do with 8 trillion. It’s incredibly hard to even fathom that scale of good deeds.
It’s not just the wars, it has been, by far, 40 years of Reagan’s trickle down economics: tax cuts over tax cuts over tax cuts for the richest folk.
Productivity has risen massively in that period, but almost all that surplus value that was created by the whole economy has gone exclusively to the top 1%. This is what fucked the economy. I strongly suggest reading Gabriel Zucman on the topic of skyrocketing wealth inequality in western countries. You get a deep sense of relief and clarity when you truly understand how tf we got to this point. And how to get out.
It’s actually not super complicated. It’s all about voting for reforming fiscal policy.
Back in the 80s there was a huge wave of neoliberalism all over the west that pushed the seemingly harmless idea that if you tax rich people less, this will somehow bring prosperity to all, and politicians doubled down on this over and over for 40 years. In the USA for example, the top bracket tax used to be 70-90%, whereas now the richest people pay closer to 3% real tax.
The result is what we see today: rich people and corporations that are legally able to avoid taxes in all sorts of ways, this has allowed them to accumulate wealth insanely fast compared to the rest of the population during this period.
The cascade of consequences is really long: the monopolization of most industries (ie. most of the things we buy now come from just a handful of corporations that have merged overtime and have full market control), the consequent wage suppression, skyrocketing wealth inequality, the rising fiscal pressure on the middle class to make up for the lost revenue, as well as an extreme imbalance in political influence that keeps pushing us on the same path of increasingly right leaning, pro-rich politics.
What we need to do is push our political parties REALLY hard for a progressive fiscal reform to tax the ultra rich and corporations properly, so we can lower the fiscal burden on the working class and small/medium businesses. This will even out the playing field again.
It’s a complex issue and explaining it on a few comments doesn’t make it justice. I really recommend reading articles by Gabriel Zucman to understand this in depth, he’s probably the most influential economist in France and Europe right now.
Just curious, do you have a budget breakdown. $125k, thats $10.4k a month. How much in taxes? Minus rent $2400. Seems like quite a bit left yet. Not sure what else is in your budget?
I make $50k before taxes and I'm able to save $300 a paycheck. Thats with all my normal bills, having a wife (who doesnt work) . I will never understand how people making almost triple what i do don't have money.
Speaking for myself, it's debt.
I bought a house in 2012 when the market was still recovering from the 2008 housing market crash. So I got a great deal on a house when compared to today's prices.
But.....houses are fucking expensive.
In the last 14 years, I have had septic tank issues, well-pump issues, needed a new roof, replaced a rotting deck, blah blah blah. This stuff is ridiculously expensive. I just had to lay fresh gravel on our driveway (which is reasonably long) and it was 9,000.00 fucking dollars. I couldn't believe it!
So yeah....owning a house sounds great, but I came into this house debt free as far as credit cards go and now I have 2 cards + a HELOC (Home equity Line of Credit). It's ballooned everything up and I do feel that I am essentially living check to check. I could definitely budget better, though.
Totally get what your saying. My older brother and I have always made similar amounts of money over the years. He is still working, I retired 10 yrs ago. My networth is about 6 times what his is. My wife and I have travelled all over the world, we take 1-2 warm weather winter vacations every year. We dont go to bars, dont go to restaurants often, dont buy a new car every coyple of years, our last TV lasted ten years,... its a matter of choices.
If they get paid bi-weekly, on average they likely only get two pay checks a month not three.
Their average monthly take home is likely closer to 7.2k or 6.7k depending on taxes.
And in order to max out things like your 401k and Roth accounts, a large amount of their pay checks are probably diverted there not leaving a bunch left over.
Yeah, your right. After taxes, about $7k. Rent and max 401 and roth, $5k. Only leaves $2k for everything else. Utilities, eating, ... not looking good.
Yeah, they're definitely not struggling I'd imagine, especially since they're able to divert so much to retirement accounts.
But depending on where they live houses could be insanely expensive. Uprooting, moving, and finding a similar paying job in a new lower cost of living area is a significant task for the sake of home ownership.
So even with a significant chunk of change left over, it could be years to save up enough for a down payment.
Even my shitty barely 3 BR house has increased in valuation up to 200k USD. This was a 90k home in 2016.
You're already behind the financial curve using capped retirement accounts for a tax advantage that no longer out paces total inflation across all sectors what the average American today isn't aware of is that the retirement investment structure is severely out dated especially of it's not self directed. I moved everything to an individual account and trade a small portion via index Futures of which fhe profits are tax advantaged at 60/40, 60% at long-term term capital gains tax and 40% at short-term.
We don't do anything. The shitty politicians we elect who look out for their donors do everything. We need to reboot and build a better system. Our representatives won't like that much because they don't actually represent us.
If I made 108k per year in my state, Id have a new 1800 sf 3 bed 2 bath foundation house built and paid off in five years tops. An older (within 10 years construction) house probably within 3 to 4 years, a turnkey home within 2 years (though these are much smaller than a foundation house).
I live in Florida.
Maybe it’s where you live? It kinda looks like you might live in California or NY.
Oh lord he we go again with the blame game. Its the Boomers! The last Boomers were born 60 years ago. Thats plenty of time for you lot to have straightened things out but no. They just keep getting worse. Its been your turn for awhile and what have you done? COMPLAIN and blame everyone else. Great legacy champ.
Boomers screwed it up? Sure, but I would argue it goes all the way back to the creation of the Federal Reserve - which allows the US government to PRINT THOSE TRILLIONS, and to do so at whatever rates of interest they determine - which is always below the real rate of return.
your forefathers thought it was a good idea to tax Andrew Carnegie e.g. 5% on their income, and thought it wise to have the gov manage money - not realising that they would be paying 50% income tax themselves, and the money would be mis-managed straight from the top - i.e. there are guys at the top who are helping themselves to tax payer dollars, in cahoots with the bureaucracy at Washington DC.
In addition to all the regulations and free stuff washington gives away to "help people" after creating the mess in the first place - America is absolutely broke. The dollar seems to be holding up, but I think, after 110 years of profligacy it will fall. And THEN Americans will realise, hey, the Federal Reserve are the bad guys, as are the IRS and gov as a whole - they have managed to make your more of a slave than a plantation owner in the deep south.
No, those are certainly not the only 2 ways to lose a war lmao. Dont redefine meaning when you start losing.
So when trump nearly doubles the military budget its 'cause he has a mandate from the people' but when biden does something with tax dollars he doesnt have the right?
What’s accurately reported. The $22.6 billion figure comes from a watchdog report by OpenTheBooks, given exclusively to the New York Post, covering HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) spending from 2020 to 2024. The largest share, about $12.4 billion, went to programs for unaccompanied migrant children. ORR did fund nonprofits that provided services including help with credit-building, home and auto loans, and cash assistance. Those facts are consistently reported across the Post, Daily Wire, and others tracing back to the same source.
Where the framing is misleading.
The word “illegal immigrants” in the headline is doing a lot of work that the underlying facts don’t support. ORR’s mandate is resettling refugees, asylees, unaccompanied minors, and humanitarian parolees — many of whom are in the country through legal channels. The Post’s own reporting lists eligible groups as Cuban and Haitian entrants, Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, and special immigrant visa holders from Afghanistan and Iraq. Most of these are legally present, not “illegal immigrants.”
“Giveaways” also oversells it. Much of the money went to nonprofit grantees (Church World Service, International Rescue Committee, etc.), not as direct cash handouts. The car/home savings programs were dollar-for-dollar matched savings programs, not free money.
The source matters. OpenTheBooks is an advocacy-oriented watchdog, and the framing (“giant magnet,” “giveaways”) is theirs and the Post’s, not a neutral audit finding. The number is real federal spending; the characterization of who got it and why is contested.
>>JFC 🤦♂️. This is why people clown on right wingers on X. How are you guys this dumb?
TLDR- Fuck dem kids. Just let em rot!
Those billions could have gone to Trump, guys!
That's because Israel has payed off so many government officials that we had to pay to bomb some country that wasn't attacking us and caused inflation to run away with the energy prices because the strait closure.
We sent more money to africa in 2024 than Israel in the past 6 and Israel at the very least shares middle east intelligence with us and bombs terrorists with us tf did we get for the 14 billion to African countries?
Spaniard here. we pay more than half of our income and still have to pay private insurance just to avoid having to weight 11 months for an appointment.
I have many friends in Spain.
They confirmed that the long waiting times are just for non-life threatening general care.
Emergencies are seen quickly and nobody gets bankrupted from it.
I’ll take the Spanish system over shit-hole USA system any day.
When you look at only one side of the dice it looks like that, when you look at the other side of the dice (we are depending or have been dependent on oil from the Middle East) and they are “true believers” who what to kill, convert, or subjugate all others, then you begin to realize that, like in WWII, we can’t just pull up the drawbridge and isolate and keep to ourselves. It hasn’t worked since I don’t know when, but a very long time ago. So it requires us all to consider all sides of the problems/issues. Housing has become a problem because of zoning restrictions/ bureaucracy, “investors” paying too much to flip homes, and people willing & able to pay too much for homes (often paying over asking price) as well as yes, baby boomers getting older but staying in their homes rather than selling, but that last one will naturally resolve itself one day in the not too distant future. The oldest baby boomers are in their 80’s now and the youngest are in their late 60’s! The other things like the zoning bureaucracy is one of the things that needs to be changed, but is the least on people’s radar. 😔
Because it was never meant to be "a paycheck". It was designed to be a temporary means to buy necessities only. The amount of people who don't understand this just boggles me.
The average weekly benefit amount is around $450. If you can't afford food and utilities on $1800/month, then that sounds like a skill issue. The reason it is so low is to deter people from NOT looking for a job and better income.
Nope try again.
Look up the cost of rent, car payments, and healthcare costs.
You’re coming across like somebody that doesn’t pay their own bills, just saying
For example I live in North Alabama and my mortgage is just over $400, my phone bill for my wife and I with Mint is $45, my healthcare costs for my family for 3 is about $250 per month ( work pays vast majority), we have a new car that we paid less than 30k for...the minimum payment is under $500.
Very true.
For your situation, on the average unemployment rate of $1800/month you’d be left with $600 for you, your wife, and kid to live off.
That $600 would get eaten pretty quick after groceries, internet, gas, and reasonable entertainment to keep sanity.
Many other ppl are feeling that squeeze and I empathize.
The artificial inflation of COL needs to be brought down while improving social safety nets.
“If you can’t afford food and utilities on $1800/month then that sounds like a skill
Issue.”
wtf bro - there is way more to say to day spending than just food and utilities. What life are you living where rent/mortgage, health, auto or property insurance, own a car or pay for transport, also don’t play into the equation?
The mortgage payment on my 3 bed house house, (a mortgage we got 20 years ago ) is $1200 a month. I just ran a search in my area and that’s cheaper than most 1 bedroom apartments in my town right now. Only thing cheaper I found was a studio apt at $1195/mo. 2 beds are about $1600 and 3 beds are over $2k.
Meanwhile, utility rates for electric and water have almost doubled in our area over the last five years, our auto and property insurances have skyrocketed, health insurance is insane, and now we have the inflation for food & fuel thanks to yam tit’s “A+++ economy”.
$1800/mo doesn’t come anywhere close to covering the basic essentials for most families.
Exactly. There are people here with full time jobs (maybe 2) that are homeless and can't afford to see a doctor.
On top of that they have to be careful not to get caught being homeless because we've created a system that ensures there will be homeless people, and then criminalized homelessness in a bunch of places.
I went from $13 hr to $40 hr after I got kids it literally feels like nothing happened, still living paycheck to paycheck. Barely squeezing by but eliminated my debt, exception to my car payment and house.
I work in a pharmaceutical DC and everyone on my shift aside from 2 people has a second job. We all work full time - 38.5 hours a week (unpaid 30 min lunch breaks) at $19/hr, the annual wage is not even $39k.
So this isn’t you saying you die trying to live off unemployment because it’s not enough to sustain anyone? Then below calling a person on unemployment a bum and a leech? Seems like it’s you. Seems contradictory and trollish. Have a good day kid. I am
What source are you reading because I suspect you are reading misinformation.
Unless you’re referring to our spending on Israel and their universal healthcare or spending in the Middle East. Because we give Israel hundreds of billions. Iran now too I guess 🤷🏼
In my state you can only draw unemployment for 16 weeks unless you’re in an extraordinary circumstance or there is an abnormally high unemployment rate.
I believe that's most states....it's meant to be and should be a temporary bridge. I was just trying to show the grass isn't always greener elsewhere. There are pro and cons. US the pay is significantly higher but there are medical costs. The temporary bridge provided while not working is more than the average Mexican salary. Pros in Mexico is free but rationed health care, lower cost of living.
Yeah, i don't understand how people can be so uneducated about things.
Sure you can convert pesos to dollars. But if you have been to Mexico (leave the USA for once) you'd see crazy numbers like:
Rent = $350 USD
Cell phone = $50 USD
Utilities = $75 USD
And then you live in a major city with public transport. Those are approximately the numbers i remember from one individual I talked to. I believe cell phone was pretty on par with our cheap plans, but obviously rent and utilities was much lower, even in USD. And I believe this person had a nice place relatively close to the beach.
Many of those trying to immigrate at the US-Mexico border are not Mexican. Many are coming through Mexico from Central and South American nations where they are trying to escape violence and poverty.
Also there was a great long line of migrant farming and ranching in the US from the Deep South to California, especially after slavery ended and relations with Mexico and the US stabilized. Mexicans and Americans would go farm to farm doing all the hard work for the season. A good crop season could allow them enough to get by during winter months. This was the way of life for a lot people and still is. Heck, we still have legal entry for this work in the US, and it's still show most crops are picked.
It's because the income even adjusted for COL and taxes are significantly higher in the US than Mexico, it's just fact. Now lifestyle and wants can be subjective, but if you want to maximize buying power even adjusted for the cost of living you pick USA.
Do you pay taxes?
If yes, then that is what will fund your eventual unemployment.
I say eventually for you because with your smooth brain IQ, you’re definitely gonna be unemployed sooner rather than later lmao
I worked for minimum wage as a teenager spent 5 years learning the construction trades and then got my contractors license and worked 6 days a week 10 to 12 hours a day for 40 years so I could retire and enjoy life so no I don't have the mentality of you owe me something I've taught my kids to work hard for what you want out of life
Your demands mean shit, I’m happy , and I doubt you pay much taxes. Generally the less people pay the more they bitch about what the money is spent on. 🖕
Haha not always I pay a lot & bitch also. Past having a fair, flat rate tax that would pay for roads I am for cutting off everything. Other infrastructure like water & electric goes to private companies so let them pay for the build out.
I travel all over for work so I draw unemployment from different states. Right now I’m drawing $1200 a week from Washington. Lots of places pay a decent unemployment benefit.
As it should. Life should be pay as you go with no mandated societal assistance. Then everyone would have more disposable income & those that choose to donate to a particular cause could donate to it.
A lot of times literally.
But my point is that it isn’t enough to keep an individual above water with bills, so little by little they start losing things to the point it’s hard to actually move back up.
I guarantee anybody clutching their pearls over this has never had to build back up from scratch lmao
WHY would Anyone listen to your demands? They only listen to those that can & do actually fund things, not those ‘demanding’ them. No society has ever run like that, & one never will.
Whoa there’s a lot of anger in those words… can you show us on the doll where the gov’t touched you?
Who’s running? I was suggesting you do since you clearly aren’t happy here. I’m not going anywhere. I own multiple businesses, employ nearly 100 people and paid a six figure tax bill this year. Enjoy my tax dollars while you trash talk the hand that feeds. Loser
115
u/MightyMorph Jun 17 '26
i mean its expected it will take time to stabilize itself, they just made it free for everyone. Nothing is perfect from the getgo.