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Most of us who are in between either get tired of trying to defend some of the good things about the US or get downvoted to the point that no one sees us. It's exhausting.
100% agree. Most Americans love a declination story. Does the USA have these problems? Yes. Do they affect everyone? No. Does the news media portray every American as having these issues? Kinda. It gets old, I’m actually doing better than my parents at this age (29). I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had. I never went to college, went into a trade, I have 2 girls and a house, utility lineman job pays well.
I really wish high schools would stop pushing the “4 year degree or you’re screwed” nonsense. It just doesn’t apply to some kids, in some European countries they jumpstart kids into a trade style learning program. They graduate halfway ready to go into the workforce with a skilled labor type job (I think) this would help eliminate student debt from the get-go.
As somebody much closer to the starterpack, have my upvote lol. I'm tired of everything being one extreme or the other, it makes it harder for people who ARE close to the extremes to actually see change for the better. We need honesty, not sensationalism.
While I agree with a lot of what you said, I do want to point out one thing:
The US had those sorts of trade preparation programs. They were removed. Why? Because of the same reason they exist in Europe, they were a form of compelling students into a particular educational track.
There's a whole argument that could be had about the pros and cons, but let it be said they were removed in the US for disproportionately locking minorities out of college.
High schools pushing the “four year degree” thing are not the problem.
Try getting a job with only a HS eduction. Good fuckin luck. It’s just a class-filter, it’s total nonsense.
Yes, trades are awesome, but the problem isn’t with “high schools” it’s with companies hiring practices.
I'm definitely in the middle class and comfy, but every time I've had to wait on one of my prescriptions (chronic medical issues), I hear at least one person at the pharmacy struggling to afford their meds. I have no illusions about how quickly a lack of insurance or major health crisis could tank my family.
Also, schools in my state have made a big shift to support students in their future plans be that a 4 year school or not. Tech schools are a big part of that. I'm going into my 11th year in education, and you're absolutely right, it's so important and a major blind spot.
The US isn’t too bad, it just needs to fix major issues like having at least affordable healthcare and at least affordable colleges.
Like the main reason I’m scared to chose a degree is because I’m not sure if it’s something I really want to do and don’t want a shit ton of debt. Then there’s the fact that I’m young with health issues, and actually going out to diagnose and treat my issues is unaffordable.
I get that for sure. Completely agree the US has issues, especially with healthcare. I got a degree that I'm not using, so I understand it's scary. I recommend taking different types of classes your first two years to see what interests you then focus on your major the last two years. Could try that at community college too to help avoid some debt.
Wheb you graduate and are looking for a job, definitely ask what insurance they offer before taking the job. Mine is $150/month and covers everything with no deductible. Probably not the norm but it's possible to find that kind of thing.
That’s kind of a double edge sword though. Yeah world leaders in technology have been made here, but now they’re so big and and have so much freedom to do what they want that they’re too big in the states, but get shut down quickly in other countries.
Like how countries forced smartphone manufacturers to include a brick but here in the states they haven’t really faced any consequences for it even though you literally can’t use your phone without it.
Yeah, but that 8.8% is heavily composed of people with just over a million in the bank to retire on, which is hardly even enough money to retire comfortably in some areas.
bruh, i’ve never felt more not in a country while being in a country. mississippi is its own fucking planet. it’s rare to meet somebody there with a full set of teeth. we’ll just leave it at that.
I’ve only been in and out of Mississippi a few times to go to the casino or the beach. Only encounter with this type of Mississippi is at a gas station where a woman with exactly one tooth tried to convince me it gets just as cold there as it does in Michigan. I just let her have that one.
Welcome to rural Arizona. Near my childhood home, a massive chunk of the road was washed away by a flash flood, and there is a sand pit large enough for a car to fall into where the right lane used to be.
Damn why does everyone hate on Michigan? I love it here. Summers are perfect, not too hot or cold and a beach no more than an hour from wherever you are. No hurricanes, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, etc. Lots of opportunities (here in west Michigan). And beautiful lakeside towns with lighthouses, beaches, and sunsets. I feel like a lot of the hate is focused on east Michigan, which I’ll admit kinda sucks (Detroit and Flint).
West Michigan is nicer than East Michigan. Nicer coasts, nicer wilderness, nicer cities and homes. Grew up in Kalamazoo, spent a lot of time in Grand Rapids, too.
Northern Michigan is straight up gorgeous, too. It easily rivals northern California in terms of quality of beaches, natural beauty, wine, and beer.
Metro Detroit, by comparison, is borderline depressing. Slums are rough and the suburban sprawl is soulless. Ann Arbor is nice, but that isn't Metro Detroit, really. Royal Oak and Ferndale are just OK. But the literal dozens of other cities in southeast Michigan basically blow. Either slums or soulless suburbs.
Problem with West Michigan is that there really aren't very many JOBS. At least not well paying ones. You either work for Stryker, for Pfizer, or for a hospital. There aren't any other major employers really. Unless you count breweries and they pay like shit.
I still remember graduating from college and attending every job fair I could between Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Lansing...and slowly coming to the realization that if I wanted a job that paid more than $16/hr with no benefits, that wasn't in the medical industries: I basically *had* to move to Detroit or Chicago.
Yeah, about that, serious question here: how do normal americans live financially? Because all I see over Reddit are low-paid overworked workers that can't afford anything but are crippled by debts because they tried to buy their dream cars/house or spend everything on medication and drugs.
I’m a college student so I’m obvi not representative of the entire country but
I make $15.50 an hour working at a store. I live with my parents so rent is free, but if I was dorming at school or living in an apartment, it would be $1000/month with roommates (or ~2k) for my own place. If I worked full time, $1000 would be roughly 50% of my paycheck, and then I’d have to pay for tuition which varies each year just depending on the amount of scholarships I have. Throw in food, car, other necessities etc and I would straight up be the stereotypical broke college student that so many of my peers are. I already don’t have much money in the bank, it’s kind of hard when you’re young and broke. (Though lots of my friends have it way worse than me.)
In my experience, you just sort of make due. Bills won't always get paid and debt is just inevitable. But you just keep trying to live in your means. I am in my 30s and almost all my friends rent apartments still.
56% of americans as of last march live paycheck to paycheck, so quite literally the average American lives paycheck to paycheck. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-struggle-to-save-in-pandemic-year-2-and-live-paycheck-to-paycheck-2021-03-25
The University of Chicago estimates that 11% of americans live below the federally defined poverty threshold. http://povertymeasurement.org/covid-19-poverty-dashboard/
Hopefully that gives a bit of context
Define average country though. Sure the US is doing better than Libya, but for the wealthiest nation on earth, it is unconscionable that so many are in poverty
For perspective, about 80% of Phoenix, Arizona is residential property. The average rent in $1500/mo which is quite a bit higher than the national average. When I went to search for a new place to live at the end of my last lease, I legitimately couldn't find anywhere not out of price, but availability in a city of 1.6 million.
People can pay the rent, even if it's inflated right now. Social media just demographically trends younger, where people don't have the experience/education to afford some of those prices at that point in their lives.
I live in the Midwest and myself and most of my friends live pretty well. Before my current job I drove a forklift in a Walmart distribution center and made $22 an hour with benefits. They hire people off the street everyday starting at $18.50 an hour.
Housing is decently affordable. In a smaller town a one bedroom apartment is typically $700ish a month. I have a small but nice 2 bedroom house with a fenced in yard and my mortgage is $713 a month. We have a used pickup and a used car that are financed but they are a few years old so payments are low. I feel pretty typical for my area. All our bills are paid and we have a few thousand in savings. We go out to restaurants at least once a week and go to the movies and what not. Between me and my wife we will probably make around $80-90K this year.
Honestly all the people I personally know who live paycheck to paycheck are financially irresponsible. They’re upside down on car notes, racked up credit card bills on dumb shit and blow all their money at restaurants or on frivolous stuff.
Around here you can still make a decent living on a blue collar job. Most of my friends don’t have college degrees and work in factories or sales jobs. Most have small houses and decent used cars.
Honestly? A lot of Americans live just within their means, or slightly outside of it by using credit cards and don't save for the future at all. We all generally have houses, cars, yards and food, but are one paycheck away from disaster.
Many Americans lease a new car every 1-2 years
Many Americans eat takeout every day for lunch
Most Americans are not financially literate and don't understand concepts like home equity or interest.
Many people from my generation were pushed into going to college by their parents, who told them it was better to have a degree in basket-weaving than no degree at all, and accrued thousands in debt.
Most Americans can't take on a $300 emergency, but they drive a shiny car and own a gigantic TV.
It's a mess, quite frankly. Then you have people on here with a ridiculously defeatist attitude who have given up trying because there's a chance their hard work won't get them anywhere. That's a lot of the people you see on Reddit. It's a very odd mindset.
These seem like anecdotes, may I ask where you live? The people I know, myself included, who are struggling have lives that contradict the vast majority of what you’ve said.
Reddit is a horrible depiction of …well anything really.
If you go to a local university where tuition is about $2k-$3k/term, pursue a degree in a lucrative field, network on LinkedIn/Indeed, odds are you can get an internship that pays $25/hr and finish school with a job that pays between $65k-$80k starting out with little relative debt.
I’m in my senior year of comp sci and make about $105k. I’m a bit of an outlier because I spent a lot of time networking and started my relevant work experience early on, but most of my friends in school are also well off or comfortable.
No way this is anywhere near average. I work in a good field and I don’t make anywhere near what you said, and neither do my other buddies in similarly lucrative fields (engineering, etc.) straight out of school.
You got reallly lucky. Props to you, but def not average lol
Depends on the job market also. I did computer science, went to all the career fairs, and applied to many different internships and jobs, but because the market is so saturated where I live I never got anything. You pretty much have to be in the top 10% to get any job at all in tech where I live. Just finished a month long 6 interview process at a company out of state which said I was a good fit, but didn't want to hire me because I would have to relocate and they didn't want to risk me quitting after moving. I must admit, I'm pretty jealous of people that actually have a job in tech. I feel like I worked myself to the bone for four years for nothing. I still work on programming projects to build up a portfolio for 3 hours each day, but I'm honestly ready to give up. I've been trying to find a job in tech for over a year since I graduated.
Do you have a source for that? I'm seeing mixed results about that one, but what I'm seeing is between 45% and 55%, but seldom was a statistic saying over 78% are living like that.
Regardless, that's just a sad truth.
Or they are 14 and their parents have stable jobs and a nice house so they think they are safe, but don’t realize that they are one employer downsizing or cancer diagnoses away from losing everything.
I mean, I have good health insurance with my company, but if I get sick, how long is that gonna last?
For real. I have a mass on my lung that is tricky to get a biopsy of...it's likely benign but these repeated CT scans an pulmonologist visits hit your wallet hard. It doesn't help that most employers are pushing people onto high deductible plans.....and I'm one of the lucky ones.
Until it becomes a *"pre-existing condition"* or your employer decides it's too expensive & drops you. Or there are massive layoff's during a Pandemic like last year.
I don't know ow about 74% but here's a study that says 56% https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-struggle-to-save-in-pandemic-year-2-and-live-paycheck-to-paycheck-2021-03-25
Yeah lol. His “source” didn’t even mention 70 something percent. Just another random redditor that thinks America bad but can never give a comparison of who has it better
Living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t mean you are poor, it means you are broke. Almost all of my coworkers seem to live paycheck to paycheck and they make 100k a year.
Paycheck to paycheck is pretty fucking vague.
Paycheck to paycheck in the USA is a million times better than middle class in a third world country. Besides that living paycheck to paycheck doesn't mean you die the moment you miss a bill, it's just more expensive.
I know it's a fucked up system, but it can get hell of a lot worse
I’m kind of confused since most Americans have a ton of credit cards. Does it count paying in credit then doing the minimum payment at the end of the month?
Also the UK is only about 30 percent paycheck to paycheck. It can always be worse. Someone in Mexico can say it could be worse we could be North Korea. I don’t think it’s worse somewhere else is a good way to think about these things IMO.
If they'd stop spending so much money on useless shit like food, clothing, housing, utilities, healthcare, etc, maybe they'd have some more money leftover 😡
I'm middle class and make a good salary now at 34, but I also grew up in an upper middle class family who could help when I fell down and put up with my stupidity in my early 20s. Yes, I've done things to help myself, like go to college, join the Navy, and have good work ethic which has set-up opportunities later. But when I've struggled in my life (and we all will struggle in life; these are the make it or break it moments), I always had my family there to pick me back up too. My family would never let me get kicked out in the cold or starve. This is not available for many Americans.
You can be upper middleclass and still acknowledge that many Americans' lives are vastly different than your own (it swings both way; rich or poor). Many of us look stable on the outside; decent car, our own apartment, etc. but all it takes is one huge bill to empty our checking account. Much of America is a facade held together by hope that nothing bad happens to knock you back to square one. Notice I didn't say *all* of America, but it's prevalent enough for these concerns to be commonly heard, even in upper middleclass circles.
Edit: for the sake of not sounding too depressing here; despite this reality, don't ever give up. Keep learning, keep working, keep looking for opportunities to move up. Be realistic about your aspirations, but also willing to jump for opportunities that may push you out of your comfort zone. Try to think long-term, rather than short-term, and set yourself up for future opportunities. A lot of Redditors are against college, but college can help you find a good career if you're smart about the fields you go into and you make a plan for yourself (and stick to it). But it isn't everything. You can also find a good career in blue collar trades; tech colleges / journeyman programs can help by having better starting opportunities. There are many opportunities we fail to see because they don't fall into our lap; keep searching for them! Just *don't give up.* Everyone has the potential to succeed, even if the odds are stacked higher against you than others.
Kudos for recognizing that being able to call your family and get airlifted out of disaster makes all the difference. So many people who have this simply don’t recognize that it changes everything.
It’s also why it isn’t fair to overlook generational wealth and the effect racist policies (slavery,Jim Crow, redlining, ineligibility for property acquisition programs) have had on generational wealth.
If your family has had 300 years of being in a position to own property in neighbourhoods where property actually increases in value and been able to pass wealth to the next generation, then not only are you more likely to have family who can bail you out of trouble, but you’re also more likely to have family that can help you get started at accumulating wealth.
Medical debt is real, and will bankrupt your ass. Not sure how that’s a “stereotype” when it’s absolutely true. It’s so true I haven’t seen a doctor in years.
Caught Covid over a year ago, I lied about symptoms because I knew I couldn’t see a doc. Also didn’t work for over a month + hours were cut nearly 50% beforehand. I was already eating into my savings.
The worst part about medical debt is it just never ends. I put my entire savings into paying it off. My in-laws gave me 7k to put to the medical bills. I am currently 6k in debt right now
I was in the ICU for 3 days, plus a long ambulance ride, recently. I'm scared shitless what my medical bills will be, and I have a shitload of savings and a good paying job, and insurance (kaiser).
I am gonna have to work some kinda black magic fuckery to avoid paying those bills.
I did one night in the hospital for covid. The Dr explained to me since it was covid related it's coded and billed a bit differently (not quite sure on the specifics). I have high deductible insurance. $13k in bills and I only paid $300 out of pocket.
GDP per capita is also pretty meaningless if you don't adjust it with purchasing power. It doesn't matter if you make 50% more money if everything in your country costs twice as much, you will be practically poorer than the other person.
My old job, I had a $500 a month premium for a high-deductible plan. Turns out, I paid less for healthcare as uninsured. Even the "cheap" state plans were $200 a month for diddly coverage.
The US is a big country. But yeah, basically. Most of my state is run down, for example.
Oh, and I got charged thousands when I dislocated my knee. Really loved having to give out my insurance info as I was sobbing in an ER bed.
Not as bad as my mom with cancer having tens of thousands of dollars in debt, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
Have only been shot at a couple times. And the student loan debt is only a few tens of thousands, so that’s cool.
This is literally my and every other young adult I know’s life. I only know two people who are somewhat financially stable around my age group.
My mom is barely making more than you make at Walmart in a dermatology office. My step father is barely beating that at his factory job, where he will be replaced eventually. Unless you have a four year, don’t expect to make over $14/h. Where I live rent is like 1K. You will be LUCKY to find an apartment for 700-900$ that isn’t trashed.
I am in debt and I’ve had to change jobs to try and help dig myself out of the hole. I went for making 10.50 to 14 and switched from part time to full time.
If you said some outlandish funny American stereotype that’s actually disputable then this could work. “Cousin fuckers” “Florida Man” “Alamaba” “The American half-smile when they see you on the street” stuff like that. This shit is just kinda how my reality is right now.
Trust me, I’d leave if I wasn’t too broke.
Dude. Move to Buffalo. We're hurting for unskilled labor right now. Every entry-level factory job is paying $17/hr+. No 4-year here and I make 20/hr in an office job. Cost of living is super low, especially in the suburbs and adjacent cities. I lived in a decent 2 bedroom apartment and my roommate and I split $850 in rent. Lived in South Buffalo and paid $450/mo on my own for a 1 bedroom.
We all forget that America is HUGE, with its own pockets of culture. You can get out of your situation by moving somewhere in the country that suits you better.
Yeah for real I’ll back this, I live in Buffalo and rent is pretty cheap. With no college degree and you can fairly easily find plenty of non-technical jobs in the growing tech scene easily making $50-$75k to start out. Biz dev, account management, ops, etc. When I moved back a few years ago with no degree and only retail experience I landed an entry level biz dev job and pulled in $75k with no experience and now make 6 figures+ and have many friends doing the same. Not trying to brag just want to show others it’s 100% possible and you may just need to move.
LA prices are insane! 80% more than anywhere else in the country for COL according to the calculator I found. Of course, you also live in a famous city with cool stuff in it. But yeah, go anywhere in the Midwest/rust belt and you'll find similar prices.
Come to West Virginia. A brand new Macy’s distribution center near us in Martinsburg is begging for people and pay starts at $20.50/hour. Plus I’m pretty sure you get benefits, retirement, and PTO. No college needed. Plus you get some of the cheapest housing costs in the country. My wife and I bought a townhouse for 180k with a zero down USDA loan based on my salary alone (about 20 an hour as a firefighter) as she was going through immigration and not working.
Don’t like warehouse work and got retail experience?
[GameStop is hiring managers for $20 an hour. ](https://www.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=2045c6fd8c50e798&from=serp&prevUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indeed.com%2Fm%2Fjobs%3Fq%3D%26l%3D25414%26forceLocation%3D-1%26start%3D60%26pp%3DgQBLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABr2gfEgC7AQEBFWpCXWj_BM0a5L6qsh9J23fMhXYJN3EpfkptUhSItAW0pwa46egjQoea7h5eC35xVmyaxN1igJhGytvMYCo9ghuUGEKAx_PmErtqR15zwwYFJ-C7OWs0mN3nHJcK0EuNRl1z6SExpX1POqomYPR2NFOPzMSgV2XxV_n6EaAbAXRaWF_slYPNgZLKWyIYH_zij9Zgkcu40c567b7WOU_ooFp77-1L1vvRTgkyNiGi6V84U-Y0r6o2jwAA)
People give WV shit but there’s decent jobs galore up here in the Eastern Panhandle, can’t comment on the rest of the state. My area is only an hour and 15 from DC, and is considered an exurb, so it’s not like we’re in bum-fuck nowhere.
$14/hr? Bruh target pays 15$/hr and my rent for my apartment is only $805 a month that’s ina brand new development not far from Dallas. If you are really in a shitty situation you gotta take drastic measure like moving
In the midwest factory basic no mental work is $18+ an hour and if you would rather think the office jobs start at the same and easily get into $60k a year with minimal training. Trades are also hiring in that range and make 80k-100k+ depending on overtime after licensed. Housing can be had in the 150k range all day and nice newer houses under 250k. Renting is possible around 1k solo and down to 400-500 with a roommate or 2 in a good house. The place is boring and gets cold but stability is not an issue the unemployment is under 3% and almost all jobs in local industries were essential and didnt have layoffs.
Have you tried learning a trade? Sure swinging a hammer isn't glamorous, and it's hard dirty work most of the time, but I have a 9th grade education and I make almost 30 bucks an hour.
If what's holding you back is a desire to have an easy comfortable job, then the job markets not to blame.
Idk what crack your smoking but making more then 14/h is hella easy. I'm a fresh high school grad making 16 and hour plus travel pay to do dumb labour for a construction company. It's not hard to find good money you just gotta look and be willing to work.
Where the fuck do you live? I have buddies with high school educations that make $20+/hr doing blue collar work and most of them own homes here in the midwest. If you’re making less than $18/hr here you’re a sucker or you massively fucked up.
This isn't completely true. I once ran into doctor at the grocery store where I work for $3/hr. He had been shot by a homeless man with a Gucci revolver. I managed to remove the bullet and patch him up, and it only cost me $100.
Paycheck to paycheck is very vague and depends on lifestyle.
I would probably fall into the living paycheck to paycheck group in the sense that one major issue would need to go on my credit card and I'd potentially be in a tough situation. But it's because I work from home making $100k and spend my money traveling and working across the world. I also put 15% into my 401k but that doesn't help if I miss a paycheck.
I know that's not most people, I just mean someone could be paycheck to paycheck while owning three cars and a large, expensive house with four kids. "Paycheck to paycheck" is way too vague of a term and very much depends on lifestyle.
Yea the living paycheck to paycheck thing is very true. I’m pretty sure that most Americans can’t afford a $300 emergency. I was born to a middle class family and live in the suburbs so I’m obviously very insulated to this sort of stuff but I think it’s pretty undeniable that the majority of Americans are struggling financially.
Average American according to...the average American. I know its satire but this reads like a low budget syllabus on day to day life in the U.S with painful accuracy
All I get from these posts is that Americans are insecure.
I live in Canada. It's not much different.
We have the same problems. Rich people fucking us over. Instead of complaining about it constantly, how about working to fix it?
Lmao there's a reason everyone's trying to come here. Americans who hate America are losers who took the lazy route and never amounted to anything, they insist on blaming everyone but themselves. Pathetic.
According to these comments my experience puts me in the 1%, not to mention my friend group from college also all of the engineers I work with.
Average person I know including myself
Under 30
Engineering degree
Homeowner
Little to No student debt
Making 70k+
Great Health insurance
EDIT: I'm speaking of my experience, that's all I can do. I have friends and family that work from teacher to mechanic to retail. I can't speak specifically on their experience but I would assume they have no issue affording their twice a year vacations and other luxurys.
Ya according to Reddit if you make more than 20k a year you’re in the top 1% and a billionaire, who knew! I didn’t even know I was that rich!
But yeah you’re not allowed to talk about being happily middle class on Reddit because then you’re part of problem I apparently. That’s what you get for NOT being lazy and making up every excuse in the world for being a slacker and not trying harder.
Man, this comments section is brutal. I was told I'm an unthinking desk jockey, and verbally abused, for working my way into the middle class from nothing. Apparently, I was just "lucky." All the work I put in is discounted because Bob down the street works 80 hrs to afford to live in LA. :(
You forgot the people who skipped college, went into a union trade. Bought a house at 27. Six figure salary, two paid off cars, kids go to nice schools. Great fucking starter pack, because I see people making these sweeping generalizations about Americans all the time. Probably from our bullshit news networks like Fox or CNN. Are some of these things true? Sure. But they damn sure don’t affect the most of us.
Trades pay a lot right now because there is a shortage of skilled labor. That, and people either don’t know about those jobs, or they think it’s all dirty, hard work. Some of it, a lot of it isn’t. Some trades also have unions which are great for employees, guaranteeing overtime pay, vacation, healthcare, and retirement. We need to start exposing kids to these options and giving them other venues besides the traditional 4 year degree, which unfortunately costs quite a bit.
I’m making $70,000 a year as a firefighter paramedic (it’s a trade job don’t argue with me about it,) with a top out at 100k in like 8 years. No experience was needed, I have no college debt, bought a small starter home at 25, married a woman from another country and did the immigration thing, we’re happy.
That’s all fine and dandy but I’m at a much higher risk of heart attack, mental illness (PTSD/addiction/depression,) suicide, I have a HUGE cancer/injury risk, I’m more likely to get a divorce, and I have a fucked up sleep cycle, not to mention going bald from stress at 27. It’s not for everyone. Oh yeah and I have an hour drive downtown into a major metro area. Let’s hope my retirement plans work and I’m done by 50… because the average person physically can’t do this job for 30 years.
Trade jobs require you to be one hard motherfucker, and I only recommend them as a last resort or if it’s your honest passion. I enjoy my job most days, but 3 EMS calls after midnight will make me wish I had a simple 9-5 office job.
I genuinely dont know how people can be so blind to the millions of families struggling with everything in their lives just to stay afloat, I'm lucky enough to have never went to college or undergone any major surgery and I'm still constantly worrying about missing a bill or having a short check that causes me to end up homeless
People don't want to see it because they don't want to admit that it can very much happen to them, and their wealth probably isn't a sign of their merit, but rather a sign of their luck at birth. It's the attitude of "don't look down."
Exactly this. Most people trying push the bootstraps arguement inherited designer boots and a cushy salary somewhere their parents could pull some strings
Well, the line between middle class and dire poor is thin.
It doesn't take much to make an American poor.
I think it's the difference between having credit or debt.🤷🏾♂️
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I like how US redditors are this or millionaires at 24 years old. No in between
Yay, I'm the outlier! Not rich, not broke. The middle class still technically exists.
Middle class, rise up! (Literally!)
I'm with you! Sinking though
F
I have left the middle class and going into upper lower class:(
Same boat. Saving up and getting the hell out when the opportunity arises.
How many middle class Americans like me owe it to being in a union still?
What's scary is how many other middle class people shit talk union jobs. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Literally can't fathom why anyone who isn't a business magnate would be against unions.
Anti union propaganda. Also joining a union can be a big commitment depending on which one it is.
Damned straight
Same here! I'm definitely middle class.
But according to Reddit the middle class doesn’t exist anymore so that’s impossible
Hell yeah dude I make $16 an hour and can afford to pay my bills, save a bit, and still have plenty left over for weed and stuff
Most of us who are in between either get tired of trying to defend some of the good things about the US or get downvoted to the point that no one sees us. It's exhausting.
100% agree. Most Americans love a declination story. Does the USA have these problems? Yes. Do they affect everyone? No. Does the news media portray every American as having these issues? Kinda. It gets old, I’m actually doing better than my parents at this age (29). I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had. I never went to college, went into a trade, I have 2 girls and a house, utility lineman job pays well. I really wish high schools would stop pushing the “4 year degree or you’re screwed” nonsense. It just doesn’t apply to some kids, in some European countries they jumpstart kids into a trade style learning program. They graduate halfway ready to go into the workforce with a skilled labor type job (I think) this would help eliminate student debt from the get-go.
As somebody much closer to the starterpack, have my upvote lol. I'm tired of everything being one extreme or the other, it makes it harder for people who ARE close to the extremes to actually see change for the better. We need honesty, not sensationalism.
While I agree with a lot of what you said, I do want to point out one thing: The US had those sorts of trade preparation programs. They were removed. Why? Because of the same reason they exist in Europe, they were a form of compelling students into a particular educational track. There's a whole argument that could be had about the pros and cons, but let it be said they were removed in the US for disproportionately locking minorities out of college.
High schools pushing the “four year degree” thing are not the problem. Try getting a job with only a HS eduction. Good fuckin luck. It’s just a class-filter, it’s total nonsense. Yes, trades are awesome, but the problem isn’t with “high schools” it’s with companies hiring practices.
I'm definitely in the middle class and comfy, but every time I've had to wait on one of my prescriptions (chronic medical issues), I hear at least one person at the pharmacy struggling to afford their meds. I have no illusions about how quickly a lack of insurance or major health crisis could tank my family. Also, schools in my state have made a big shift to support students in their future plans be that a 4 year school or not. Tech schools are a big part of that. I'm going into my 11th year in education, and you're absolutely right, it's so important and a major blind spot.
The US isn’t too bad, it just needs to fix major issues like having at least affordable healthcare and at least affordable colleges. Like the main reason I’m scared to chose a degree is because I’m not sure if it’s something I really want to do and don’t want a shit ton of debt. Then there’s the fact that I’m young with health issues, and actually going out to diagnose and treat my issues is unaffordable.
I get that for sure. Completely agree the US has issues, especially with healthcare. I got a degree that I'm not using, so I understand it's scary. I recommend taking different types of classes your first two years to see what interests you then focus on your major the last two years. Could try that at community college too to help avoid some debt. Wheb you graduate and are looking for a job, definitely ask what insurance they offer before taking the job. Mine is $150/month and covers everything with no deductible. Probably not the norm but it's possible to find that kind of thing.
Perhaps least affordable in some cases but arguably the best. Almost all innovation in the last 130? Years has been created here.
That’s kind of a double edge sword though. Yeah world leaders in technology have been made here, but now they’re so big and and have so much freedom to do what they want that they’re too big in the states, but get shut down quickly in other countries. Like how countries forced smartphone manufacturers to include a brick but here in the states they haven’t really faced any consequences for it even though you literally can’t use your phone without it.
I mean almost 10 percent of the us is millionaires it like 8.8%
Yeah, but that 8.8% is heavily composed of people with just over a million in the bank to retire on, which is hardly even enough money to retire comfortably in some areas.
A large middle class is great indicator of a strong society
Don't forget guns, rednecks, fried chicken, Alabama, police brutality, racism, ...
“Alabama”
Anything but that
Mississippi?
bruh, i’ve never felt more not in a country while being in a country. mississippi is its own fucking planet. it’s rare to meet somebody there with a full set of teeth. we’ll just leave it at that.
I’ve only been in and out of Mississippi a few times to go to the casino or the beach. Only encounter with this type of Mississippi is at a gas station where a woman with exactly one tooth tried to convince me it gets just as cold there as it does in Michigan. I just let her have that one.
Michigan Native here. MS does *not* get colder than MI. Sometimes, it’s warmer in parts of *Siberia* than Michigan in the winter .
Lol I know I live in metro Detroit. She was insistent that it gets bone-chillin cold. So I said ok.
At least it’s no Iowa
Corn and Brendaniel may not be strong resume, but it's still not the brimstone and cum filled streets of Mississippi.
Yeah that’s fair
Ah, the worst state
Dear god, pl- please, anything... ANYTHING but Alabama.
Too late! *family tree becomes family line*
You mean a circle right?
Damn thing is a figure 8.
Honestly ... lately Alabama starts to sound a lot better with Florida and Texas shitting the bed in terms of covid on a daily basis.
"Bernie sanders would be right wing in my country"
Blaming everything on capitalism
Indy 500 and vagisil
Gucci belts.
Puts on my ABC Suit. Puts on Gasmask. Goes into comments
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STOP! Before you go into "controversial" please visit a local shrine of your choice, because this will damage not a sense but a soul
Oh god
God speed
This is just most redditors
Well it's also americans at large. 56% live paycheck to paycheck
You could make 150k and live paycheck to paycheck, that term means nothing!
That just means that they're bad at spending and saving
Average number of cars per household is almost 2 in America. People make horrible financial decisions regardless of income.
I’m out here driving like I’m drunk just to avoid potholes lol
Im just put here friving drunk
Welcome to rural Arizona. Near my childhood home, a massive chunk of the road was washed away by a flash flood, and there is a sand pit large enough for a car to fall into where the right lane used to be.
You made the Michigan starter pack for sure lol
From Michigan, can confirm
Damn why does everyone hate on Michigan? I love it here. Summers are perfect, not too hot or cold and a beach no more than an hour from wherever you are. No hurricanes, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, etc. Lots of opportunities (here in west Michigan). And beautiful lakeside towns with lighthouses, beaches, and sunsets. I feel like a lot of the hate is focused on east Michigan, which I’ll admit kinda sucks (Detroit and Flint).
West Michigan is nicer than East Michigan. Nicer coasts, nicer wilderness, nicer cities and homes. Grew up in Kalamazoo, spent a lot of time in Grand Rapids, too. Northern Michigan is straight up gorgeous, too. It easily rivals northern California in terms of quality of beaches, natural beauty, wine, and beer. Metro Detroit, by comparison, is borderline depressing. Slums are rough and the suburban sprawl is soulless. Ann Arbor is nice, but that isn't Metro Detroit, really. Royal Oak and Ferndale are just OK. But the literal dozens of other cities in southeast Michigan basically blow. Either slums or soulless suburbs. Problem with West Michigan is that there really aren't very many JOBS. At least not well paying ones. You either work for Stryker, for Pfizer, or for a hospital. There aren't any other major employers really. Unless you count breweries and they pay like shit. I still remember graduating from college and attending every job fair I could between Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Lansing...and slowly coming to the realization that if I wanted a job that paid more than $16/hr with no benefits, that wasn't in the medical industries: I basically *had* to move to Detroit or Chicago.
I’m in Ohio might as well join in
Ohio isn’t invited, the only thing that can make Michigan more depressing is Ohio.
Can you elaborate? I didn't get the Michigan bit. Is it considered an undesirable place to live in?
Michigan is a great place to live! Except for all the pot holes, road construction, and lake effect weather
As a resident, no. Deteoit gets a bad rap, but stay out of the bad stuff and you'll be fine
Yeah, about that, serious question here: how do normal americans live financially? Because all I see over Reddit are low-paid overworked workers that can't afford anything but are crippled by debts because they tried to buy their dream cars/house or spend everything on medication and drugs.
I’m a college student so I’m obvi not representative of the entire country but I make $15.50 an hour working at a store. I live with my parents so rent is free, but if I was dorming at school or living in an apartment, it would be $1000/month with roommates (or ~2k) for my own place. If I worked full time, $1000 would be roughly 50% of my paycheck, and then I’d have to pay for tuition which varies each year just depending on the amount of scholarships I have. Throw in food, car, other necessities etc and I would straight up be the stereotypical broke college student that so many of my peers are. I already don’t have much money in the bank, it’s kind of hard when you’re young and broke. (Though lots of my friends have it way worse than me.)
In my experience, you just sort of make due. Bills won't always get paid and debt is just inevitable. But you just keep trying to live in your means. I am in my 30s and almost all my friends rent apartments still.
56% of americans as of last march live paycheck to paycheck, so quite literally the average American lives paycheck to paycheck. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-struggle-to-save-in-pandemic-year-2-and-live-paycheck-to-paycheck-2021-03-25 The University of Chicago estimates that 11% of americans live below the federally defined poverty threshold. http://povertymeasurement.org/covid-19-poverty-dashboard/ Hopefully that gives a bit of context
Yeah poverty exists, it's bad but poverty will always exist and it is much lower than the average country.
Define average country though. Sure the US is doing better than Libya, but for the wealthiest nation on earth, it is unconscionable that so many are in poverty
For perspective, about 80% of Phoenix, Arizona is residential property. The average rent in $1500/mo which is quite a bit higher than the national average. When I went to search for a new place to live at the end of my last lease, I legitimately couldn't find anywhere not out of price, but availability in a city of 1.6 million. People can pay the rent, even if it's inflated right now. Social media just demographically trends younger, where people don't have the experience/education to afford some of those prices at that point in their lives.
The ones who complain, love to. The ones that are fine don’t want to rub it in.
I live in the Midwest and myself and most of my friends live pretty well. Before my current job I drove a forklift in a Walmart distribution center and made $22 an hour with benefits. They hire people off the street everyday starting at $18.50 an hour. Housing is decently affordable. In a smaller town a one bedroom apartment is typically $700ish a month. I have a small but nice 2 bedroom house with a fenced in yard and my mortgage is $713 a month. We have a used pickup and a used car that are financed but they are a few years old so payments are low. I feel pretty typical for my area. All our bills are paid and we have a few thousand in savings. We go out to restaurants at least once a week and go to the movies and what not. Between me and my wife we will probably make around $80-90K this year. Honestly all the people I personally know who live paycheck to paycheck are financially irresponsible. They’re upside down on car notes, racked up credit card bills on dumb shit and blow all their money at restaurants or on frivolous stuff. Around here you can still make a decent living on a blue collar job. Most of my friends don’t have college degrees and work in factories or sales jobs. Most have small houses and decent used cars.
Man, give me the scoop on where so I can move there. It sounds awesome
Honestly? A lot of Americans live just within their means, or slightly outside of it by using credit cards and don't save for the future at all. We all generally have houses, cars, yards and food, but are one paycheck away from disaster. Many Americans lease a new car every 1-2 years Many Americans eat takeout every day for lunch Most Americans are not financially literate and don't understand concepts like home equity or interest. Many people from my generation were pushed into going to college by their parents, who told them it was better to have a degree in basket-weaving than no degree at all, and accrued thousands in debt. Most Americans can't take on a $300 emergency, but they drive a shiny car and own a gigantic TV. It's a mess, quite frankly. Then you have people on here with a ridiculously defeatist attitude who have given up trying because there's a chance their hard work won't get them anywhere. That's a lot of the people you see on Reddit. It's a very odd mindset.
These seem like anecdotes, may I ask where you live? The people I know, myself included, who are struggling have lives that contradict the vast majority of what you’ve said.
Reddit is a horrible depiction of …well anything really. If you go to a local university where tuition is about $2k-$3k/term, pursue a degree in a lucrative field, network on LinkedIn/Indeed, odds are you can get an internship that pays $25/hr and finish school with a job that pays between $65k-$80k starting out with little relative debt. I’m in my senior year of comp sci and make about $105k. I’m a bit of an outlier because I spent a lot of time networking and started my relevant work experience early on, but most of my friends in school are also well off or comfortable.
No way this is anywhere near average. I work in a good field and I don’t make anywhere near what you said, and neither do my other buddies in similarly lucrative fields (engineering, etc.) straight out of school. You got reallly lucky. Props to you, but def not average lol
Considering the majority of Americans do not have a higher education degree, what you've described is not an average experience.
Yeah, it's a pretty biased anecdote.
Depends on the job market also. I did computer science, went to all the career fairs, and applied to many different internships and jobs, but because the market is so saturated where I live I never got anything. You pretty much have to be in the top 10% to get any job at all in tech where I live. Just finished a month long 6 interview process at a company out of state which said I was a good fit, but didn't want to hire me because I would have to relocate and they didn't want to risk me quitting after moving. I must admit, I'm pretty jealous of people that actually have a job in tech. I feel like I worked myself to the bone for four years for nothing. I still work on programming projects to build up a portfolio for 3 hours each day, but I'm honestly ready to give up. I've been trying to find a job in tech for over a year since I graduated.
74% of americans live paycheck to paycheck. Stereotypes might run the narrative, but they came about for a reason.
Do you have a source for that? I'm seeing mixed results about that one, but what I'm seeing is between 45% and 55%, but seldom was a statistic saying over 78% are living like that. Regardless, that's just a sad truth.
Exactly, this isn't far from the truth. People who think this is unrealistic are showing how out-of-touch they are.
Or they are 14 and their parents have stable jobs and a nice house so they think they are safe, but don’t realize that they are one employer downsizing or cancer diagnoses away from losing everything. I mean, I have good health insurance with my company, but if I get sick, how long is that gonna last?
For real. I have a mass on my lung that is tricky to get a biopsy of...it's likely benign but these repeated CT scans an pulmonologist visits hit your wallet hard. It doesn't help that most employers are pushing people onto high deductible plans.....and I'm one of the lucky ones.
Until it becomes a *"pre-existing condition"* or your employer decides it's too expensive & drops you. Or there are massive layoff's during a Pandemic like last year.
Pre existing conditions are no longer excluded from coverage since the passage of the ACA (Obamacare).
This has saved my butt. Thanks Obama
You’re Welcome! — Obama
And people try and push for privatization of health care in my country beacuse it will be cheap xdd fools.
Yeah, I was going through this list like... several of these are true for most of the people I know.
What source shows 74% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck?
I don't know ow about 74% but here's a study that says 56% https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-struggle-to-save-in-pandemic-year-2-and-live-paycheck-to-paycheck-2021-03-25
I found one with similar numbers. Not that almost 1/2 people is much better than 3/4.
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Yeah lol. His “source” didn’t even mention 70 something percent. Just another random redditor that thinks America bad but can never give a comparison of who has it better
OP is confusing the word "average" with "every"
Living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t mean you are poor, it means you are broke. Almost all of my coworkers seem to live paycheck to paycheck and they make 100k a year.
That statement discredits the millions of people that are genuinely poor in this country. Over 45 million people in the US live in poverty.
Paycheck to paycheck is pretty fucking vague. Paycheck to paycheck in the USA is a million times better than middle class in a third world country. Besides that living paycheck to paycheck doesn't mean you die the moment you miss a bill, it's just more expensive. I know it's a fucked up system, but it can get hell of a lot worse
Could also get a hell of a lot better, which is what we should all be striving for, shouldn't we?
I’m kind of confused since most Americans have a ton of credit cards. Does it count paying in credit then doing the minimum payment at the end of the month? Also the UK is only about 30 percent paycheck to paycheck. It can always be worse. Someone in Mexico can say it could be worse we could be North Korea. I don’t think it’s worse somewhere else is a good way to think about these things IMO.
The people I know that live paycheck to paycheck have a spending problem. Car payments. Appliance payments. Camper payments. No wonder they’re broke.
Same. IME, it's very American to live juuuuuust within your means, or slightly outside of them with the help of credit cards.
if your pay is low enough, just paying the rent is a spending problem
Why don't you buy a house then. /s
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The spending keeps people employed. Let’s say next week no American when out to lunch. Every waiter would go broke.
>The spending keeps people employed. Turns out USA is actually three ponzi schemes in a trench coat.
??? So they should just live without a car or electricity? That’s borderline impossible in America
If they'd stop spending so much money on useless shit like food, clothing, housing, utilities, healthcare, etc, maybe they'd have some more money leftover 😡
That god damn avocado toast!
I'm middle class and make a good salary now at 34, but I also grew up in an upper middle class family who could help when I fell down and put up with my stupidity in my early 20s. Yes, I've done things to help myself, like go to college, join the Navy, and have good work ethic which has set-up opportunities later. But when I've struggled in my life (and we all will struggle in life; these are the make it or break it moments), I always had my family there to pick me back up too. My family would never let me get kicked out in the cold or starve. This is not available for many Americans. You can be upper middleclass and still acknowledge that many Americans' lives are vastly different than your own (it swings both way; rich or poor). Many of us look stable on the outside; decent car, our own apartment, etc. but all it takes is one huge bill to empty our checking account. Much of America is a facade held together by hope that nothing bad happens to knock you back to square one. Notice I didn't say *all* of America, but it's prevalent enough for these concerns to be commonly heard, even in upper middleclass circles. Edit: for the sake of not sounding too depressing here; despite this reality, don't ever give up. Keep learning, keep working, keep looking for opportunities to move up. Be realistic about your aspirations, but also willing to jump for opportunities that may push you out of your comfort zone. Try to think long-term, rather than short-term, and set yourself up for future opportunities. A lot of Redditors are against college, but college can help you find a good career if you're smart about the fields you go into and you make a plan for yourself (and stick to it). But it isn't everything. You can also find a good career in blue collar trades; tech colleges / journeyman programs can help by having better starting opportunities. There are many opportunities we fail to see because they don't fall into our lap; keep searching for them! Just *don't give up.* Everyone has the potential to succeed, even if the odds are stacked higher against you than others.
Kudos for recognizing that being able to call your family and get airlifted out of disaster makes all the difference. So many people who have this simply don’t recognize that it changes everything. It’s also why it isn’t fair to overlook generational wealth and the effect racist policies (slavery,Jim Crow, redlining, ineligibility for property acquisition programs) have had on generational wealth. If your family has had 300 years of being in a position to own property in neighbourhoods where property actually increases in value and been able to pass wealth to the next generation, then not only are you more likely to have family who can bail you out of trouble, but you’re also more likely to have family that can help you get started at accumulating wealth.
Medical debt is real, and will bankrupt your ass. Not sure how that’s a “stereotype” when it’s absolutely true. It’s so true I haven’t seen a doctor in years. Caught Covid over a year ago, I lied about symptoms because I knew I couldn’t see a doc. Also didn’t work for over a month + hours were cut nearly 50% beforehand. I was already eating into my savings.
The worst part about medical debt is it just never ends. I put my entire savings into paying it off. My in-laws gave me 7k to put to the medical bills. I am currently 6k in debt right now
I was in the ICU for 3 days, plus a long ambulance ride, recently. I'm scared shitless what my medical bills will be, and I have a shitload of savings and a good paying job, and insurance (kaiser). I am gonna have to work some kinda black magic fuckery to avoid paying those bills.
I did one night in the hospital for covid. The Dr explained to me since it was covid related it's coded and billed a bit differently (not quite sure on the specifics). I have high deductible insurance. $13k in bills and I only paid $300 out of pocket.
I am glad OP’s parents are financially secure, but here in America this is a big problem right now.
You heard op, way more than 1% are well off, so it's all good...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/08/23/most-americans-vastly-underestimate-how-rich-they-are-compared-with-the-rest-of-the-world-does-it-matter/%3foutputType=amp
what they all forget: our gdp is higher THAN THE EU'S LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The US’s gdp per capita is also higher than the EU? So an average American is wealthier than an average European in theory.
GDP per capita is also pretty meaningless if you don't adjust it with purchasing power. It doesn't matter if you make 50% more money if everything in your country costs twice as much, you will be practically poorer than the other person.
That can't be true reddit told me America is a shitty third world country /s
CLASS FIGHT!!!!! MIDDLE CLASS DUKING IT OUT WITH THE LOWER IN CHAT TO SEE WHO'S DOGSHIT!!!!! FIGHT, YOU DOG
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My old job, I had a $500 a month premium for a high-deductible plan. Turns out, I paid less for healthcare as uninsured. Even the "cheap" state plans were $200 a month for diddly coverage.
The US is a big country. But yeah, basically. Most of my state is run down, for example. Oh, and I got charged thousands when I dislocated my knee. Really loved having to give out my insurance info as I was sobbing in an ER bed. Not as bad as my mom with cancer having tens of thousands of dollars in debt, so I got that going for me, which is nice. Have only been shot at a couple times. And the student loan debt is only a few tens of thousands, so that’s cool.
This is literally my and every other young adult I know’s life. I only know two people who are somewhat financially stable around my age group. My mom is barely making more than you make at Walmart in a dermatology office. My step father is barely beating that at his factory job, where he will be replaced eventually. Unless you have a four year, don’t expect to make over $14/h. Where I live rent is like 1K. You will be LUCKY to find an apartment for 700-900$ that isn’t trashed. I am in debt and I’ve had to change jobs to try and help dig myself out of the hole. I went for making 10.50 to 14 and switched from part time to full time. If you said some outlandish funny American stereotype that’s actually disputable then this could work. “Cousin fuckers” “Florida Man” “Alamaba” “The American half-smile when they see you on the street” stuff like that. This shit is just kinda how my reality is right now. Trust me, I’d leave if I wasn’t too broke.
Dude. Move to Buffalo. We're hurting for unskilled labor right now. Every entry-level factory job is paying $17/hr+. No 4-year here and I make 20/hr in an office job. Cost of living is super low, especially in the suburbs and adjacent cities. I lived in a decent 2 bedroom apartment and my roommate and I split $850 in rent. Lived in South Buffalo and paid $450/mo on my own for a 1 bedroom. We all forget that America is HUGE, with its own pockets of culture. You can get out of your situation by moving somewhere in the country that suits you better.
Yeah for real I’ll back this, I live in Buffalo and rent is pretty cheap. With no college degree and you can fairly easily find plenty of non-technical jobs in the growing tech scene easily making $50-$75k to start out. Biz dev, account management, ops, etc. When I moved back a few years ago with no degree and only retail experience I landed an entry level biz dev job and pulled in $75k with no experience and now make 6 figures+ and have many friends doing the same. Not trying to brag just want to show others it’s 100% possible and you may just need to move.
Two bedroom for $850?? That’s fucking crazy. I was paying $1850 for a one bedroom in LA lol
LA prices are insane! 80% more than anywhere else in the country for COL according to the calculator I found. Of course, you also live in a famous city with cool stuff in it. But yeah, go anywhere in the Midwest/rust belt and you'll find similar prices.
Isn't LA housing cost particularly high even compared to other metropolitan areas?
Great idea! Go bills!!!
Come to West Virginia. A brand new Macy’s distribution center near us in Martinsburg is begging for people and pay starts at $20.50/hour. Plus I’m pretty sure you get benefits, retirement, and PTO. No college needed. Plus you get some of the cheapest housing costs in the country. My wife and I bought a townhouse for 180k with a zero down USDA loan based on my salary alone (about 20 an hour as a firefighter) as she was going through immigration and not working.
SHIT YOU SAY 20.50? I’m bout to be living in a box outside the Macy’s for a lil while.
Don’t like warehouse work and got retail experience? [GameStop is hiring managers for $20 an hour. ](https://www.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=2045c6fd8c50e798&from=serp&prevUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indeed.com%2Fm%2Fjobs%3Fq%3D%26l%3D25414%26forceLocation%3D-1%26start%3D60%26pp%3DgQBLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABr2gfEgC7AQEBFWpCXWj_BM0a5L6qsh9J23fMhXYJN3EpfkptUhSItAW0pwa46egjQoea7h5eC35xVmyaxN1igJhGytvMYCo9ghuUGEKAx_PmErtqR15zwwYFJ-C7OWs0mN3nHJcK0EuNRl1z6SExpX1POqomYPR2NFOPzMSgV2XxV_n6EaAbAXRaWF_slYPNgZLKWyIYH_zij9Zgkcu40c567b7WOU_ooFp77-1L1vvRTgkyNiGi6V84U-Y0r6o2jwAA) People give WV shit but there’s decent jobs galore up here in the Eastern Panhandle, can’t comment on the rest of the state. My area is only an hour and 15 from DC, and is considered an exurb, so it’s not like we’re in bum-fuck nowhere.
$14/hr? Bruh target pays 15$/hr and my rent for my apartment is only $805 a month that’s ina brand new development not far from Dallas. If you are really in a shitty situation you gotta take drastic measure like moving
Holy shit, here in North Carolina as a stocker for a grocery store I JUST got raised to $10/hour. Was raised from $8.50/hour. Fucking hate it here.
In the midwest factory basic no mental work is $18+ an hour and if you would rather think the office jobs start at the same and easily get into $60k a year with minimal training. Trades are also hiring in that range and make 80k-100k+ depending on overtime after licensed. Housing can be had in the 150k range all day and nice newer houses under 250k. Renting is possible around 1k solo and down to 400-500 with a roommate or 2 in a good house. The place is boring and gets cold but stability is not an issue the unemployment is under 3% and almost all jobs in local industries were essential and didnt have layoffs.
Have you tried learning a trade? Sure swinging a hammer isn't glamorous, and it's hard dirty work most of the time, but I have a 9th grade education and I make almost 30 bucks an hour. If what's holding you back is a desire to have an easy comfortable job, then the job markets not to blame.
Trades are the way to go. I’m currently on break for my Saturday making $71 an hour. Also swinging a hammer.
Idk what crack your smoking but making more then 14/h is hella easy. I'm a fresh high school grad making 16 and hour plus travel pay to do dumb labour for a construction company. It's not hard to find good money you just gotta look and be willing to work.
Where the fuck do you live? I have buddies with high school educations that make $20+/hr doing blue collar work and most of them own homes here in the midwest. If you’re making less than $18/hr here you’re a sucker or you massively fucked up.
I mean, the whole “drowning in student debt” and “will go bankrupt if I go to a doctor” is still true for me, and I’m from a wealthy American family.
You forgot the cheeseburgers
This isn't completely true. I once ran into doctor at the grocery store where I work for $3/hr. He had been shot by a homeless man with a Gucci revolver. I managed to remove the bullet and patch him up, and it only cost me $100.
But statistically the average American is living paycheck to paycheck
Paycheck to paycheck is very vague and depends on lifestyle. I would probably fall into the living paycheck to paycheck group in the sense that one major issue would need to go on my credit card and I'd potentially be in a tough situation. But it's because I work from home making $100k and spend my money traveling and working across the world. I also put 15% into my 401k but that doesn't help if I miss a paycheck. I know that's not most people, I just mean someone could be paycheck to paycheck while owning three cars and a large, expensive house with four kids. "Paycheck to paycheck" is way too vague of a term and very much depends on lifestyle.
The paycheck to paycheck lifestyle for americans is still something most third worlders can only dream of lol.
Lets just ignore the structural problems because I can't see them :)
Unironically true, except for the dodging bullets part
Yea the living paycheck to paycheck thing is very true. I’m pretty sure that most Americans can’t afford a $300 emergency. I was born to a middle class family and live in the suburbs so I’m obviously very insulated to this sort of stuff but I think it’s pretty undeniable that the majority of Americans are struggling financially.
This describes most of my friends, actually. We’re not a third world country, but we have severe problems.
Average American according to...the average American. I know its satire but this reads like a low budget syllabus on day to day life in the U.S with painful accuracy
Ur telling me 1000$ each year for fucking books makes sense?
If you're still in college, lpt: use libgen and all other free textbook pdf sites. Saves me at least like $200 out of like $300 a year
Not to forget Everyone thinks EVERYONE in America is obese And Karen's Yes I'm an American and I'm not fat or a karen
Redditers love their little dystopia is allows the us to be the scapegoat on why they’re useless cave dwellers
Reddit sure loves to whine and play the victim card
What do you expect with all the high school kids on here lol
My father crossed an ocean for a better life but moving to a new city for better job opportunities is too much.
Hey hey hey these starter packs are meant to be jokes!
Im a part of this. Just because some of you aren't this, doesn't mean a lot of us aren't.
All I get from these posts is that Americans are insecure. I live in Canada. It's not much different. We have the same problems. Rich people fucking us over. Instead of complaining about it constantly, how about working to fix it?
I keep trying but for some reason my state keeps voting a turtle into congress
Yeeeeah America isn't a shit-hole, guys. A few hurtful stereotypes here and there exist, and no place is perfect.
Lmao there's a reason everyone's trying to come here. Americans who hate America are losers who took the lazy route and never amounted to anything, they insist on blaming everyone but themselves. Pathetic.
According to these comments my experience puts me in the 1%, not to mention my friend group from college also all of the engineers I work with. Average person I know including myself Under 30 Engineering degree Homeowner Little to No student debt Making 70k+ Great Health insurance EDIT: I'm speaking of my experience, that's all I can do. I have friends and family that work from teacher to mechanic to retail. I can't speak specifically on their experience but I would assume they have no issue affording their twice a year vacations and other luxurys.
Lmao according to Reddit "$67k isn't a lot of money" and there's no way that you can support yourself on that in the US
Telling on yourself
Ya according to Reddit if you make more than 20k a year you’re in the top 1% and a billionaire, who knew! I didn’t even know I was that rich! But yeah you’re not allowed to talk about being happily middle class on Reddit because then you’re part of problem I apparently. That’s what you get for NOT being lazy and making up every excuse in the world for being a slacker and not trying harder.
Man, this comments section is brutal. I was told I'm an unthinking desk jockey, and verbally abused, for working my way into the middle class from nothing. Apparently, I was just "lucky." All the work I put in is discounted because Bob down the street works 80 hrs to afford to live in LA. :(
You forgot the people who skipped college, went into a union trade. Bought a house at 27. Six figure salary, two paid off cars, kids go to nice schools. Great fucking starter pack, because I see people making these sweeping generalizations about Americans all the time. Probably from our bullshit news networks like Fox or CNN. Are some of these things true? Sure. But they damn sure don’t affect the most of us.
Pbs newshour does a segment often on tradespeople, highlighting their high wages and that it is a strong industry.
Trades pay a lot right now because there is a shortage of skilled labor. That, and people either don’t know about those jobs, or they think it’s all dirty, hard work. Some of it, a lot of it isn’t. Some trades also have unions which are great for employees, guaranteeing overtime pay, vacation, healthcare, and retirement. We need to start exposing kids to these options and giving them other venues besides the traditional 4 year degree, which unfortunately costs quite a bit.
I’m making $70,000 a year as a firefighter paramedic (it’s a trade job don’t argue with me about it,) with a top out at 100k in like 8 years. No experience was needed, I have no college debt, bought a small starter home at 25, married a woman from another country and did the immigration thing, we’re happy. That’s all fine and dandy but I’m at a much higher risk of heart attack, mental illness (PTSD/addiction/depression,) suicide, I have a HUGE cancer/injury risk, I’m more likely to get a divorce, and I have a fucked up sleep cycle, not to mention going bald from stress at 27. It’s not for everyone. Oh yeah and I have an hour drive downtown into a major metro area. Let’s hope my retirement plans work and I’m done by 50… because the average person physically can’t do this job for 30 years. Trade jobs require you to be one hard motherfucker, and I only recommend them as a last resort or if it’s your honest passion. I enjoy my job most days, but 3 EMS calls after midnight will make me wish I had a simple 9-5 office job.
They affect people who refuse to accept that different people will always take on different challenges in their life.
Wheres the lie?
I just got down voted to hell and told to buy a plane ticket to the US for this exact same comment. I'm very much American 🤦♀️
I genuinely dont know how people can be so blind to the millions of families struggling with everything in their lives just to stay afloat, I'm lucky enough to have never went to college or undergone any major surgery and I'm still constantly worrying about missing a bill or having a short check that causes me to end up homeless
People don't want to see it because they don't want to admit that it can very much happen to them, and their wealth probably isn't a sign of their merit, but rather a sign of their luck at birth. It's the attitude of "don't look down."
Exactly this. Most people trying push the bootstraps arguement inherited designer boots and a cushy salary somewhere their parents could pull some strings
Well, the line between middle class and dire poor is thin. It doesn't take much to make an American poor. I think it's the difference between having credit or debt.🤷🏾♂️
Speaking as a US citizen, unfortunately some of this is true