Hard times: 7 in 10 Americans say they’re living paycheck to paycheck now

Try thinking beyond the bubble. Without someone to create the business, there is no purpose for 'capital'. So which exists first?

If you think that the higher cost of living is for the demand in California, then why has the population declined?
https://apnews.com/article/californ...rus-pandemic-d4df0f6a2eef7a3dc4a6d27c65df7b84

 

Really? Please support your statement, because that is not what the markets show.

'I' do no such thing. Someday you might actually look beyond your anger and realize there are any number of people who do not support Trump, and won't support the Democrats and their bigoted processes.

As to California's population decline, https://apnews.com/article/californ...andemic-d4df0f6a2eef7a3dc4a6d27c65df7b84Where you got North Dakota from I don't know, but I do know the influx of Northerners and Californians in the Southeast has increased.

 

If a population does not have large numbers of companies and businesses, where do people work?

Well, that really leaves only one alternative -- THE GOVERNMENT. And which faction among us is the biggest advocate for THAT?

. "And best of all, I can retire on full bennies in only ten more years!"

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/17/wag...mericans-still-live-paycheck-to-paycheck.html

HYPERLINK has full article

snip

While real wages are on the rise, they can’t keep up with the increased cost of living, which is growing at the fastest annual pace in about four decades.

Over the past year, inflation eroded pay by 1.7%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
At the end of 2021, 61% of the U.S. population was living paycheck to paycheck, down slightly from a high of 65% in 2020, according to a recent LendingClub report.

end snip

Yet another new study showing just how bad is the quality of life for most Americans. This article also is from CNBC, a trusted until now news source for Democrat voters.

No matter how much spin the DNC tries to put on this train wreck caused by full Democrat control, even the media will leak out bad news on rare occasion.

The folks don't need the media to tell them how bad things are.
The folks also know that Democrat votes created this

 

The following graph is corporate profits:


Explain to me how this is not just corporate greed ?

I thought corporations making more money was good for workers AND for the economy ? Are you now saying that their profits are bad ?

The government covid money is no longer available, unemployment is at 4%, wages are UP, so whats driving inflation now ?

Lemme get that for you...Corporate GREED !

 

This was literally what people were saying back during the Occupy Wall Street protests, during the late Obama years, the Trump years and now. This is not new, and has been going on so long that it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s leading to increases in domestic terrorism and hate crimes. Don’t be partisan, actually try to fix the problem.

 

I remember the occupy campsites. One side of the park were people with money, nice tents, Ipads, creature comforts, and the have-nots had to stay on their own side.

Americans live paycheck to paycheck because they are conditioned to consume until broke, then use revolving debt.

 

Yeah, that was part of the dehumanization logic. “Because you have nice things you can’t be struggling” argument. It still goes on today. Apartments are expensive. Prices have increased for years now and their wages haven’t matched the increased prices. It’s not that they’re consuming and consuming, it’s consuming because what they have is all they have to give. Why do you think the US has such high COVID deaths compared to other countries? Long term societal issues lead to increased deaths.

 

HOW Many Threads about this does PF Need?

9 DAYS AGO--Somebody Posted a (Virtually) IDENTICAL Thread:

http://www.politicalforum.com/index...ey’re-living-paycheck-to-paycheck-now.596846/

^Look familiar?
REDUNDANCY Much?
Slow day for "Inflation Thread" Spam?

Anyway, in the ORIGINAL Thread, there was a good discussion.
And, since, I wouldn't be accused of posting off-topic...

Here are my contrubutions (to this Redundant Thread) from the Original:

Anyway, as far as " paycheck to paycheck", most Americans in recent times have always lived paycheck to paycheck.
And, as was pointed out earlier, even under the previous administration.

63% of Americans have been living paycheck to paycheck since Covid hit
Published Fri, Dec 11 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/11/maj...ing-paycheck-to-paycheck-since-covid-hit.html

A shocking number of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck
Published: Jan. 11, 2020 at 3:11 p.m. ET
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a...ns-are-living-paycheck-to-paycheck-2020-01-07

And in 2017:

In fact, living paycheck to paycheck – meaning there's not a cash cushion to cover the bills if the income stops for awhile – is a common condition in America. In the 12th richest nation in the world by per capita GDP, nearly 8 in 10 U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck, according to a 2017 study by CareerBuilder
https://www.usnews.com/news/the-rep...jority-of-americans-live-paycheck-to-paycheck

It has been the same for decades.
___________

IF this was the 1st Time this ever happened, the "Joe Bad!/Dems Bad!" Premise in the OP may (repeat MAY) have had a shred of validity.
However, since this phenomenon of "paycheck to paycheck" has been an ongoing common occurrence for years (including the preceding Administration and even before that), trying to blame Biden and the Democrats for something like "paycheck to paycheck" is like blaming them for rain on parade day or an unexpected car problem.

Definitely, an Epically-FAILED attempt to assess blame (for a Common Occurrence).

 

Cost of living in the last couple of years substantially higher than pay raises and it is crushing America, but 2021 has been ultra-destructive to the American dream.

81,000,000 voters couldn't be wrong, right? And we thought Jimmy Carter was bad!

 

It was a reenactment of Animal Farm. On consumption, you are far from correct. Those living check to check have I-phones, nice clothes, shoes, hair, nails, cars, sun glasses, etc. They enjoy their Starbucks and Uber Eats etc. Americas lowest income families spend about 40% on luxuries.

Americans also enjoy a subsidized diet with lots of sugar, salt, and fat. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is the reason Covid hit Americans hard.

 

Looks like Democrats in office is GREAT for corporate earnings!

 

Thanks Biden!

 

And gas prices....

 

That fits in with what I said you realize? That just because they have nice things they must not be suffering? It was like when Bill O’Reilly a couple of years ago thought a fridge was a luxury item. And besides it actually makes sense why they would spend that much on luxury goods-it’s because they know via conditioning that the good times won’t last so spend the money now. Because you won’t have it for very long. That’s the problem with poverty.

 

Your point was that wages aren't keeping up with rising expenses. Those with nice things may be struggling, but it is by choice. Poverty/wealth are not dollar amounts; they are sets of habits.

You have an interesting take on why they spend their money. I don't see how anticipating being broke induces spending. As we speak, people are sitting in a board room discussing how to get those people to consume even more. I have been in those meetings for 33+ years.

The poor place a lot of importance on status. Marketers assign an identity to those consuming their product and people behave in a manner consistent with that identity. On the other side of that image is a low balance in their bank account and a high balance on their credit card.

Marketers also know how to induce food consumption using basic human behavior. The colors of ripe fruit, yellow, red, and orange stimulates apatite. Can you guess the colors fast food companies use for their logos? Once they respond to that, the first bite rewards the brain with the taste of fat, salt, or sugar. This creates habit and looking at our fat, broke society, it is very successful.

 

1) It's logic logic. Either you're not broke to start with, or those 'nice things' made you broke. Either way, crying poor is a lie .. and responding to that lie as a truth is actually dehumanising (I refuse to regard you as human enough to be shitty and irresponsible).

2) Are they? Where are they expensive? In EXPENSIVE locations? Places that are only affordable for the wealthy? It's not a problem of wages not matching expenses, it's a matter of people not adjusting their expenses to their wages. Obviously. Economies are ever in flux, and it's up to us to adapt and adjust accordingly.

3) The studies have been done. The higher death rate is a result of large proportions of your infected cohort delaying medical treatment (for ('cultural' reasons, apparently), and their simultaneous higher rate of comorbidities.

 

Yet it's happening all over the First World.

 

And there's your answer.

 

Okay, now you HAVE to be trolling.

Who forced them to buy nice things, and thus suffer? Please tell exactly who's army held them at gunpoint and made them blow all their dough on fun today, instead of saving for tomorrow?

Meantime, if your sense of compassion is genuinely so warped that you actually condone and pity the actions of irresponsible and self-gratifying people .. people who live beyond their means precisely because for them, being responsible is suffering .. we can't have an adult conversation about this. You're championing childish, selfish, lazy, @sshats. People given all the opportunity that those who make good are given, yet they give opportunity the middle finger. These are your heroes. The people you think deserve our pity, in spite of the fact that their actions create 'suffering' for so many others - in that they're too selfish to care that they'll likely become a burden on the public purse.

And your claim that poverty makes people buy nice things is freaking ridiculous, with respect. There are millions upon millions of poor people in the world doing the polar opposite.

 

Who benefits when corporations are profitable?

 

So true. Brandon has be. The worst president of our life time.

 

What problem?

The fact that Americans are notoriously terrible with money management? That Americans have a massive entitlement mentality? That cultural decay is resulting in financial strain?

The fact is, governments have little control over free markets to make the types of changes you desire. Attempts only corrupt the market and result in undesirable consequences like inflation we are currently witnessing.

I'll put this as bluntly as possible. Nobody is poor because somebody else is rich. That simple doesn't happen. That isn't how our economy works. That's an excuses to make new rules to distribute wealth. Anybody can become wealthy, they are most just too lazy and entitled.

 

Corporations !

 

Doesn’t capitalism mean that the market sets and regulates it’s own prices?
If things are too expensive for some Americans they can rely on other Americans to tell them to ***k off and die.
That is called the market finding it’s own level, Americans are very keen on having people priced out, look at the 20million or so who can’t fund the rip off health insurance costs.
All together now America, tell the 20 million to ***k off and die. Doctors can never have enough golf courses.