I hope this video isn’t too political.
You just have to dive into the economic numbers to see how people are being impacted. We have just gone through the highest consecutive annual inflation numbers in the last 40 years. People at the lower end are getting crushed by prices and doing without. People in the middle are surviving by using their credit cards. People toward the top are just not saving as much. So many people do not understand that lower inflation DOES NOT MEAN prices are coming down.
Kudos to the guy in the video that said he and his wife are deferring having children because they cannot afford the cost of raising them. I wish we had more people in this country make the same choices…
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Yes, indeed. Wife was SpecEd teacher in low income areas, and she witnessed the struggles poor people have with a house full of kids.
I didn’t click the link. Presumably PBS doesn’t admit that all government data is made up.
If we do not have a healthy population growth, the country will need additional immigration.
A dwindling population equals a country in decline.
https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2012/12/03/why-a-falling-birth-rate-is-a-big-problem
As technology advances, we need less and less people over time to support the economy. This is consistent with the declining US birth rate over the last 30 years…
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I believe Joe Biden is the only one that thinks theirs no problem with t he economy!
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Ahh, its those evil greedy corporations! Let’s tax then into non existence; too bad you lose your job. And the lady with $100,000 student loan debt I have zero sympathy for.
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In fact, corporations are greedy…but not necessarily evil. Over the past 4 years, corporate price increases and profits have outpaced the overall rate of inflation. I remember sitting in corporate meetings as a product manager years ago, where the sales people were given articles about inflation to justify company price increases even though we had actually negotiated down our material costs. It was all a play to increase profits.
I’m not opposed to corporations. I think they’re just taking advantage of an opportunity, but there’s nothing wrong with reasonable corporate taxation. I’m most frustrated with unwise government policies that have exacerbated inflation, and the Fed’s missteps by over heating the economy for years.
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Welcome to real life. Inflation is part of a normal economy. Your employer should make sure your salary keeps pace with it. If they’re not willing to, then find another employer that will. People expecting prices to go down aren’t being realistic. Many corporations are price gouging, so you can either pay the higher prices, or find alternatives.
A big part of the reason why so many feel pressured is because they spend too much when they don’t have to. Too many overspend with gas-guzzling trucks & SUVs, too large homes, gourmet coffees, expensive vacations, expensive tech, etc. People should always be living as far beneath their means as they can, and then investing the rest. That’s what I did, and even making a pretty modest income at a nonprofit, I was still able to retire in my 40s.
In a mall, walked into a Starbucks and looked at prices…then walked out.
Am not paying that much for coffee…
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Here’s the math for a forty-year Starbucks customer’s average purchase 5 days a week:
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Back in the 1970s min wage was 1.65 an hour which is what I made working at a Dairy Queen, I could barely afford to live. Now it seems like this scenario is happening all over again. Nothing has changed.
Most people never come close to earning the income they are capable of earning in their lifetimes.
Aside from unforeseen health problems, accidents and things beyond their control, I think the biggest factor in limiting earning potential is the level of their risk aversion. By and large, folks underestimate themselves and avoid the risks of leaving one job for a better one. You can’t get rich selling your labor by the hour.
My first job as a 10-yo was working at a nursery getting paid in shrubs and trees for our yard, #2 was at a neighborhood grocery store to pay down my family’s charge account and my third job was as a florist shop delivery driver at 16 delivering flowers for 50 cents an hour.
The first time I ever paid FIT or SS was when I joined the Navy in 1959 at 17 years old. By the time I was 28 years old I was in the top 10% of US income earners. It’s more a matter of self-confidence, willingness to work and not being afraid to take a chance on opportunities along the way in many cases.