The Ludwig Institute's Minimal Quality of Life Index found that, in 2023, only 40% of Americans earned enough money to get by in relative comfort.
  • frunch@lemmy.world
    1·
    1 year ago

    I know this isn’t really a universal indicator, but for me it’s been watching the price of simple things like chips, candy, and soda ($3 for a 20 oz bottle?!?). All things that i enjoy occasionally but as the price of all these things continues to rise it becomes easier to say no. I was shocked to see the bagel place in town charging $15 for a sandwich on a bagel. Nobody seems to bat an eye though. I think I’m probably just getting gradually priced out of my town ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Of course I’m aware i don’t have to buy any of that stuff and i can cook and make food at home, and that’s what I’ve started doing. I may treat myself on occasion but i just can’t justify spending that much on stuff that didn’t used to cost half that. I’m probably just getting old and remember “back in my day” all too well, lol

    • Zedd_Prophecy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Same here - ive even started buying rice and dried beans in bulk And taken to canning and growing veg. I’m not giving up my recreational funds for a Mc Crapwich

    • Bigfishbest@lemmy.world
      0·
      1 year ago

      Compensating for relative lower income with low cost of consumer products is a bit like pissing your pants to get warm. The underlying issue is declining wages, caused by the loss of labor power. If people had decent wages a rise in prices would not be a problem. But while scraping by a rise in prices is a huge problem.

      • fantoozie@midwest.socialEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Facts. But the other side of that is the massively unequal tax burden. Tax corporations and wealthy proportionally to their reported net worth and use that to fund substantial public services (healthcare, transportation, education, childcare) so that rising wages aren’t just funneled back into the same pockets.

  • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
    0·
    1 year ago

    They’re also losing their constitutional rights and their entire republic.

    Marines deployed in US cities…
    And nobody does a damn thing about it…

    Personally, I’ve written off America. It’s now officially a fascist hellhole.

    • Steve@communick.newsEnglish
      0·
      1 year ago

      Personally, I’ve written off America. It\s now officially a fascist hellhole.

      That’s how the fascists win.

      “All that’s needed for evil to prevail, is for good men to do nothing.”
      - Someone I don’t remember

      • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
        0·
        1 year ago

        I don’t have to do anything. I left the US and gave up my citizenship 25 years ago because it started to scare me when Dubya signed the USA Patriot Act and started turning Gitmo into a concentration camp. I’m watching the disaster unfold from afar.

        I was kind of hoping America would get its shit together, but the only thing Americans are apparently good at is voluntarily drowning in more shit. They wanted Trump once because they’re fucking morons, and they wanted it a second time after knowing exactly what he was and what he did because they’re fucking fascists.

        There’s nothing good in America because there’s nothing good in Americans. I should know, I was one.