Middle Age Is Becoming a Breaking Point in America, Study Reveals
Posted by MirthMannor@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 171 comments
Posted by MirthMannor@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 171 comments
PotentialPlum4945@reddit
I’m getting really tired of older Americans telling me, “It wasn’t easy back in my day. We bought a house at 10% interest.” Like, bitch, you bought a house.
12ab34cd56ef78g@reddit
The same older boomer generation also Don’t want to pay any taxes on their paid off house. They want services from the government but now want to pull the rug
Comfortable-Pea-1312@reddit
Can't lift a finger to help you but expect you to drop everything ANYTIME they have a hang nail.
They were shitty parents. They are shitty grandparents . They are just shitty people. Not all. But a large enough number.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
I don’t know any boomers that don’t pay taxes just cause the house is paid off doesn’t mean you don’t pay taxes
12ab34cd56ef78g@reddit
They are always complaining that they should be exempt from property taxes not that they are exempt.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
Where are they complaining about property taxes? The only complaint I see about property taxes is that there so high people cannot afford to live in a given area usually near a city.
12ab34cd56ef78g@reddit
I see if often in comments by boomers. I must read a larger variety of news sites and sources to see the comments of others.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
So news sites that you agree with and not ones you don’t agree with?
VaselineHabits@reddit
Yes, but 10% on $100k, most of them less than that, is much less expensive overall than 6-7% on $300-500k
The average age for a first time homeowner is 42-49... I assume signing up a for 30 year mortgage. This is no sustainable, especially if they keep wanting us to breed
MelpomeneAndCalliope@reddit
They must want our kids and grandkids to live with us forever. While intergenerational living definitely has its pluses, as an only child introvert, that’s one of my nightmares. I’ve almost been in constant fight or freeze mode since my kids were born due to sensory overload (turns out I find out in my late 30s that I have AuDHD and can’t get the mask up like I once did). I can’t do this forever.
Defiant_Cookie_4963@reddit
Ok, holy shit you just verbalized something super helpful for me. The constant fight or freeze since your kids were born, and not being able to mask like you used to 💡
MelpomeneAndCalliope@reddit
It’s exhausting, sorry you’re dealing with it, too.
OkTacoCat@reddit
My parents paid CASH for their house which still makes my head scramble. 😵💫
dragon34@reddit
My grandparents bought their house for 5k. And then spent 25k on an addition in the 90s lol
BigManWAGun@reddit
Our grandparents were able to buy a house from a fucking department store!
MelpomeneAndCalliope@reddit
I wish these were a thing again!
cassssk@reddit
I want a craftsman so bad. And it kills me that these mail order mid century homes are now selling for multiple millions of dollars in some places 🤯
FabiusBill@reddit
I was looking at 800-1,000sq/ft of hardscaping, and grading an additional 1,000 sq/ft. Nothing monolithic or high tier. Estimated at $40,000.
redclover83@reddit
My mom loves reminding me that when they bought their first house interest rates were at 19%. Okay but what was the price of the home compared to your annual income at the time??
DingDonFiFI@reddit
And many didn’t because they couldn’t afford it this whole notion that previous generations had it easier is so stupid.
rit909@reddit
The argument isn't that they had it easy, its that they had a chance to do it
DingDonFiFI@reddit
And we still do yes it’s hard but nothing in life is easy
rit909@reddit
Its not just hard, it's harder than it used to be. That's the point. Stop being obtuse and process the information that is going on all around you.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
Don’t buy in cities then, but that would require getting out of the echo chamber
Not_a_werecat@reddit
Yeah, go out into the boonies where it's cheap. You can totally buy a house working part-time at Dollar General - which is the only work to be had in those areas unless you want to sell meth.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
You know it’s funny I live out in the boonies and there are plenty of jobs out here besides Dollar General. The hospital and associated healthcare facilities are hiring the local. Walmart is always looking for full-time people and there’s plenty of places looking for a remote work a nice job painting people who live out in the boonies as drug addicts lol
Not_a_werecat@reddit
I guarantee I grew up more rural than you. There wasn't even a stop light or a dollar store. It was a 20 mile drive to the nearest Walmart.
You think you can afford a house working at WALMART? 😂
Dude, my best friend in college was working for walmart for years and she couldn't even afford food. She gave herself malnutrition eating nothing but ramen for months on end because that's all she could afford.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
So she couldn’t afford vegetables and fruits? It’s not a contest of who grew up more rural than the other. Just merely pointing out where I live, which is considered rural there are other jobs available besides Dollar general you just gotta get off your butt and look for them.
Iamthegreenheather@reddit
Do you also just go door to door with your resume? This isn't 1990 anymore. Grow up.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
Never said anything about 1990 but I suppose being told to grow up is an equivalent insult by anyone who can’t think outside their own echo chamber
DingDonFiFI@reddit
I actually know people that bought houses just working at Walmart and they were millennials because they weren’t buying in the city
oldgovernor_24@reddit
What the hell is wrong with you guys? Why would you narrow your career search to Dollar General only? Ever heard of a little company called Wal*Mart? I mean you idiots probably haven’t even reached out to Tractor Supply HR recruiters. You can’t help those who don’t realize that you can work at Casey’s gas stations while patiently waiting for the hiring director at Sonic to call you back for round 3 of interviews. Do you want to own a home or not??
DoctorAssbutt@reddit
Walmart has the highest number of employees on government assistance (SNAP, Medicaid). Why do you suppose that is?
Berserkshires-@reddit
Hmm wonder what will happen to those healthcare jobs when the rural hospitals close due to the BBB.
MetalEnthusiast83@reddit
Yep, you either in live in Manthattan or Pigsnuckle Arkansas. There's definitely no mid sized cities or towns around the country that are perfectly nice places to live! None at all!.
CharmyLah@reddit
Great idea, move away from the places that have jobs to places with fewer and lower paying jobs. Excellent solution!
DingDonFiFI@reddit
You know it’s funny we have things called cars where we can live in cheaper places and still commute too places that have the higher paying jobs without having to live there. Fun fact, if you work in New York city, but Don don’t live there. You have to pay New York taxes on top of the taxes of where you live many people that work in New York city live in New Jersey because it’s really expensive to live in New York
CharmyLah@reddit
You're really out of touch if you think most people can afford to live in reasonable commuting distance to a major city like New York.
I live an hour and half from Boston in non-rush hour traffic and can barely afford life. Nevermind the mental health toll of spending 3-4 hours a day commuting to the city (where many jobs in my field are restricted to residents of the city, so I would have to somehow move somewhere 3x as expensive to even get hired)
As it stands right now, I work an hour outside the city and even have to commute almost an hour to work where I do.
rit909@reddit
Do you think only houses in cities have risen in price over the past few decades?
I don't think you really have a point to make here since you're not actually saying anything so I'm going to go ahead and end this now so you can continue on embarrassing yourself on the internet.
ChicagoLesPaul@reddit
And they bought it for $25K and it’s now worth $2M.
elmoosh@reddit
I work in mortgages and yes, their $25k homes they paid off 30 years ago are now worth at least $500k and so many of them are taking out home equity loans and buying more houses as investment properties and hiking up rents. Thanks mom and dad.
Comfortable-Pea-1312@reddit
sey5_venn@reddit
I was not surprised at all that the article mentioned people caring for children and elderly parents at the same time. I once remember somebody calling middle age "the sandwiched generation", meaning we're caught between caring for our parents and our own children at the same time. Lots of times, something just gives way.
I feel bad saying this, but I'm secretly glad my parents died fairly young. I have friends who tell me about the monthly cost of elderly care (even with some state support) and it's enough to make me spit out my coffee. I remember one post where someone ranted in despair that their parents never took care of themselves (either physically or financially) and the burden was still falling to them after all these years. I really feel for that person.
ScreenSensitive9148@reddit
Yep. Some parents consider their kids a retirement plan and burden us with their whole existence. That’s why they’re so pressed to have kids right away— they expect to benefit from their adult children’s earning potential. It’s exhausting.
OldMastodon5363@reddit
Exhausting and also selfish on their part.
WhatTheCluck802@reddit
I am that person right now. Boiling with resentment that my mother’s lack of self care and planning, is going to fall on me now. Argh.
UniversityNo2318@reddit
Right there with you. Helped out with my grandma as well…now doing it for my mother who is the most fiscally irresponsible person I’ve ever met. I have no clue what’ll happen if I live that long, as a lot of money I could be saving is going to cover her bills.
stephsco@reddit
Going through that with one side of the family, in laws to me. The lack of respect and outright defiance when everyone in this person's life tried to help, prepare, assist. Now this person is in crisis and my husband and his siblings are left to deal with the damage. It's very sad. My dad died suddenly a few months ago and I honestly think I'm grieving differently bc how this other family stuff has gone down; I'm grateful my dad didn't experience drawn out suffering or dementia. Dealing with an estate of someone who passed is much different than trying to get power of attorney in a messy situation and keep someone alive who could not give one care to the people trying. Really hard stuff and I have so much empathy for anyone in this right now.
BlueSundown@reddit
I'm with you. My dad died quickly too (many years ago), and as much as I still miss him every day I'm also very glad he never saw this shitty world and never had to endure the Long Slow Decline. My mother, on the other hand, is an oppositional Methuselah determined to make things as hard as possible for everyone around her for as long as possible.
Economy-Camp-7339@reddit
My mom had the long slow decline from early onset dementia. When she passed it was a relief, especially for my dad who was her primary caretaker. And now he still lives in the same house, 3 hours from any family, and while he’s in good health is really just a slip or illness away from all of that changing.
And I’m just like FFS sell your house, move closer or into a retirement home-not because I think he’s need that today, but because it’s better to make that decision with one hand on the wheel than having it made for him.
rialucia@reddit
My grandfather did this when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He sold the house he and my step grandmother lived in and moved them into a high quality retirement community a good 7-10 years before he died. It was close enough to one of my uncles that there was always at least one family member less than an hour away, and because he was there for so long, he did establish a community. The uncle who lived nearby plays piano, and he regularly visited and played for the residents. My mom lived across the country, but when she visited she also played piano and sang.
It was such a stark contrast to the experience of my other grandfather. He had a myriad of chronic health issues including some dementia and eventually my grandmother made sure he got placed in a nursing home because she herself was sick with what turned out to be bladder cancer and she knew she couldn’t care for him anymore. She passed away within a year of when he went into a home. My dad was the only one of his siblings left alive and he drove the two hours between cities nearly every weekend to check up on him, because the home wasn’t the highest quality, but it was all they could afford and dad wanted to make sure the staff knew that someone was looking out for him. Had they sold their home and gone into a retirement community sooner, I like to think that their lives could have ended on a gentler slope. Instead, it felt like the bottom fell out all at once.
zerosevennine@reddit
As long as you live in a state without filial responsibility laws, you don’t have to be financially burdened by parents.
averydangerousday@reddit
That’s where I’m at with my parents. My dad & stepmom have prepared for old age and have a very clear plan that they communicated to me. My mom refuses to let my siblings and me help her prepare, so I’ve washed my hands of it. If she wants to push away any assistance and ultimately die alone and in filth, then who am I to stop her?
hodlwaffle@reddit
"glad my parents died fairly young" is a wild take
ArtsyRabb1t@reddit
My partner and I are basically parents to our own children and his parents right now. It’s exhausting.
walter_grimsley@reddit
‘Of course I know him, he’s me”
Going through this now. We put my father in memory care in January. A week later my mother fell, split her head open, hasn’t been home since. Currently in a rehab on a catheter and oxygen. Cant eat or walk. Surprise! It’s cancer.
Watching them both suffer, its too much. I am an only child. I feel powerless and guilty, had I forced my hand sooner she could have gotten more help. I almost hope her heart just gives out to spare her the effects of the immunotherapy.
Took over all their accounts, taking care of my now empty childhood home, this is the worst year of my life so far. Downhill from here.
MegaManSE@reddit
I feel this. Currently my mom almost 70 lives in an RV and keeps ping ponging between asking my brother and myself who she’s going to live with. Both of us have young kids, both of our wives have a hard no boundary on it but she keeps pulling at our heart strings.
Her and her sister put their mom in a home when she was in her 70s where her mom slowly deteriorated from dementia.
Remarkable_Term631@reddit
I love my parents and they're in relatively good health, but I hope they go quickly when they do. My FIL had cancer and that was relatively fast (6 months) but it was HARD on everyone. I can't imagine dealing with long lingering illnesses.
colcardaki@reddit
Basically if you were one of the people in our age cohort who managed to shake the couch cushions and buy a house in the narrow window between 2015 and 2020, and then refinance in 2021-2022 for those 2.8% rates, you at least are insulated from one of the many problems with life in America right now. I know lots of people who missed the boat; I almost did since I had to drain nearly every penny I had to buy my “starter” house.
Fast forward, I now have two kids, the house is way too small, I can’t move, I can’t afford any house within 2 hours drive of where I managed to buy just 10 years ago, literally every other thing has gone up 30% in price while my pay hasn’t gone up more than 10%.
Despite all this, and everything else sucking, I am thankful every day I managed to at least get a house. People just a little younger than me (44), probably will never own a home at this rate.
Defiant_Cookie_4963@reddit
The smartest decision my husband ever made (other than marrying me, naturally 💁🏻♀️) was buying a house in 2001. He was barely an adult but so driven! Back then you could still buy a house with a good skilled labor job and a high school diploma.
We still live in that same house with our 2 kids and it’s definitely small but our mortgage payment is less than a studio rent now and we should actually be able to fully pay it off. I have endless and boundless gratitude for the amount of vision and drive he had at such a young age!
MelpomeneAndCalliope@reddit
Same here. I honestly don’t like our starter home (plus it’s too small now) and am bummed it’s likely our forever home and try to remind myself how lucky I am I bought it a decade ago. We’d never be able to now. It sucks knowing you’re stuck AF, though.
thesaddestpanda@reddit
This plus massive property tax increases because the hypothetical value of my home went up. Capitalism is going to destroy us all and the permanent decline has already started.
gman1647@reddit
Thank God for my wife. We were renting a house in 2017 and I didn't think we could afford. She hunted around and found a house where the mortgage was close to our rent. We took the plunge. Then in 2020ish we refied at 3%. Our house is now worth twice what we paid for it, but regardless, we have relatively fixed housing costs (outside of changes in taxes and insurance). Glad I listened to her.
Brs76@reddit
Let's not pretend that the top 10% in this country don't have it good right now
ScarecrowOH58@reddit
It always gets on my nerves this "everyone is struggling" language that comes out to smooth things over in these discussions.
I have been all over the country, and the shittiest, most economically depressed places you can find ALWAYS has wealthy people living high on the hog.
And yes, it is at the expense of those around them, safe and insulated from everything they cheer on and profit from (cheap labor, asset inflation, over development, etc.).
OrchidLeader@reddit
I used to love Dave Chapelle, but then he started going on about how poor people can’t see past their own pain to realize that everyone’s struggling.
Yes, they’re struggling, too, but let’s triage the missing limbs before we get to the paper cuts.
averydangerousday@reddit
But my leather seats get too hot in the summer and my wallet is too small for all of my hundos!! 😭
TheGuyUrSisterLikes@reddit
Yes and turn signals break on my Lambo too./s
A7O747D@reddit
Wait, you were being sarcastic?
Eledridan@reddit
He’s always been a bitch.
MelpomeneAndCalliope@reddit
The South
anOvenofWitches@reddit
I’ve found that parts of the US that have uncomfortably high socioeconomic differences are shitholes with no social safety net.
Looking at you, Flahrida!
DingDonFiFI@reddit
Have you ever asked that maybe the social safety nets are the reason for huge social economic differences because if you make just a penny over their limit, they kick you off so people see it as better to stay poor so they keep receiving free healthcare food, stamps, and housing there are people (myself included) who when they were receiving Medicaid had to turn down higher wages because they would lose their healthcare. There’s even an argument that health insurance got more expensive with the invention of Medicaid. When I lived in a blue state instead of using the Medicaid expansion to rework Medicaid and other social safety nets so that people can get off they just threw more money to expand the poverty line which sentenced more people to long-term poverty. While studying for my degree, I talked with healthcare professionals on the administrative site that seen how much Medicaid pays. Every one of them has said Medicaid is a piss poor payer.
FapOpotamusRex@reddit
And if the saftey nets were gone, that would somehow be better?
twirlerina024@reddit
It would probably be good for the people who own/build private prisons, and the businesses who use prison labor. And don't forget about the shareholders!
ApatheistHeretic@reddit
That hard cut-off is a problem that can be solved by a policy update.
Example: In Texas, one of the few safety nets we have that's effective is our unemployment insurance. While on it, you are encouraged to take on party time work and it's worth it to do so. They deduct UE payments as follows,
Up to, no money from UE removed., 50 cents removed for every dollar you earn.
When you reach a limit 3, they remove dollar for dollar.
Up to
Those limits 'refresh' every week so you don't screw yourself by having a one time good week at a job.
My point is, there are ways to handle the problem of a benefit cliff and encourage, at least, some participation while maintaining support.
mr_palante@reddit
I totally get what you're saying, my family and I have been on medicaid and had food stamps before and it was extremely difficult to climb out of the poverty hole. To me tho it seems irresponsible to remove the safety nets because that DEFINITELY doesnt help anyone get out of being poor either.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
Prior to the creation of Medicaid and other social safety programs in the United States poverty was handled more privately by the local community or privately run. Charities fact one is still around today the St. Vincent de Paul Society with their emphasis on helping their recipients, receive job training and other services.
DingDonFiFI@reddit
Never said remove them, but if you look at how these programs are set up it’s like it’s sentencing people to a poverty plantation or economic enslavement in other words if you stay poor, we will give you Medicaid Snap and housing for free, but if you dare try to climb out of poverty, we will rip it from your hands and make you worse off
ReinaShae@reddit
TN
Physical-Usual-1310@reddit
Living in Knoxville hard agree
mr_palante@reddit
SEKY here i agree as well. And we maybe economically depressed, but over my dead body will a data center be built here. About they build one where they live.
amm237@reddit
I mean NYC arguably has the best social safety that in the country but also wildly big differences in socioeconomic status even from neighborhood to neighborhood
Polarbum@reddit
Don’t forget west Texas
Buttercreamdeath@reddit
Texas, in general. You can find desperate, poor people in every area including wealthy cities like Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Rural areas are basically lorded over by one or two families and the rest desperate for scraps. The entire southern region of the colonias lack basic infrastructure like water and sewage.
nailartmami@reddit
So true! I moved to Tucson for a year, and met some of the wealthiest women I have ever met in my entire life. They live in an exclusive neighborhood in the hills. But the rest of the town is a complete dump.
ThreedZombies@reddit
Reddit points
walrus40@reddit
“Everyone is struggling” is coping mechanism and lacks any accountability
Kinda_Quixotic@reddit
I expect no sympathy for the devil here, but I’ll say that many of my friends are top 10% (I have worked in FAANG for many years).
The crazy thing is that many of them are also struggling… maybe they don’t have the same financial issues, but many are miserable, too.
Most the people in Tech are super burned out and demotivated. It makes me wonder who is really flourishing at the moment… maybe the top 1%? Top .5%?
mrjowei@reddit
They might be struggling because high earners also tend to spend most of their income on expensive stuff and many of them refuse to reduce their spending to keep their lifestyle intact.
ZeniraEle@reddit
Lots of people spend their income on "expensive stuff", it's all relative. I know people who are not rich but are still ordering a ton of DoorDash, getting their nails done, getting their car washed every week. When you're accustomed to certain comforts, it can be hard to change your lifestyle. Your brain seeks those dopamine hits.
mrjowei@reddit
Yup. Lifestyle Creep is real.
Moonskaraos@reddit
I work in tech and can confirm. It's a shitshow right now. While I don't work at FAANG, folks I know at Facebook and Microsoft tell me moral is the toilet. Job security simply doesn't exist in this timeline.
bugorama_original@reddit
I think you meant that “morale” is in the toilet but I will agree that “moral” is also in the toilet at Meta and has been for a long time!
Moonskaraos@reddit
Yep, I meant “morale” and not “moral.” But I agree that morals and ethics no longer exist in big tech.
atrich@reddit
Management is absolutely giddy at the idea of AI replacing us, rushing headlong into it. I'm fortunate to be nearing the end of my career...
ooo-ooo-oooyea@reddit
I think its people who are invested heavily in the stock market. I've been able to max out my 401K, and invest on my own and the payout is sobering.
I was at a self proclaimed big name tech company (not at all a big name, but would've been if they were more successful) and the stress was real. It was the constant pettiness and egos. Plus I was expected to do stuff like attend meetings that would go from 12-6 am, and have the day off but would get constantly calls. Good times!
unholycowgod@reddit
That's the thing you have to realize. There's are only two classes: those who work a job for income to survive, and those who manage their capital for income to survive. If you work, you're working class. If you don't have to, you're capital class.
My wife and I are both college educated white collar professionals. We aren't struggling right now, not really, but we also can't afford to not work. Hell, we just had a death in the family and I brought my laptop with me so that I can keep working as much as I can.
So while there are many many many varying levels of working class and each with its own set of struggles and problems, we are still all in the same boat. Those at the lower end of the class are going to feel the water first as our boat sinks; but eventually we will all feel it.
Kinda_Quixotic@reddit
I think you’re right… it’s a question of wealth and not income.
And, at least in tech, “work” means a very different thing that it used to. My father worked an honest 40 hrs. He had lunches with friends. Left work early when he had something.
I work 60+ hrs a week. It’s hard to have much in my life outside of work during the week and half of Sun.
unholycowgod@reddit
Precisely. As I said before, we aren't struggling right now. We are apparently even pretty high in the percentiles for income, but our wealth is still negative. Student loans and mortgage will keep us in the bottom 50th on wealth for a very long time. And while, provided nothing else changes for us, we have the benefit of potentially moving up the ladder somewhat, we will never likely be able to move into the capital class. We have the luxury of not stressing over groceries; though it was less than 10 years ago that I was doing exactly that. We own a home that we luckily bought right before covid; but it was less than 10 years ago that I was selling car parts to make rent. And I fully realize how lucky and fortunate I am in my current position, and also how fragile it is and how quickly I could be right back where I was based on the whims of a capital class member deciding to cut jobs at my company.
And on the 60+ hour weeks, oh yeah 100%. My wife is paid for 5 8s a week but easily works 5 10s and a couple 11 or 12s. I'm "fortunately" on a contract so I literally am not allowed to work more than 40 hours. But then of course I don't get any benefits or retirement. And all of the household and child needs fall on me. We all have our own set of struggles.
burjja@reddit
To go from top 40% to top 10% is about the same as top 10% to top 1%. It's pretty crazy how quick the wealth/income jumps at the very top. And it's that seperation that just keeps widening at the top that disconnects them from the rest of us. Like Loki in The Avengers, the top 0.1% just sees us as ants.
Actually, that's a bad analogy. The very top sure does spend a lot of money to disenfranchise us from voting. I don't really have an opinion on if ants can vote. Should I? I've got some thinking to do.
DocBEsq@reddit
The semi-wealthy (as opposed to the super-wealthy) are struggling too, for the same reasons mentioned in the article. Pressure to care for aging parents, costs to raise children, erosion of anything related to a safety net, such that one illness or accident is enough to destroy a promising career and a “safe” lifestyle.
I landed in a high-pay career for the first time about 4 years ago, following two decades at just-above-minimum-wage-no-benefits jobs. And I’m still under stress. Sure, I can buy groceries now (which is, in a word, awesome). But I still shell out insane amounts for healthcare. I help support my mother and sister/nephew. And if I got laid off or fired? There’s literally nothing to save me from having it all fall apart.
None of this is to ask for sympathy. But it does mean that most of the stressors ruining middle age remain present, even when supposedly good money is added.
KerissaKenro@reddit
It is hard to have sympathy. You are right about that. But it does make sense. Their prices are rising too, their wages are probably stagnant too. They can’t afford what they are used to. They are not struggling to afford food or shelter, they will survive just fine. But there is still a pinch
Faultylogic83@reddit
Don't forget they're losing a lot of the help they hire. Do you know how hard it is for them to find good lawn care? Tiny violins.
SB4_Camaro@reddit
So you're dating only poor illegals can do lawn care? Sounds pretty racist.
Faultylogic83@reddit
Bless you and your half assed attempt at logic. I am assuming two things: one, these rich assholes aren't taking care of their own lawn maintenance, and two, that with a large percentage of the lawn care industry being Hispanic, legal or otherwise because the racists working for ICE don't care to check for status when arresting people, the overall supply of lawn care workers drops significantly while demand remains the same, which means prices go up.
sick_of-it-all@reddit
Lol wut. Bro, I think you need to go somewhere, and have a Coke and a smile.
AffectionateFig5864@reddit
Their wages are not stagnant and not being able to afford “what they are used to”— if at all accurate— means fewer weekend getaways to fucking Milan or Hawaii.
AffectionateFig5864@reddit
I’m trying to find sympathy, but I can’t. The difference between the top 10% and everyone else is, if they’re miserable, they have the options and resources to make changes any fucking time they actually get the common sense and motivation to do so.
I work with people (mostly middle aged adults) who rely on Medicaid, SNAP, SSDI/SSI, subsidized housing and Ryan White funding just to meet that foundational level of human needs. They don’t get to make choices— they get to survive and make the best of their limitations, and only for as long as other people don’t make changes to these lifelines.
LtPowers@reddit
That's because of the tech industry; it's not inherent to all good-paying jobs.
PMmeHappyStraponPics@reddit
I dunno, man....
I'm in the top 10%, but there's a huge difference between me (some dude who makes $200k) and a kid with a trust fund worth tens of millions.
While is kinda if the reason things aren't great -- my life is comfortable, sure. But it hinges on me getting up each morning and going to work. And with AI and corporations in general (I'm middle management at a Fortune 500), that's feeling less likely every day.
So on the one hand, I'm certain that I'll be able to retire. I've got money set aside for my kids' college. My life is comfortable.
But on the other hand, I'm just one layoff away from things being much more precarious. I could watch all my plans crumble away, easily. If I lose my job, my wife makes enough to pay our mortgage. But we also wouldn't be maxing out our retirement accounts anymore, or contributing to fund our kids' college funds, or taking vacations, or building a deck this summer like we planned, or anything, really.
We go to survival mode; we just pay the bills until I can find a new job. Except there's no guarantee that I'll find anything even close to what I have now. The rug was pulled a while back, and I've just managed to stay standing.
That's stressful. Like, really stressful, as I watch other companies "flatten the hierarchy" and I see my own colleagues get laid off.
And that's not even addressing the way that work is so demoralizing right now. We're focusing on a "leaner, more efficient operating model." What that really means is outsourcing. Americans are good at the job, but expensive. Armies of overseas contractors are bad at the job (but can probably learn) and are story cheap. We don't care about product right because the consumer is inured to shrink lation, so quality going down isn't a problem, as long as costs also go down.
So I'm caught in the middle; watching as my friends and colleagues are laid off at every level, for reasons completely unrelated to their performance or ability to do the job, and those of us that remain are told we need to work harder to pick up the slack left by decimating our own workforce.
deanereaner@reddit
You're not in the middle if you make 200k and aren't worried about retirement. "Wife makes enough to support us if I lose my job." "Still could retire but can't max it out." "Kids MIGHT have to take out student loans."
Nah, dude, this isn't your topic, let people who are actually struggling speak.
Jintokunogekido@reddit
You missed his point entirely. Even this guy is one lay off away from economic disaster and he makes $200k. Yes, he is definitely in the middle at $200k. He's only living comfortably while he can still work unlike the millionaire who can afford not to work.
deanereaner@reddit
Ok, then comment when you get laid off.
Right now him and his wife are BOTH maxing their retirements and he's fucking crying poor because he's worried about some shit that hasn't happened. Boo-fuck-off-hoo.
Nosebluhd@reddit
The only advantage labor has over capital is numbers. There are so much more of us than them, they spend every waking minute preventing us from coming together. The only hope labor class has is a large, unified constituency. And you’re over here purity testing who gets to comment on an internet thread because they’re not struggling enough? Gtf outta here with that whack shit.
deanereaner@reddit
"Let's not pretend that the top 10% don't have it good right now."
Enter 10%er bitching for some reason about how he has it good.
I call him out, and you start preaching solidarity with the motherfucker crying about layoffs when he's the one laying people off. "Oh no what if I'm next?!?" Nah, that's management don't talk to me about solidarity with the fucking bosses.
Nosebluhd@reddit
At this rate you’ll have a coalition of one ready to take on the ruling classes in no time. I wish you a glorious victory comrade! Success is inevitable. /s
The top 10% siding with the bottom 89% against the top 1% in this country would be lifechanging for every person reading this. But no, you got whittling to do.
deanereaner@reddit
What's your problem with 90% siding against 10%? A lot of them would just want the 1% out of the way so they can take their place.
Nosebluhd@reddit
How’s that worked out so far?
Brs76@reddit
Enter 10%er bitching for some reason about how he has it good"
Lol . All he did was pile on to what the fuck I was talking about. He did himself no favors listing all things he is able to comfortably accomplish
mr_palante@reddit
And yeah, if I lost my job I'd be literally fucking homeless. I dont even make enough to save for an emergency fund let alone retirement. Sure, "everyone has it hard right now" but like they dont either.
DocBEsq@reddit
The thing is, for purposes of this discussion, the issue isn’t necessarily “can you buy food today?” The issue is, “are you being attacked from all sides and could you lose everything in a minute?”
No amount of salary fixes that or insulates a person. Generational wealth does, but how many of us have that? So we’re all being stressed by the system — albeit to differing degrees — and just making a good income doesn’t fix the stress that’s hurting the vast majority of us.
The_best_is_yet@reddit
He’s worried about his friends. Would you rather he feel smug and not care?
Brs76@reddit
Ok. So is this dude , who is maxing out his 401k ( not a easy thing to do)suggesting that he can't afford his taxes to go up to help out the bottom 90%?
Brs76@reddit
And MAXING out his retirement fund. I laughed at that one. Get the fuck outta here for those claiming to not be living comfortably but still able to max out their 401k!!!
Nonamefound@reddit
Every company is just in the business of making garbage now. Outsource the labour, do the cheapest possible thing, fire everybody. No wonder no one is happy but a bunch of billionaires.
brainvheart143@reddit
This part contributes to my impending doom a lot - whether it is true or I just perceive it that way, tons of people I know seem to be doing much much better career and money wise. It’s like a constant reminder that I suck.
MelpomeneAndCalliope@reddit
Same. And I did “everything right” but not right enough (like have wealthy family to help a lot while you do everything right).
bp3dots@reddit
Remember that you're only seeing the good parts of life in places like social media.
ProfessionalSure7671@reddit
“But the Dow is (was) at 50k” … so everyday people suffer while the rich get richer
OPmeansopeningposter@reddit
It’s more like 1% but yes
Adventurous-Depth984@reddit
Everyone but the rich are either miserable or sweating. The fear is real.
walrus40@reddit
Speak for yourself
Adventurous-Depth984@reddit
Poor dude.
walrus40@reddit
I can say the same. Does making broad generalizations that people are as bad off as you help you cope?
HarryBalsagna1776@reddit
2%
crazycatlady331@reddit
K-shaped economy and all.
_ism_@reddit
And those of us who are childfree and no-contact with bigot parents? What of us?
LineImpossible3958@reddit
No one cares. We’re all too busy dealing with kids and family
AmeriMan2@reddit
Fucked bruh.
I'd be homeless without my parents. 1 is bigoted but I know how to deal with her. The other is old and has too much money with 2 homes but can't leave 1. So I'm squatting in it. Pretending to be OK when I haven't worked in 5 years
DocBEsq@reddit
Desperately hoping that our jobs don’t evaporate or cut benefits, while dreading our own old age with no one left to assist when we go downhill (‘cause the State sure ain’t gonna help).
_ism_@reddit
you guys have jobs? i'm on disability from a brain injury and i have no idea what's in store. nothing saved, nothing invested. dealt with homelessness and abuse for too long.
MetalEnthusiast83@reddit
Yeah the unempoyment rate is pretty low. Most people who wants jobs have jobs.
_ism_@reddit
I been through homelessness, meth addiction, domestic violence, and car crash/brain injury resulting in total and permanent disability. I find it super hard to relate to the mortgage-eldercare-parenting circuit most people my age are doing and friends drop me when my disability symptoms are "too much" because i'm being "rude" not considering their parents and childcare duties. I don't get any props for my decision to unburden myself of those obligations and having tons of time and love for new friends in my life. I'm going to get a new pet soon (my cat died and it's too soon).
Cadillac_Jenkins@reddit
Xennials are probably the first generation to be systematically cannibalized for corporate profit.
Grand children were traded in for retirement accounts.
ScreenSensitive9148@reddit
Ummm, I’m a Black American. My ancestors built this country due to cannibalized corporate profit.
mnbvcxz9753@reddit
first generation to be exploited? 100 years ago Upton Sinclair was writing about “the breaking of human hearts by a system which exploits the labor of men and women for profit.”
the value of human life has been disregarded in every age of our nation. agriculture, industrialization, rail roads
And now big-Tech! our young are being mind-$&@!’ed on a level that makes what happened to our generation look like the halcyon days of yore
ghoulthebraineater@reddit
"You load 16 ton, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St Peter don't you call me cuz I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store."
Ive been listening to that sing a lot lately It's always the same song, same story. We're right back where we were 100 or so years ago. Instead of company stores It's subscriptions to things we used to own. The goal is the same though.
juniper3411@reddit
I love that song! Used to sing it with my dad from as early as I have memories. But yeah feeling it right now.
mnbvcxz9753@reddit
I fell in love with that song from the opening credits of “Joe versus the volcano”!
Signal_This@reddit
"You think I feel good? Nobody feels good. After childhood, it's a fact of life!"
Scutwork@reddit
And his luggage!!
Talking_Asshole@reddit
These zombie lights are sucking my soul! Suck suck!
trainwreckhappening@reddit
It's a cycle. We are definitely in the low point right now (winter, iyk). Which means we have a revolution of a sort to look forward to.
Nyotree-001@reddit
I’ve been singing this song for a while now and it just keeps getting worse
WLH7M@reddit
It's almost like it's a feature of capitalism, huh? A small percentage prosper at the expense of the rest.
There was about a 40 year period where the prosperous segment was moderately larger, but that ended in the 80s. The rest of history was very much different, now we're just getting back to the status quo.
Cadillac_Jenkins@reddit
Nonsense, I never said they were “first generation to be exploited” I said “systemically cannibalized” and the declining birth rates among industrialized nations tend to support my position.
ominous_squirrel@reddit
We’re the guinea pigs for not being able to earn a pension and instead having to gamble your retirement on the stock market
And it’s convenient for the billionaires and VC to have so much extra money sloshing around in the market so that they can extract it. Like, remember how Elon Musk tanked Twitter and Tesla all in one fell swoop? Dude is still most of the way to his goal of being the world’s first trillionaire and has, in fact, readjusted his goal to be the first 10 trillionaire
zerosevennine@reddit
I don’t get this take. Pensions are just someone else managing your money. I’d rather be in control of my assets. Also, your family inherits the balance when you die.
eggs_erroneous@reddit
I never had kids. On one hand, I often regret it and will always wonder what they would have been like. On the other hand, I'm glad that I'm not raising a grandchild and I'm also glad that I'm not bringing more kids into this world that seems like it's on the brink of collapse.
broadwayallday@reddit
“Home equity schmequity these kids can fend for themselves let’s buy a boat and a 2nd home”
bowleggedgrump@reddit
Duh.
MetalEnthusiast83@reddit
The bots from the millenials sub are determiend to make this one a whingefest too. Sad!
Appropriate-Food1757@reddit
Great
59apache01@reddit
Another variable is cost of living, which fluctuates wildly across the US. There are some areas where you can make $100k a year and live very well, be able to provide for a family and aging parents possibly, plus have a little left over to put away. Then there are other areas where $100k a year puts you one notch above the poverty level and anybody making less than about $250k a year is struggling in some form. It's crazy.
After_Preference_885@reddit
Cries in $30k a year
ThreedZombies@reddit
This thread has too much whining.
SB4_Camaro@reddit
What's the top 10% now?
Intelligent-Search88@reddit
The guy in the picture says it all for me. House, kids, 24-7 job, kids sport (like another job), and the wife constantly complaining. Parents are hanging in there, but not sure for how much longer.
NJTrash@reddit
I know, right? Those pesky wives...always complaining
magsli@reddit
When is the revolution happening? Seriously. This is totally unsustainable.