“When the couple received a $35 bill from the North Texas Tollway Authority, they didn’t initially pay it because they weren’t happy with being “forced onto the tollway.” Now it’s ballooned into a $1,200 bill.
“We’ll have to do a payment plan because we don’t have that kind of money sitting around,” Duty said.”
These people are truly caught in the matrix, living in Hell on Earth and working hard but don’t have $1,200. for an emergency. That would equate, in real terms, to about fifty dollars at the most back in the early fifties (don’t quote the official figures as I don’t believe them) yet I grew up in a shack back in those days and I don’t think we ever knew a day when my parents could not raise at least a couple of hundred. My father bought a new 1951 F-1 Ford pickup truck for cash. Twelve hundred was a fortune then but is not even a really good week’s pay now, in fact in many areas you could starve on twelve hundred a week.
Off topic but pertinent to your post. About ten years ago, I had a minor argument with my late father in law. We are parents of four kids. Stay at home wife. At the time, we were craping by but money was always tight. Outside the house and an occasional car payment (used) we never carried any debt.
Hw was wondering why we weren’t getting ahead. I made a decent although unremarkable income and we lived a modest lifestyle.
Thirty years before that, he was a transmission mechanic, three kids, stay at home wife. Modest house, used cars, cabin, boats, snowmobiles etc. All stuff we didn’t have. I reminded him that the overall cost of living and especially taxation costs were far higher in my time than his. It’s harder to really get ahead.
We went the longest time without any buffer in the bank and that’s understandable. Having no debt made that far easier. If we needed to borrow, it was repaid almost immediately and the problem went away. We had some friends who have new everything. His income was similar to mine. I can’t image how they paid for it. Debt load must have been huge.
Another thought. Rather than Social security, would it make more sense to give every child born $10 or 20,000 into a mutual fund upon birth. They would pay that off at a small interest rate when they begin working. It would probably be paid back by the time they are 25 years old. That money, plus whatever they accrue on their own would fund their retirement.
About 5 years ago, my dad died and left me a low six figure inheritance. Along with my 401K, my funds earned more money than I did at my job this year. A couple more MAGA type years like that.
Back on topic-I hate toll roads. I just drove from Maryland to Rhode Island and back. I have no idea what that adventure cost.