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Posted on 07/06/2025 4:47:09 AM PDT by Libloather
The American dream is slipping away.
Most US citizens no longer enjoy “a minimal quality of life” due to skyrocketing costs, a depressing new study has uncovered.
Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity conducted research into the economic well-being of the country’s residents, defining “minimal quality of life” as the ability to pay for a “basket of American dream essentials”: housing, food, transportation, clothing, medical costs and basic leisure expenses.
The leisure expenses included access to cable TV and streaming services, as well as the ability to pay for six movie tickets and two baseball tickets per year.
The Minimal Quality of Life index goes “beyond traditional cost-of-living measures to provide a more comprehensive understanding of what it takes to secure a foothold on the bottom rung of the American dream ladder and have a real opportunity to climb it over time,” the authors wrote.
The bottom 60% of American households by income fell well short of that threshold, the researchers damningly determined.
“The MQL reveals the harsh reality that the American dream, with its promises of well-being, social connection, and advancement, is out of reach for many,” the authors concluded. “Rising costs in essential areas like housing, healthcare, and education significantly outpace wage growth, leaving millions struggling to attain even a minimal quality of life.”
An average American couple with two children would need to spend $120,302 per year to cover the minimum quality of life expenses, the researchers determined.
Skyrocketing costs over the past two decades are to blame...
**SNIP**
“I get tired of the ‘Stop your Starbucks latte habit’ [advice], because in reality it’s not people’s fault,” financial planner Laura Lynch told CNBC in relation to the study. “The structures around us have created an expectation of a lifestyle that is increasingly becoming unreachable for folks.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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I’m in the minority, it’s a miracle.
“Something is weird here. 79% of the responsibility for the 37 trillion deficit lies with administrations since the Bushes.”
When you pile benefits on top of benefits and the population getting benefits grows it costs more money every year even if you spent NO new money.
Total Cost of Attendance Year 4
Tuition $73,874
Mandatory fees $2,022
Health insurance fee $4,308
Loan fees $322
National board exam fee $680 [USMLE exam fee for step 2CK]
License fees $600
Books and Supplies $1,322
Housing** $19,140
Food $6,875
Misc. expenses (clothing, recreation, laundry, utilities, other) $5,500
Transportation $2,983
Total cost of attendance $117,626
https://meded.hms.harvard.edu/md-cost-attendance
NOTE: That’s about $80,000 above basic living costs. One needs to have a roof over one’s head and to eat. One also should have medical expense coverage - the PPACA allows people under 27 to be on their parents’ policy.
Yes, definite socialist messaging, all in line with the “New Deal”.
Also recall Woody Guthrie, popular at the time - “This land is your land, this land is my land...”
“”NOTE: That’s about $80,000 above basic living costs. One needs to have a roof over one’s head and to eat. One also should have medical expense coverage - the PPACA allows people under 27 to be on their parents’ policy.””
Considering the number of foreign-born doctors we now have in the USA (getting an American one is about 40/60).... it might be more cheaper to move to another country to get that medical degree. It sure won’t get any better or more affordable here if the leftists have anything to say about it.
“And yet America has the fattest poor people on the planet. Maybe raising the minimum wage, for phone watchers, to $350 an hour should do the trick.”
limit SNAP benefits
tax junk food
“”tax junk food””
IOW, more big “G” government regulations? Who gets to decide what qualifies as ‘junk food’? Burgers and hot dogs could be considered junk food, yet they are as American as apple pie. And speaking of apple pie, are you gonna ok them outlawing anything fattening like desserts?
It’s a can of worms you don’t want to open for the “let them eat cake” radical leftist elitists, who already seek to control every damned aspect of our lives.... while they live the life of luxury and denying themselves nothing.... at our expense.
ONE I WOULD NEVER HIRE.
HAVE OWNED MY OWN HOMES SINCE 1966. WAS MAKING ABOUT $6 an hour.
NOW ON 3rd PROPERTY-—PAID CASH-—PROFIT FROM #2.
HAVE 5+++ acres-house/ well/ septic/garage/ fenced & cross fenced.
“more big “G” government regulations?”
It costs money to run the federal government - lots of it - about $18,000/US resident/year.
It has to come from someplace.
Taxing low income directly via income tax is impractical because many low-income people have high fixed expenses such as rent and car insurance.
THE “CORN ROWS”???
WHAT IS THE COST OF THOSE HEADS THAT LOOK LIKE A CONVENTION OF TARANTULAS???
THAT IS A “HAIR DON’T” NOT A HAIR DO.
“”It costs money to run the federal government - lots of it - about $18,000/US resident/year.
It has to come from someplace.
Taxing low income directly via income tax is impractical because many low-income people have high fixed expenses such as rent and car insurance.””
Right, but... I’m confused. What does that have to do with your previous comment “limit SNAP benefits, tax junk food”, which I was specifically addressing?
Point is... LESS government interference is what is needed.... always, IMHO.
Good work!
But you wouldn’t have gained from such appreciation in the market without the massive mortgage interest deduction on income taxes boosting values. Similarly, we wouldn’t have such palatial kitchens and bathrooms in our houses without the effective subsidies of such investments.
BTW, the BLS inflation calculator puts that $6/hr over $60/hr today.
https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
Ditto
Ok. I’ll look into it. Thank you.
I WAS RAISED WITH THAT:
BUT THE “PHONE” WAS ON THE WALL IN THE KITCHEN & IT HAD A CRANK—OUR ‘number’ was 3 longs & a short.
NO KIDS HAD THEIR OWN CELL PHONES
You’re making me feel like a youngster with our party line!
It seems right to me. Any metropolitan area, areas where jobs are, are very expensive especially taxes.
“DINING OUT”== eating a bowl of chili on the deck.
Now, that’s what I call a great dining out experience!
The ambiance can’t be beat.
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