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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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But it completely backfired because, even though characters in the movie were the poorest of the poor, they HAD A CAR.
Today, many folks starting out can't afford cars due to government regulation pricing them out of many people's hands.
So keep in mind that today's government regulation has more detrimental impact to society than a dust-bowl era depression did.
That is the problem. A financial planner, i.e. the "expert", telling people it's not their fault. Always blame someone/something else, never take responsibility for your choices and the subsequent consequences.
That’s the Marxist playbook.
That’s the Marxist playbook.
Budgeting is a four letter word to a lot of people.
I walk around my neighborhood every day. I wave to all of the delivery people that I’ve come to recognize. People do NOT need all of the Amazon crap they get.
From door dash to Uber Eats to Hello Fresh, people have forgotten how to cook. They say they have no time…but I wonder what the heck they are doing in the 16 hours a day they are not at work?
Millions of people just bounce from one thing to another in life, like a leaf floating down a stream bouncing off rocks. If they simply took charge, they would do a lot better.
Even psyops, to be effective, will have elements of truth.
In 2023, the median income for households headed by an Indian immigrant was $166,200. Google
That is roughly double non-hispanic white income.
They aren’t just good at spelling bees.
“”So keep in mind that today’s government regulation has more detrimental impact to society than a dust-bowl era depression did.””
Good point. And as we all know, the Democrats are the kings of gov. regulation. They just love to make rules that we, the little people under them, have to live by. And phasing out gas-powered vehicles and pushing unaffordable EVs is just one example of their manipulation.
the cost curve of medical care for a nation eating itself to death is near vertical.
What about the pickup trucks with big expensive wheels and tires?
“Society is such now that one can not function without a cell phone, not even a computer or internet because that’s how things are communicated.”
That is true, unfortunately. However it need not be expensive. No need for a $1200 (or more!) phone when you can get one with nearly as many frills for far less. An inexpensive new or used low end computer works just fine for communications. The only area here that you may not have control of is the cost of internet service, but more and more options seem to becoming available and I have seen transfer rates rise and plan prices falling.
“if you’ve got the Internet”
Not sure what point you are trying to make.
Yes, obviously I have Internet.
How much tv can you watch on a tiny phone screen? I bought 2 computers that I can’t make work. I barely see. I’m homebound. No one is around to help because I was forced to move because of the Almeda fire and I can’t get back home.
US cellular is charging me for 2 accounts autopay and I can’t make them stop. I had a hotspot but it quit working after a week and a new phone I had to buy because the old one quit. Their office is 40 miles away, they always insist I come in and I can’t drive.. I’ve spent a fortune hiring someone to drive me trying to get service. The last one was so scary I’m afraid to hire anyone else.
My speech is badly affected so I can’t do anything over the phone. So it’s costing me $90 dollars a month for phone and Internet on my phone only. I tried to hook my phone to the TV screen but couldn’t make it work.
I obviously don’t know what I am doing.
I am dealing with TBI, a dozen chronic illnesses and I simply cannot keep up with the technology. I’m very confused.
Yup
And thats with govt subsidy money they get from us
A democrat one.
“”the cost curve of medical care for a nation eating itself to death is near vertical.””
Are you referring to “over-eating”? Because yeah... America has an over-abundance of over-weight over-eaters. And that is nothing new, really. I recall once when I was about nine or ten years old... my parents took me to a beach in Virginia. I was amazed. I had never seen so many fat, white people in one area at one time. That was decades ago. It has only gotten worse, since then.
Thus proving... that Americans are very well-fed. Perhaps “too” much so.
That there is a graduate level course in economics.
Well said!
Its really one of the best ways the internal commies have to reduce white America, though
“textnow.com”
Thanks. I looked at it.
I don’t understand how it works. Do I still need Internet?
I wasn’t trying to slam you personally in any way at all, AuntB.
Sounds like you’re a special case anyway, but for many people a world of entertainment options are there if you have the Internet. Paid TV is not a “necessity”.
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