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 ...
I remember your story. I’m so sorry that you had to go through it. I don’t have half your medical problems and I can drive and I can’t figure all this technology out (and no help provided by Comcast, etc.). I can’t imagine how difficult it is for you. And you can’t do anything now w/o technology. Prayers for you.
“”“DINING OUT”== eating a bowl of chili on the deck.””
You can afford to have a deck??? You’re rich!
CORRECT
“FOLKS” ISN’T EXACTLY USED IN MOST TRIBES...
“
Went trac phone last year.”
Just so you know... I think TracFone sold not long ago... it was owned by Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico and he supplied the Obama/Biden phones for illegal aliens and YOU paid for it.
I have a couple of Hyundai’s (5 and 10) and a 24 year old pickup. I could afford better but these suit us fine.
Not sure I agree that they are well fed. Just provided bad “food” by big corporations that contribute to obesity.
You are right about that. I was thinking of those of us who won’t give up land lines and are now, pretty much required to have a cell phone—so 2 bills plus internet is needed now which is a big cost.
Maybe it's time we all checked out Patriot Mobile?
“NOW ON 3rd PROPERTY-—”
Gosh... I’ve lost 4 properties that were all paid for to corrupt bureaucrats, anarchist proven wildfire, breaching dams..... and I am about to lose this dump.
Very hard to recover from.
Someday I will tell that story. People won’t believe it... hell, I don’t believe it except when it bites me in the butt, which is too often.
“”Not sure I agree that they are well fed. Just provided bad “food” by big corporations that contribute to obesity.””
Well fed... as opposed to skinny and starving... like in some 3rd world nations. And that “bad food” you’re referring to is probably OK if eaten in moderation. Some folks just have no impulse control. The answer is not to ban all that food from the rest of us... just because some people can’t resist over-indulging, though.
My point is always... keep government the hell out of it. I’m a Conservative and that’s how I roll.
Pray tell. How do you use your grounds for your garden? (Do you have prior arrangements with the coffee house or do you show up randomly? Thanks
re: PPACA:
IF YOUR KID IS UNDER 27 & MARRIED-—THEN WHAT???
PARENTS ARE STILL SUPPOSED TO INSURE???
Agree. But HUD was just moved from DC to a nice building in Alexandria which tells me they are expanding their tentacles.
"giant sucking sound"
"greed is good"
...pick your (historical empire collapse) poison.
Yes, but itvis people like us whose pockets are picked by taxes that pay for the freeloaders and taxes are killing us.
Not too many younger people can afford new cars. When I was a kid, my parents traded in for two new models every few years. I can afford once every 10 years or so.
In college I helped my dad with his taxes. I'm in my sixties, work full-time in IT and have a side gig and I just more or less reached his income in real dollars.
Real wages have been going down in the US for decades.
The money from such schemes seems too much for any administration to resist.
I dont know them or see them.
Look on the bright side—the new HUD building can only hold half as many employees as the old building.
Now if we could just start relocating federal agencies into phone booths....
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