The amount a family needs to get by is dependent on location and financial acumen. These broad-brush polls are ridiculous.
I imagine if you break down these numbers into actual useful data, you will find the average family of four needs far more money than just $85,000 a year to live in blue states.
“The amount a family needs to get by is dependent on location and financial acumen.”
That’s true of course. However, every area has suffered an increase in all items listed on their monthly budgets and much more money is needed to pay those items than just two years ago. Rent and utilities have increased dramatically nationwide. Water, garbage, and other services have also gone up. Those who have gotten raises have been able to keep up somewhat, but I doubt anyone has received a pay increase that keeps up with inflation.
Yes, it hasn’t been as bad in areas such as rural SC, Alabama, or Georgia, but yet inflation has affected the lower middle class blue collar workers the most. For they are the ones who do not receive government benefits, but are also not employed by the large corporations who can afford to give workers a large raise. Small businesses employing 10 to 25 employees are suffering a lot and cannot afford to provide their employees the raises they need.
The people on fixed incomes such as the retired and disabled had a small increase in their monthly payments, but not enough to off-set inflation. Everyone’s standard of living has been reduced, no matter their physical location.
Differences in time, location and the definition of “get by” makes this information meaningless.
A dollar figure alone does not measure how a family of four, or of ten, or a single individual, may be adequately fed, clothed, housed, or find all around satisfaction. Thrift is not considered here, nor any extravagances of desires. Adjusting the level of satisfaction to fit your budget means, first of all, to access what is really important, then striving to achieve those important goals in as efficient a manner as applied ingenuity applies.
Really old lessons, but not often applied.
The bottom line is everything we need to live has increased in price. Gas, food, rent, insurance, and many other things cost a lot more today. Just gas and food cost almost twice as much as they did 2 years ago. If prices go up much more there will be a problem. What happens to hard working Americans when there work doesn’t keep a roof over their head or put food on the table? I think Biden will have this country so screwed up by the 2024 election people will be ready to riot. We are in for a rough ride.
Precisely.
The pollsters and the polls were certainly made in a city/s that are pretty much unlivable anyway