America is in an economic tailspin. Why does life feel so normal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What amazes me, is that it seems as if even the people who you would think would be deeply affected don't seem to be. My daughter has a good friend whose father owns a restaurant franchise (mom doesn't work). The restaurant was closed for months, and is now open at reduced capacity. Yet the family has taken two vacations this year, one to Hawaii and they are currently in Mexico. Who knows, maybe they have family money, but it seems like I see a lot of these cases, where people work in industries that have been affected, but they don't seem to be suffering personally.

That's really anecdotal - family friends of my husband's have several restaurants in a very affluent area. They've owned them for a long time, mom never worked except maybe to help with the restaurant. Their restaurants are very successful. They own their buildings. Shutting down for several months probably isn't changing a whole lot except figuring out where they are going to open their next restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's so much money floating around due to the Dept. of Treasury that the stock market is doing really well.

My husband works in finance and made a 300k half year bonus (bonus is paid out in 2 parts, half in July, half in Feb). I was expecting it to be like 50k, after the plunge last spring, lol.

The rich get richer and they avert their eyes and claim the poor are guilty of being poor.

Yup. "lol"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$600 a week? No way. At this point I’ll take a payroll tax vacation and/or student loan forgiveness. Helluva lot cheaper than $600 week extra

Forgive student loans, who cares is people get evicted or go hungry. Let's be cheap.

Nope. It’s called putting money into the economy. An extra $2400- a month??? I’m not a GOP, but why on earth would anyone go baby to work if you make $2400 a month- extra- not working?

[Anonymous]

I volunteer each weekend stocking, unloading, and putting boxes of food in cars. Last week, we had 310 cars come through. There was such a long line waiting for food even before the food trucks arrived. Ww had new cars, luxury cars, beater's and stallers all coming through. This time, there were noticeably more Caucasian and older people. The last two weekends, the recipients were mainly Latinx with either large and multiple families. Also, I noticed a lot of work van/ utility truck's getting food for their families too. This is in Gaithersburg, BTW, so a decent population is dealing with poverty/ hunger/ homelessness. I saw a lot old eviction dumps when driving through Gaithersburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is proof of the DCUM bubble you live in where $200K HHI is not “rich” to most people.

IT FEELS NORMAL BECAUSE YOU ARE EATING CAKE, MARIE ANTOINETTE. Maybe if you bought your homes where you would see the “poors” you would understand the danger of a larger and more impoverished class of citizens that have no job to go to, or risk dying if they do.

I have relatives who live all over the country who make well less than 200K and they report the same thing, that they don't know people who are laid off and people are still spending as normal. This isn't just a DC area (or even UMC) phenomena.

They are probably UMC for their area if they make $90k.

This is why my family and DH’s family have no idea how much we make. Technically it’s public record, but they can’t contextualize it. What little they do know just confuses them as to why we live in a 900 sq foot apartment and drive older used vehicles.

90k for a family of four isn't upper middle class anywhere in the U.S.

It is in my hometown (in the US). Small City. Avg hhi is $38k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is proof of the DCUM bubble you live in where $200K HHI is not “rich” to most people.

IT FEELS NORMAL BECAUSE YOU ARE EATING CAKE, MARIE ANTOINETTE. Maybe if you bought your homes where you would see the “poors” you would understand the danger of a larger and more impoverished class of citizens that have no job to go to, or risk dying if they do.

I have relatives who live all over the country who make well less than 200K and they report the same thing, that they don't know people who are laid off and people are still spending as normal. This isn't just a DC area (or even UMC) phenomena.

They are probably UMC for their area if they make $90k.

This is why my family and DH’s family have no idea how much we make. Technically it’s public record, but they can’t contextualize it. What little they do know just confuses them as to why we live in a 900 sq foot apartment and drive older used vehicles.

90k for a family of four isn't upper middle class anywhere in the U.S.

It is in my hometown (in the US). Small City. Avg hhi is $38k.

Average HHI across the country is around 60k so yes 90k is UMC

Lower Class negative to 25,600
Lower Middle Class 25,600 to 50,000
Middle Class 50,000 to 79,542
Upper Middle Class 79,542 to 130,000
Upper Class 130,000+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is proof of the DCUM bubble you live in where $200K HHI is not “rich” to most people.

IT FEELS NORMAL BECAUSE YOU ARE EATING CAKE, MARIE ANTOINETTE. Maybe if you bought your homes where you would see the “poors” you would understand the danger of a larger and more impoverished class of citizens that have no job to go to, or risk dying if they do.

I have relatives who live all over the country who make well less than 200K and they report the same thing, that they don't know people who are laid off and people are still spending as normal. This isn't just a DC area (or even UMC) phenomena.

They are probably UMC for their area if they make $90k.

This is why my family and DH’s family have no idea how much we make. Technically it’s public record, but they can’t contextualize it. What little they do know just confuses them as to why we live in a 900 sq foot apartment and drive older used vehicles.

90k for a family of four isn't upper middle class anywhere in the U.S.

It is in my hometown (in the US). Small City. Avg hhi is $38k.

Average HHI across the country is around 60k so yes 90k is UMC

Lower Class negative to 25,600
Lower Middle Class 25,600 to 50,000
Middle Class 50,000 to 79,542
Upper Middle Class 79,542 to 130,000
Upper Class 130,000+

+1

[Anonymous]

When I think of middle class, I think of the show The Middle. Anything above that is UMC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is proof of the DCUM bubble you live in where $200K HHI is not “rich” to most people.

IT FEELS NORMAL BECAUSE YOU ARE EATING CAKE, MARIE ANTOINETTE. Maybe if you bought your homes where you would see the “poors” you would understand the danger of a larger and more impoverished class of citizens that have no job to go to, or risk dying if they do.

I have relatives who live all over the country who make well less than 200K and they report the same thing, that they don't know people who are laid off and people are still spending as normal. This isn't just a DC area (or even UMC) phenomena.

They are probably UMC for their area if they make $90k.

This is why my family and DH’s family have no idea how much we make. Technically it’s public record, but they can’t contextualize it. What little they do know just confuses them as to why we live in a 900 sq foot apartment and drive older used vehicles.

90k for a family of four isn't upper middle class anywhere in the U.S.

It is in my hometown (in the US). Small City. Avg hhi is $38k.

Average HHI across the country is around 60k so yes 90k is UMC

Lower Class negative to 25,600
Lower Middle Class 25,600 to 50,000
Middle Class 50,000 to 79,542
Upper Middle Class 79,542 to 130,000
Upper Class 130,000+

+1

Snorts with laughter.

-single person making 150k and who feels very, very, VERY ordinary.

[Anonymous]

Because stock market and home prices at all time high. If you got laid off in December 2008 you had limited options.

Right now can downsize or sell some 401k assets of you really had to.

Plus we had $1,200 checks, unemployment bonus. And record low rates so folks can refinance.

I got off end of Jan and will take a 100k income hit this year. But not even of the world

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will add to my comment above that "poverty is not a character flew".

All you people with bootstraps to spare, who were gifted bootstraps from your parents, who don't know anyone without bootstraps and boots . . . you have obviously never been on public assistance or known anyone who has.

No one gets public assistance for fun. It's not easy. Cash welfare is not really a thing anymore since Clinton passed welfare reform. No one is rolling up to the food pantry in their luxury SUV for fun, because they had an extra hour in their day, because they love eating cheap processed food, because they would rather be tsk tsk'ed by some "nice" Christian ladies than spend $10 at Safeway. if you think someone needs to dress in rags and take the bus an hour to beg for some Aldi food the people donating wouldn't feed their own families and some dollar store toys and school suppliers, you are not a kind person and should find a different place to volunteer.

Waiting lists for Section 8 housing are long.
Applications to get free cable or get help with your heating bills are long and require cooperation from lazy ass landlords and may require you to jump through hoops to prove you are worthy.
The process to get and keep SNAP or WIC is not easy and if you do have WIC, you may have to endure the humiliation of your case worker telling you that according to her chart your baby is too fat for the whole milk your pediatrician recommends and you will only get 2%. Or generic formula that makes your baby spit up. God forbid you have a SNAP EBT card and you buy something the Karen behind you in line doesn't think is necessary. God forbid poor people have some stability or even worse - joy in their lives like nice nails that their sister the nail tech did on her day off to practice a new technique or a reliable car borrowed from a neighbor or phone that works, a gift from your boss so he can reach you.

Being poor sucked before Covid and will sucks more now.
Your life seems normal because you don't know any poor people. The people in your life who are silently suffering right now have the credit to keep up appearances - at least for a while. You may find out in 6-12 months that some people were closer to the edge than you imagined. You might find out in 10-30 years when people you know don't have money to pay for their kids' college or to retire.

This is a narrative that’s been formed over the years and I used to buy into it.

Now we live in Alexandria City where welfare is a way of life for generations. Literally grandma got the public housing and now her grandkids and great grand Kids live with her and her own kids live in the same complex with their children and grand children

Did you know that public housing doesn’t kick you out even when a household has an income of over $100K ?

The base salary of public housing plus snap plus child care subsidies plus medical care subsidies often is close to $60K or more. So imagine if all your basic needs are met and any income you make is now disposable. You save nothing because if you did than you would not have money for eating out, getting your hair and nails done, upgrading your phone, buying designer clothes and so on

That’s what really, truly happens. Whatever inconvenience it takes to maintain that standard set of subsidies that keeps all basic needs met is totally worth it.

This. Only 50% of Americans pay taxes. The 50% that pay taxes are financially supporting other households. The reality is "reparations" have existed on a yearly basis
in the US since the 1960s.

You are a liar. Stop spreading misinformation.

44% of Americans do not pay Federal Taxes. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/81-million-americans-wont-pay-any-federal-income-taxes-this-year-heres-why-2018-04-16

We need to expand the tax base. Too much meals on wheels coming out of schools, free laptops to "poor" families. They need some skin in the game via contributing to our tax system so that they appreciate the sacrifice being made by taxpayers

They do pay taxes, they just don't pay federal income taxes. They pay FICA taxes, they pay sales taxes, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is proof of the DCUM bubble you live in where $200K HHI is not “rich” to most people.

IT FEELS NORMAL BECAUSE YOU ARE EATING CAKE, MARIE ANTOINETTE. Maybe if you bought your homes where you would see the “poors” you would understand the danger of a larger and more impoverished class of citizens that have no job to go to, or risk dying if they do.

I have relatives who live all over the country who make well less than 200K and they report the same thing, that they don't know people who are laid off and people are still spending as normal. This isn't just a DC area (or even UMC) phenomena.

They are probably UMC for their area if they make $90k.

This is why my family and DH’s family have no idea how much we make. Technically it’s public record, but they can’t contextualize it. What little they do know just confuses them as to why we live in a 900 sq foot apartment and drive older used vehicles.

90k for a family of four isn't upper middle class anywhere in the U.S.

It is in my hometown (in the US). Small City. Avg hhi is $38k.

Average HHI across the country is around 60k so yes 90k is UMC

Lower Class negative to 25,600
Lower Middle Class 25,600 to 50,000
Middle Class 50,000 to 79,542
Upper Middle Class 79,542 to 130,000
Upper Class 130,000+

+1

Snorts with laughter.

-single person making 150k and who feels very, very, VERY ordinary.

DCUM bubble alert