Letters: Readers respond to an article about quitting the rat race, with some saying their generation was handed an untenable position and others saying the struggle is nothing new
So am I. My rent however is three times as much (for a worse apartment), food is 2-6x as expensive, gas is… shockingly about the same but it was killer in 2012 too. Utilities are up, insurance is at 250%, medical aid remains unaffordable even with insurance, and I’m older will more medical problems, less energy, and it’s harder to learn new things. Oh and I’m in much more debt due to all the previously mentioned things, so I don’t even have space on credit cards for emergency purchases.
And 9/10 people I talk to are in the same situation.
Sounds rough. But I wasn’t trying to invalidate the other guy (nor you now), just making a point that individual circumstances don’t dictate the state of things overall.
Guess the juxtaposition by itself was too subtle to convey that, lol. Oh well.
My issue is that I have to believe my lying eyes. Rates of homelessness, buying power, financial solvency, they all dropped through the tank and never really came back after what amounted to a financial earthquake for many many families. Whole extended families dropped through the cracks and never came back. There was basically no relief for the working families most effected by the incident, and basically no consequences for those that cause/ profited from it. Covid and the financial repercussions seems about the same. We’ve “recovered” from it “economically” because those permanently impacted by it that will never recover stopped being counted.
Gen X and I’m not making much more now than I did in 2008.
Millennial and I’m making over twice at much as I was in 2012. 🤷♀️
Even adjusted for inflation?
Nope, 66% increase then, just checked.
So am I. My rent however is three times as much (for a worse apartment), food is 2-6x as expensive, gas is… shockingly about the same but it was killer in 2012 too. Utilities are up, insurance is at 250%, medical aid remains unaffordable even with insurance, and I’m older will more medical problems, less energy, and it’s harder to learn new things. Oh and I’m in much more debt due to all the previously mentioned things, so I don’t even have space on credit cards for emergency purchases.
And 9/10 people I talk to are in the same situation.
Sounds rough. But I wasn’t trying to invalidate the other guy (nor you now), just making a point that individual circumstances don’t dictate the state of things overall.
Guess the juxtaposition by itself was too subtle to convey that, lol. Oh well.
And able to afford a third as much…
The US never really recovered from 2008.
You say this as corporations are making record profits.
The US recovered just fine, the elites just didn’t think it necessary to include us in that recovery.
My issue is that I have to believe my lying eyes. Rates of homelessness, buying power, financial solvency, they all dropped through the tank and never really came back after what amounted to a financial earthquake for many many families. Whole extended families dropped through the cracks and never came back. There was basically no relief for the working families most effected by the incident, and basically no consequences for those that cause/ profited from it. Covid and the financial repercussions seems about the same. We’ve “recovered” from it “economically” because those permanently impacted by it that will never recover stopped being counted.