5 ms·

You bring up a good point, that even people who make decent money still can't get ahead much more than those making close to minimum wage. Why is this? My the

You bring up a good point, that even people who make decent money still can't get ahead much more than those making close to minimum wage. Why is this? My theory, is that life is full of stress, and throwing money at problems can make some causes of stress diminish. Whereas a minimum wage worker will shovel his own driveway, a higher paid office worker may typically have a snow plow contractor on retainer (for them it is worth the trade off, especially with long office hours). Same story with vehicle or home repairs. Which is why you don't really feel stress free until your income exceeds the threshold to handle most stress items with money instead of your own labor.

supertrope 8y ago
There's nothing inherently better about any specific trade-off between time and money. Not buying a car and riding the bus saves hundreds of dollars per month but costs hours a day. Eating out saves the effort of cooking and washing dishes. Hiring a maid might be used out of laziness or to eek out more family time. I have to remind myself to try to focus on what really makes my life better. Usually that involves estimating time+money+intangible factors. And if it will still be useful in a year.
zanny 8y ago
This depends on your definition of "decent money". If we wanted a legitimate middle class, the textbook definition of one, the per-capita incomes in such a class would need to average around 100k for the whole US. Then you would make enough to invest enough to be making an appreciable amount of your money from investments and thus be "middle" class. The average income is still a bit more than a third that, so the average is still decidedly a member of the working poor. Money doesn't stop buying happiness until... coincidentally... you start making about enough money to be middle class. I'm not surprised at all that those below that threshold are buying happiness at the expense of future stability or prosperity.
- refurb 8y ago
  Do tell, what is the textbook definition of middle class? I always assumed it was th middle of the income distribution.
  - zanny 8y ago
    The preamble of the wikipedia article on middle class espouses why its such a loaded term: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class I'm using the academic definition, where if the upper class earns their wealth through investments and the lower class through labor, the middle is a mix of the two. Humorously even the wikipedia article mentions how the middle class in the US is framed as a political tool of manipulation...
tjr225 8y ago
I think a lot of my stress comes from the fact that, while I wouldn't have done anything differently, I had to put myself in the hole 60k or so to come out of the economic tar sands of being from nowhere, and doing some really dumb shit as a kid. I think that people should both be free to make childish mistakes and still succeed(without putting themselves in the hole) and i also fear for a medical emergency that tosses me back in the hole outside of my own fault. My only point is that I think healthcare and higher education are necessary to exist in the modern world, therefor they are a right, and our government - and tax payers - should provide these things to everyone.

supertrope 8y ago

There's nothing inherently better about any specific trade-off between time and money. Not buying a car and riding the bus saves hundreds of dollars per month but costs hours a day. Eating out saves the effort of cooking and washing dishes. Hiring a maid might be used out of laziness or to eek out more family time. I have to remind myself to try to focus on what really makes my life better. Usually that involves estimating time+money+intangible factors. And if it will still be useful in a year.

zanny 8y ago

This depends on your definition of "decent money". If we wanted a legitimate middle class, the textbook definition of one, the per-capita incomes in such a class would need to average around 100k for the whole US. Then you would make enough to invest enough to be making an appreciable amount of your money from investments and thus be "middle" class. The average income is still a bit more than a third that, so the average is still decidedly a member of the working poor. Money doesn't stop buying happiness until... coincidentally... you start making about enough money to be middle class. I'm not surprised at all that those below that threshold are buying happiness at the expense of future stability or prosperity.

refurb 8y ago
Do tell, what is the textbook definition of middle class? I always assumed it was th middle of the income distribution.
- zanny 8y ago
  The preamble of the wikipedia article on middle class espouses why its such a loaded term: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class I'm using the academic definition, where if the upper class earns their wealth through investments and the lower class through labor, the middle is a mix of the two. Humorously even the wikipedia article mentions how the middle class in the US is framed as a political tool of manipulation...

tjr225 8y ago

I think a lot of my stress comes from the fact that, while I wouldn't have done anything differently, I had to put myself in the hole 60k or so to come out of the economic tar sands of being from nowhere, and doing some really dumb shit as a kid. I think that people should both be free to make childish mistakes and still succeed(without putting themselves in the hole) and i also fear for a medical emergency that tosses me back in the hole outside of my own fault. My only point is that I think healthcare and higher education are necessary to exist in the modern world, therefor they are a right, and our government - and tax payers - should provide these things to everyone.