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> At least here the problem isn't financial illiteracy. The problem is that they (a) make way too little to live off and (b) worker protections have eroded past
by darpa_escapee 8y ago
> At least here the problem isn't financial illiteracy. The problem is that they (a) make way too little to live off and (b) worker protections have eroded past any sane point.
This is the crux of the reality that many face, yet is often ignored by pundits.
Raving about budgeting is missing the point: you can't budget what isn't there in the first place.
When there is something left over to budget, saving $20-$50 a month isn't going help with the problems of "a dollar is worth less every year and wages haven't kept up with inflation or cost of living in decades" and "if someone in my family gets sick or injured, we will likely take on debt that will bankrupt us".
- dan-robertson 8y agoI agree that it won’t help with that but perhaps that isn’t the point. Saving $20-$50 per month can help with situations along the lines of “some uncommon thing has gone wrong and you need $400 to fix it,” for example a car malfunction (because transport is required to get to work, this is urgent)
- darpa_escapee 8y agoYes, it can help with small expenses. However, each year that passes those expenses become more expensive while take home compensation stays at fixed dollar amount that isn't adjusted for inflation. For example, medical expenses can, and do, bankrupt people. No amount of saving $20 each month will pay off many medical bills. It's the reason that medical expenses are the top cause of bankruptcy, followed by job loss. The problem is that budgeting is portrayed as a panacea to poverty or an altar on which the poor are chastised for their suffering.