5 ms·
It's been a long time since $100k was a lot of money
by notfromhere 7y ago
It's been a long time since $100k was a lot of money
- glouwbug 7y agoYes, but employers sure treat it like a lot of money
- ceejayoz 7y agoIt remains an enormous amount of money for a lot of people.
- glouwbug 7y ago100k is not enough for your typical American dream, which a _lot_ of people feel entitled to
- vsareto 7y agoWhat is the typical american dream and why is there a typical version and an atypical version?
- glouwbug 7y agoThe typical american dream has always been a detached home with a car and 2 kids. At 100k a year I'd break even.
- hanniabu 7y agoAnd then the kids go to college or someone in the family has a medical issue and boom, you're in debt for at least the next decade.
- notfromhere 7y agohome ownership, two kids, college education, and regular travel, all while being financially comfortable and saving for retirement are what the hallmarks of the american middle class dream used to be. A 100k household income doesn't afford you that anymore.
- thaumasiotes 7y ago"Regular travel"? This is not a historically aware definition of "the American dream". Regular travel isn't even a goal of most people today.
- notfromhere 7y agoVacationing is def a part of the American dream, whether its a road trip or air travel
- cylinder 7y agoIs that why the US has no legally mandated annual leave laws?
- notfromhere 7y agothe things americans want aren't the things americans gets.
- tdfx 7y ago> Regular travel isn't even a goal of most people today. I see you've been boycotting Instagram for at least the last half a decade.
- bigYahnz 7y agoAsking what the typical american dream is a bit hyperbolic, no? For the same reason we seem to be worried about vaping but also want to make sure children get their puberty blockers and can chop off their penises before they could legally have sex or consume a beer. For the same reason why being a stay at home mother is similar to slavery, but wasting your life away at some joke of an HR job while you're just a slave to your boss is empowering. For the same reason new companies who are supposed to be taken seriously play video of a shooting range in Kentucky and try to make the public think that it is a foreign country where our stinky old racist president is allowing untold slaughter to take place. For the same reason the guy who won and aware with Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali is supposed to be the biggest racist of them all while he tells his supporters, who are also the most racist people to have ever lived, that he would like record immigration if done legally.
- benburleson 7y agoThe classic American Dream is: * A stable job (that pays "enough" and isn't too stressful) * Own a home * (optionally) Raise a family * Enjoy weekends free, as well as vacations (and the ability to afford them) At least that is my interpretation. If there are atypical American Dreams, I'm curious what those might include.
- root_axis 7y ago100k is about $5900 a month after taxes and modest 401k contribution. Let's subtract some typical expenses (erring on the more expensive side) $200 - water + electricity $100 - high speed internet $160 - decent wireless plan $250 - employer subsidized health insurance $150 - car insurance $50 - netflix, spotify, hulu $700 - groceries $800 - go out to dinner twice a week (or some other activity) $350 - car payment + gas $1000 - savings $1500 - median monthly mortgage payment in the USA. $200 - home insurance. That still leaves 400 a month while also managing to save and invest in 401k. Seems like a decent salary and way of life. Not rich by any means, but certainly comfortable. The median mortgage payment in the USA is about 1500, but let's call it 1800
- cmendel 7y agoThat food bill is sky high, holy shit. My households food bill is 300-400 a month and we never eat out. 12k a year makes a difference.
- tachyonbeam 7y agoI would have said a lot of people want, rather than a lot of people "feel entitled to". It's debatable what people are "entitled to", but we live in an age where it would be well within our technological reach to build comfortable homes for everyone. It would however be politically impractical to reallocate land and resources to make that happen, because the people who currently own most of the resources feel entitled to keeping them.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- chickenpotpie 7y agoThat's still higher than 70% of American households https://www.statista.com/statistics/203183/percentage-distribution-of-household-income-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/203183/percentage-distri...
- notfromhere 7y agoin the places where you can regularly find work for 100k, 100k is not a lot of money.
- auiya 7y agoWage stagnation is a serious problem.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- dragontamer 7y agoMedian household income in USA is $59,039. That's both the mother AND father working to bring home $59,039 on the average (before taxes and other costs). Its clear you live in a rich area where $100k isn't much. But that's also why a large chunk of Americans think that "city-folk" are disconnected from reality. $100k is a lot for many people. My sister lives in an area (in USA) where a 2-bedroom apartment is just $500/month, low crime good living conditions.
- notfromhere 7y agoRural folk don't understand that even if you're making 100k in the big city, a lot of that is eaten up by housing costs. The fantasy of what people who don't earn 100k think 100k buys you is very different from the reality of what lifestyle 100k affords.
- elicash 7y agoMedian household income in NYC is $57,782. (Individual is $50,825.) And yeah, NYC is a huge, diverse city but even Manhattan's median income is $79,781 in 2017. (Corrected figure)
- thaumasiotes 7y agoHence Scott Sumner's headline a while ago, "The Typical Rich Family Is A Cop Married To A Nurse". https://www.themoneyillusion.com/the-typical-rich-family-is-a-cop-married-to-a-nurse/ https://www.themoneyillusion.com/the-typical-rich-family-is-...
- elicash 7y agoGreat observation, but the analysis here seems wrong to me. If you took the median income of people between 45 and 60, I bet people here would STILL be shocked at how low it is. The reason isn't a lack of taking life stage into consideration (the link has no analysis of the numbers there). It's mostly about rich folks refusing to admit they're rich relative to most people.
- beamatronic 7y agoA friend just started a new job at a non-FAANG company and got a $100k signing bonus
- aledalgrande 7y agoMust be a director/executive position?
- beefalo 7y agoIf you are forfeiting a large amount of equity from leaving your current job and are joining as a senior/staff engineer it's possible to negotiate a signing bonus that high
- beamatronic 7y agoIC - no direct reports.
- Pimpus 7y agoIt's been a long time since HN was not out of touch.