29 ms·

$30,000 a year is barely a living wage now. Especially if you have a partner, let alone a child. Rent for a 1br apartment rent (in Kansas City) would take about

$30,000 a year is barely a living wage now. Especially if you have a partner, let alone a child. Rent for a 1br apartment rent (in Kansas City) would take about half of that income every month. $30k just above the poverty line for the lower 48, and it is the poverty line if you have the audacity to have two children. Inflation has hit reality pretty fucking hard; we need to adjust our mental models to match that reality again.

ITB 3y ago
People who are at the bottom of the income pyramid should prefer partners that also have an income.
- anonymouskimmer 3y ago
  Should prefer, but even if they do, they and their partner's continuing prospects are also more precarious than those higher up the income pyramid.
dragonwriter 3y ago
> $30k just above the poverty line for the lower 48, More then double for the 48 contiguous states (“lower 48” only made sense as a synonym for 8½ months in 1949) plus DC. > and it is the poverty line if you have the audacity to have two children. If you have a family of four with one income, to be precise.
- falcolas 3y ago
  > More then double $15k in Kansas city wouldn't even get you a studio apartment, let alone the extras like food or water. Doubling "can't even get a roof over your head" isn't exactly something to be proud of. But sure, for one person, you're living the life at a bit over 2x the poverty level pre-tax. > “lower 48” only made sense as a synonym for 8½ months in 1949 And yet the meaning was clear - why argue about it? > to be precise. What was imprecise about $30k being poverty level for a family with two children?
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    > What was imprecise about $30k being poverty level for a family with two children? What was imprecise about “if you have the audacity to have two children,” is that that can be a household size of anything from 3 up, depending on the number of dependent adults on the single earner. $30,000/yr is the poverty line for a household size of four, not any of the other possibilities within the scope of that description.
xwdv 3y ago
This might seem obvious but… can’t you decide to not do those things? You’ve heard the advice to live within your means? Having two kids and a non-income producing partner when you make minimum wage is not living within your means. That’s like buying a fucking Ferrari and complaining you’re getting killed on monthly loan payments. You make $30k a year? Spend less. Get a roommate, or a spouse, split rents. Don’t eat restaurant food or god forbid Uber Eats every damn day. You’ll be living a decent life on a workable budget in no time. I swear, so many complaints about not being able to afford anything to live sound like self inflicted wounds. People want to have kids and a housewife before they can barely support themselves. That’s not the way to live. It’s disturbing that the poor increasingly find themselves entitled to everything, without producing much value themselves.
- anonymouskimmer 3y ago
  Half of progress is about complainants seeking solution to their complaints. Arguing against complaining is arguing for people to stay in the status quo. > It’s disturbing that the poor increasingly find themselves entitled to everything Who says they are entitled? They're literally complaining that they aren't entitled.

ITB 3y ago

People who are at the bottom of the income pyramid should prefer partners that also have an income.

anonymouskimmer 3y ago
Should prefer, but even if they do, they and their partner's continuing prospects are also more precarious than those higher up the income pyramid.

dragonwriter 3y ago

> $30k just above the poverty line for the lower 48, More then double for the 48 contiguous states (“lower 48” only made sense as a synonym for 8½ months in 1949) plus DC. > and it is the poverty line if you have the audacity to have two children. If you have a family of four with one income, to be precise.

falcolas 3y ago
> More then double $15k in Kansas city wouldn't even get you a studio apartment, let alone the extras like food or water. Doubling "can't even get a roof over your head" isn't exactly something to be proud of. But sure, for one person, you're living the life at a bit over 2x the poverty level pre-tax. > “lower 48” only made sense as a synonym for 8½ months in 1949 And yet the meaning was clear - why argue about it? > to be precise. What was imprecise about $30k being poverty level for a family with two children?
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  > What was imprecise about $30k being poverty level for a family with two children? What was imprecise about “if you have the audacity to have two children,” is that that can be a household size of anything from 3 up, depending on the number of dependent adults on the single earner. $30,000/yr is the poverty line for a household size of four, not any of the other possibilities within the scope of that description.

xwdv 3y ago

This might seem obvious but… can’t you decide to not do those things? You’ve heard the advice to live within your means? Having two kids and a non-income producing partner when you make minimum wage is not living within your means. That’s like buying a fucking Ferrari and complaining you’re getting killed on monthly loan payments. You make $30k a year? Spend less. Get a roommate, or a spouse, split rents. Don’t eat restaurant food or god forbid Uber Eats every damn day. You’ll be living a decent life on a workable budget in no time. I swear, so many complaints about not being able to afford anything to live sound like self inflicted wounds. People want to have kids and a housewife before they can barely support themselves. That’s not the way to live. It’s disturbing that the poor increasingly find themselves entitled to everything, without producing much value themselves.

anonymouskimmer 3y ago
Half of progress is about complainants seeking solution to their complaints. Arguing against complaining is arguing for people to stay in the status quo. > It’s disturbing that the poor increasingly find themselves entitled to everything Who says they are entitled? They're literally complaining that they aren't entitled.