4 ms·

This highlights how out of touch HN people are. 37% of Americans can't afford a one time $400 expense. And $12k a year is just nothing, apparently. https://www

This highlights how out of touch HN people are. 37% of Americans can't afford a one time $400 expense. And $12k a year is just nothing, apparently. https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm

raincole 3y ago
$12k is not nothing, but the title is "super wealthy". If you make $1.2m a year, spending $12k on entertainment seems very reasonable. But making $1.2m/y alone doesn't make someone "super wealthy".
- dillydogg 3y ago
  Perhaps we have different definitions of super wealthy but it is clear to me that being in the top 1% percentile is super wealthy.
  - raincole 3y ago
    There are 3 million people in "top 1%" bracket in the US. I think "super" becomes quite a cheap word if you use it to describe a group of millions.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - dillydogg 3y ago
      Perhaps, but I would suspect a vast majority of Americans would perceive making more than they do in their lifetimes every year as living in a different caste
dalmo3 3y ago
At the same time 25 million Americans are in the top 1%. https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/g...
- dillydogg 3y ago
  Yes, of course, but I think their lives are clearly "super" in comparison to the vast majority. I'm coming to understand that my perception of super appears to not be the norm!
dotnet00 3y ago
That $400 expense thing is a myth stemming from misleading framing (as is typical of most of these catchy doomer statistics). Mostly what it says is that 37% of people prefer to use their credit cards and just pay them off at the end of the cycle. Which makes sense given the enhanced protections credit cards typically have and the cashback, both of which would be significant for a $400 transaction. https://www.cato.org/blog/it-true-40-americans-cant-handle-400-emergency-expense-0 https://www.cato.org/blog/it-true-40-americans-cant-handle-4... Reminds me of another similar stat that was doing the rounds recently about automobile loans which had a similar issue.
- dillydogg 3y ago
  Yes, there is another stat about black people in Boston having less than $200 of net worth which the authors of the study deny. I forget the exact stat. Looks like the source I cited that you responded to could be off. But I think the point stands that an incredible majority of Americans can't imagine spending $1000/mo on something frivolous

raincole 3y ago

$12k is not nothing, but the title is "super wealthy". If you make $1.2m a year, spending $12k on entertainment seems very reasonable. But making $1.2m/y alone doesn't make someone "super wealthy".

dillydogg 3y ago
Perhaps we have different definitions of super wealthy but it is clear to me that being in the top 1% percentile is super wealthy.
- raincole 3y ago
  There are 3 million people in "top 1%" bracket in the US. I think "super" becomes quite a cheap word if you use it to describe a group of millions.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - dillydogg 3y ago
    Perhaps, but I would suspect a vast majority of Americans would perceive making more than they do in their lifetimes every year as living in a different caste

dalmo3 3y ago

At the same time 25 million Americans are in the top 1%. https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/g...

dillydogg 3y ago
Yes, of course, but I think their lives are clearly "super" in comparison to the vast majority. I'm coming to understand that my perception of super appears to not be the norm!

dotnet00 3y ago

That $400 expense thing is a myth stemming from misleading framing (as is typical of most of these catchy doomer statistics). Mostly what it says is that 37% of people prefer to use their credit cards and just pay them off at the end of the cycle. Which makes sense given the enhanced protections credit cards typically have and the cashback, both of which would be significant for a $400 transaction. https://www.cato.org/blog/it-true-40-americans-cant-handle-400-emergency-expense-0 https://www.cato.org/blog/it-true-40-americans-cant-handle-4... Reminds me of another similar stat that was doing the rounds recently about automobile loans which had a similar issue.

dillydogg 3y ago
Yes, there is another stat about black people in Boston having less than $200 of net worth which the authors of the study deny. I forget the exact stat. Looks like the source I cited that you responded to could be off. But I think the point stands that an incredible majority of Americans can't imagine spending $1000/mo on something frivolous