Your argument is that 70% of Americans have no choice but to buy the cheapest things possible?
Judging by the success of companies like Amazon, Netflix, Apple, and DoorDash, that seems like an unreasonable argument.
People have more money than they like to admit. They just don’t want to skimp on things they believe to necessities but are actually luxuries. Fresh food is cheaper than processed food. It’s cheaper to buy ingredients to make cheeseburgers than it is to buy them at McDonalds. I buy food from the farmers market because I can’t afford the grocery store. If you’re truly struggling to buy food, you should register for food stamps. Every farmers market I’ve been to accepts them.
I’m not shaming anyone and wealth inequality has nothing to do with this.
Anyone who believes the average salaried worker should be able to afford all the subscription services, a $60k car, a three bedroom home, and everything available at a grocery store is delusional. Marketing and corporate propaganda and influencers have made everyone to believe it’s your god given right to make $50k and live like the upper middle class. That’s not wealth inequality. It’s delusion.
No one has any concept of living within their means. If you make $50k; you should be shopping at farmers markets, you should have very few subscriptions (if any), you shouldn’t be buying a brand new car, you should be renting and living with a roommate to split the bills. That’s not wealth inequality. That’s personal finance 101.
You want to talk about shaming people, point your finger at social media and influencers. They make it seem like everyone should be taking on more debt to buy shit that won’t last one season. My 16 year old nephew wants a $250 hoodie he saw on TikTok. My 7 year old niece wants to do a shopping challenge she saw on YouTube. People are being manipulated to be consumers. To consume far beyond their means.
People have lost all concept of personal fiscal responsibility and what the value of things are. It’s really basic math and economics. No one wants to talk about that though. They want to play the victim card and blame everyone else because they believe “luxury” is owed to them. And then, when given the choice to put people in power to actually make these systematic changes you speak of, people explicitly vote against them.
When you have to buy the cheapest things possible because that’s all you can afford then that’s not possible.
The 70% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck don’t have that privilege.
Your argument is that 70% of Americans have no choice but to buy the cheapest things possible?
Judging by the success of companies like Amazon, Netflix, Apple, and DoorDash, that seems like an unreasonable argument.
People have more money than they like to admit. They just don’t want to skimp on things they believe to necessities but are actually luxuries. Fresh food is cheaper than processed food. It’s cheaper to buy ingredients to make cheeseburgers than it is to buy them at McDonalds. I buy food from the farmers market because I can’t afford the grocery store. If you’re truly struggling to buy food, you should register for food stamps. Every farmers market I’ve been to accepts them.
Shaming individuals for their finances does not fix wealth inequality.
Only systemic changes fix systemic issues
Sorry
I’m not shaming anyone and wealth inequality has nothing to do with this.
Anyone who believes the average salaried worker should be able to afford all the subscription services, a $60k car, a three bedroom home, and everything available at a grocery store is delusional. Marketing and corporate propaganda and influencers have made everyone to believe it’s your god given right to make $50k and live like the upper middle class. That’s not wealth inequality. It’s delusion.
No one has any concept of living within their means. If you make $50k; you should be shopping at farmers markets, you should have very few subscriptions (if any), you shouldn’t be buying a brand new car, you should be renting and living with a roommate to split the bills. That’s not wealth inequality. That’s personal finance 101.
You want to talk about shaming people, point your finger at social media and influencers. They make it seem like everyone should be taking on more debt to buy shit that won’t last one season. My 16 year old nephew wants a $250 hoodie he saw on TikTok. My 7 year old niece wants to do a shopping challenge she saw on YouTube. People are being manipulated to be consumers. To consume far beyond their means.
People have lost all concept of personal fiscal responsibility and what the value of things are. It’s really basic math and economics. No one wants to talk about that though. They want to play the victim card and blame everyone else because they believe “luxury” is owed to them. And then, when given the choice to put people in power to actually make these systematic changes you speak of, people explicitly vote against them.
Your entire comment consists of blaming individual spending habits for wealth inequality, and that’s just not what caused wealth inequality.
If everyone is poor then there’s nothing an individual can do besides organizing to fix systemic issues.