I disagree whenever I hear people say the American working class is lazy. Sometimes, I want to wrestle such a person to the ground; and shove the dirty they spewed back into their mouths. This is because the American working class is one of the most hardworking societal classes in this beautiful country of ours.
Think about it.
We barely take as much vacation as our working class counterparts in other countries. A US Travel Organization Survey found 55% of Americans did not take their vacation time. Not because we enjoy working so much, but due to fact we have no choice. Vacation is the last thing on the mind of any struggling working adult barely making ends meet.
This is especially, when you take into consideration the opportunity cost of missed wages. Would you not agree?
According to The Brookings Institution research, 53 million Americans earn about $24,000 annually. This is while some are working full time and taking no vacation. What this means is 44% of all workers earn a low wage rate in the United States. Our current inflation increased by 3.1% in November 2023, therefore reducing the purchasing power of these working class salaries to 3.1%.
3.1% depreciation of our currency may not mean much to you, until expenses rise to meet income with reduced purchasing power. Monthly expenses are becoming outrageously high. The crazy thing about our working class struggle is our bills automatically adjust themselves to accomodate inflation. This is while salary remains the same or barely change year by year for most Americans.
It is why I believe so many Americans are so deep in debt. You are welcome to dispute it, but it will not change the fact more working class Americans are struggling financially and unable to make ends meet.
Why Are So Many Americans Struggling Financially
Before we blame consumerism for our issues, I want to make it clear that consumerism is the least of our problems. I used to think it was a major factor to why people are hurting financially right now, since uncontrolled consumerism leads to debt. But, it is not a primary contributor to this debt issue.
Here are why so many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
1. Most jobs Are Not Adjusting Salaries To Match Inflation
A typical American workplace increases pay annually by a few cents per hour. This is regardless of the current inflation rate. In some workplaces, this pay increase is based on merit.
Meaning- only workers with good work history get to have their wage rates increased by a few cents per hour. You would think this is only happening in labor jobs, but it is happening in professional jobs too.
A WTW data from 2022 below, shows the following wage increments for workers in five industries that year.
| Industry | Percentage Increase |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing sector | 2.8% to 3.6% |
| Energy sector | 2.6% to 3.4% |
| Life and health insurance | 2.7% to 3.5% |
| Finance sector | 2.7% to 3.5% |
| Retail and wholesale trade | 2.8% to 3.6% |
Let me further break down what this percentage increase means for the average American working class adult struggling to make ends meet.
If you got a 2.8% raise working in the manufacturing sector in 2022 making $15 per hour as an assembler, it means you made $15.42 per hour. This is just a $0.42 increase, which has to compete with the 2022 inflation rate of 8%. What this means is whatever salary you made per month with that wage rate, lost 8% of its purchasing power that year.
Now, do you see why are working class Americans suffering financially?
On the whole, it has nothing to do with our ability to put in the hours. Rather, it is the inability of companies to adjust our wage rate to match the inflation rate. As a result, a huge part of the American working class is struggling to make ends meet on a tight budget.
This is because businesses are adjusting the cost of their services to match the inflation and cover expenses. We are left to bear the brunt of it.
2. Federal Tax Money Is Wasted On Foreign Aid
I was shocked, when I went through the 2023 United States Foreign Assistance to 187 countries around the world. Our foreign aid assistance in 2023 was a whopping $45 billion. I was left with an unanswered question.
How much of the $45 billion is from the federal taxes of the American working class, my good reader?
If anyone could tell me how the federal government was able to generate this, I will seriously appreciate it. This is because I do not understand why citizens from other countries have access to money they did not work for. Listen, I am not insensitive to the needs of the world.
My problem as a member of the struggling working class, is why send $45 billion abroad when more than half our population are struggling to make ends meet. This is especially, when the money is majorly raised from the federal taxes of our huge working class. It does not make sense trying to fix the world, when our society is becoming increasingly dysfunctional economy-wise.
We could use this money to solve a lot of our societal issues. $45 billion could fund some social programs which could help the federal government or state governments tackle our increasing social issues. The major social issues which increase the struggle of the working class include:
- Inflation issue
- The affordability of healthcare
- The federal budget deficit
- Unemployment
- Mental health issues
Besides these, there are other social issues which contribute to the largest category of debt for Americans. Sometimes, I wonder whether this amount of negligence on the part of the federal government is intentional. Or perhaps, it is a lack of vision and care on the part of the political class which is supposed to have the backs of the struggling masses.
3. Governments Focus On Welfare, Rather Than Long-Term Practical Solutions
Our governments focus on welfare, rather than working on a practical solution to address the needed issues. This is why the number of Americans below poverty lines keep increasing. How many people are on welfare in the United States?
The Office Of Human Services Policy survey released on January 2023, has 99.1 million Americans participated in one of their social safety net programs. In case you do not know, 99.1 million Americans is about 30% of the United States population. This is more than the entire populations of the States of Texas and California put together!
There is something wrong in a nation, where one-third of its population depended on welfare at one point in a year. It is a growing and persistent problem, which will not go away soon. I mean low-income households struggling to make ends meet.
A welfare system with no intention of helping people stand on their feet creates another big problem. Here is what I mean.
What are the biggest problems with welfare?
The biggest problems with welfare on the American working class include the following below:
- It creates dependence.
- There is little improvement in household living below poverty lines. At least, a few hardworking working class families I know since I have moved to the States have been on it for as long as I have been here.
- It does not provide a means for its dependents to acquire the skills needed to increase their salary. I do not think welfare has goals to get people on their feet again.
- While the welfare system has helped supported households or individuals struggling financially, it does not focus on personal development. Most working Americans on Welfare want to be financially stable, but they do not know how to go about improving their incomes.
- The negative effects of long term welfare dependence are not taken seriously.
Sincerely speaking, the governments in the United States should focus more on getting people to stand on their feet than just shoving money to them. The exception to this rule are disabled and senior populations who need welfare. It does not do the struggling working class any good to receive money monthly to help survive the high cost of living without a plan in place to help them survive on their own in the long run.
It will not do much to alleviate poverty or help struggling working class adults to be financially stable. Do you agree, good reader?
4. Some Jobs Do Not Provide the Flexibility Needed To Acquire New Skills
I know a lot of my readers will say I am using the government as a scapegoat, rather than call out the work ethics of my fellow working class peers. I cannot in due respect put the entire blame on us. This is because it is hard to raise above this societal class, when the lack of flexibility in our jobs make it hard to acquire new skills.
Let me elaborate for you.
Often, I hear people ask why the lower tier of this class cannot acquire new skills to transcend their limited income. I used to be one of these critics. After a while, you start to see how hard it is to make time to acquire new skills.
This is especially in a job which pays you little and expects you to compensate the low income with plenty overtime hours. Having worked such jobs before I became a Certified Surgical Technologist, there is no time to do anything at all. It is work-home-sleep-work combo.
It is the most depressing part of being a low-wage earning working class adult, is it not?
Even as a Certified Surgical Technologist now, the inflation is still beating the crap out of me. I have no choice but to start a new education program, to upgrade and acquire new skills so as to be a step ahead of the inflation. This is so as to contribute more in the medical field and earn more as a result. Do you know what I will sacrifice to make this flexibility possible, my good reader?
Half of my working hours per week.
Luckily for me, my job is still willing to retain me because these advance healthcare skills I am learning in school can make positive changes in my community. I still have to pay tuition out of pocket and reoccurring monthly bills. If I were a family man, it would be extremely difficult to go back to school and take care of them working part-time.
So, do not lay the blame of many Americans struggling financially on them. If we have the opportunity to do better, we will and could do better than our status quo. However, the forces working against us are blatantly and tremendously strong enough to break the strongest of us!
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