As I write this article, New York voters recently voted in a presidential primary. Ask most people randomly on the street, they would hardly know that poll sites are even open. They might know more about the $25 million raised by President Biden and $50 million raised by former President Trump.
Why, $75 million could buy thousands of people food and clothes for months. It could also pay for job training or salaries for law enforcement officers. Instead, it will go towards commercials and staff for political campaigns.
I don’t have to reiterate the facts that we experience and read about on the news every single day. People are hurting financially, especially the middle class.
Yahoo Finance reported in December that those making $100,000 a year can’t get ahead to fulfill the American Dream and may not feel successful enough to feel “rich” anymore.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the national average salary in the U.S. was $59,384 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Untenable Cost of Living
Bankrate just reported that the average U.S. home now requires a six-figure salary to afford, marking a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic levels, and median home prices have surged from $290,000 to $412,000, a 42% increase since January 2020.
Massachusetts is one of the most expensive places to live, followed by California, New York and Washington, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index.