I have never felt this hopeless about the future of the U.S. in my life. I'm 48 and never had kids because I could never afford them. I used to feel bad about it but not so much anymore. Why bring a kid into this world unless you are in the top 10% income bracket, or at least maybe top 25%?
What are kids today going to do with their lives? When I graduated high school 30 years ago, the universal advice was "go to school, get that education." Now, go to school to do what? You're most likely never getting a job in your field, and if you do you aren't going to make what you need to make. The trades and blue-collar work seem to be getting over-saturated from what I've read. "Start your own business!" Where are you going to get the money if your parents can't set you up, or at least cosign loans for you?
And I just don't see how it will ever get better. Maybe electing Democrats will make things marginally better, but it's never going to be a permanent fix. The national debt is in a death spiral, so the federal governmen's ability to finance programs that might help people will be severally limited. Raise income taxes significantly and people will lose their minds and just elect Republicans again."Well, once we get a wealthy tax on guys like Musk and Bezos, everything will be fine." The Supreme Court is never going to allow a weatlh tax. The Sixteenth Amendment says the federal government can tax income, not wealth. The Supreme Court is never going to allow a creative interpretation of the Amendment to allow a wealth tax. Even if they did, the mega-rich would probably engineer a recession, and everybody elects Republicans again.
Can anyone please tell me why I'm wrong and being a doomer and explain why and how there is still hope for the future?
Well at least one thing you said to me seems pretty wrong, and maybe this depends on where you live, but the trades are absolutely not oversaturated.
As for the rest, hopefully the democratic party old guard gets kicked out completely and new non-bought and paid for politicians actually get into office. Once the people standing in the way of advancing the interests of the people are removed, I bet we will all be shocked by how easy it is to improve the lives of every day people.
Ok. “owning a home, buying new cars, raising two children and sending them to college, retiring, paying for healthcare, having a wedding, owning pets, and taking a yearly vacation.” There’s a lot of decisions in there.
Disagree. This number takes into account what it costs Americans on average. It takes into account that for many in the US, it costs far more than a $120k income to raise a family.
Where I live, rent on a 2BR apartment averages $2800/mo and daycare is $2500/child. That puts a family with two young kids at $7800/mo ($94k/year) before food, healthcare, transportation, or any of that many things children need to thrive, let alone savings.
Right? I live in Georgia. Have two kids and own my house. Neither me or my wife have a college degree and we live comfortably in a nice neighborhood. We make around 110k a year
No_Entrepreneur_9134 | 12 hours ago
I have never felt this hopeless about the future of the U.S. in my life. I'm 48 and never had kids because I could never afford them. I used to feel bad about it but not so much anymore. Why bring a kid into this world unless you are in the top 10% income bracket, or at least maybe top 25%?
What are kids today going to do with their lives? When I graduated high school 30 years ago, the universal advice was "go to school, get that education." Now, go to school to do what? You're most likely never getting a job in your field, and if you do you aren't going to make what you need to make. The trades and blue-collar work seem to be getting over-saturated from what I've read. "Start your own business!" Where are you going to get the money if your parents can't set you up, or at least cosign loans for you?
And I just don't see how it will ever get better. Maybe electing Democrats will make things marginally better, but it's never going to be a permanent fix. The national debt is in a death spiral, so the federal governmen's ability to finance programs that might help people will be severally limited. Raise income taxes significantly and people will lose their minds and just elect Republicans again."Well, once we get a wealthy tax on guys like Musk and Bezos, everything will be fine." The Supreme Court is never going to allow a weatlh tax. The Sixteenth Amendment says the federal government can tax income, not wealth. The Supreme Court is never going to allow a creative interpretation of the Amendment to allow a wealth tax. Even if they did, the mega-rich would probably engineer a recession, and everybody elects Republicans again.
Can anyone please tell me why I'm wrong and being a doomer and explain why and how there is still hope for the future?
fallingblue | 11 hours ago
Well at least one thing you said to me seems pretty wrong, and maybe this depends on where you live, but the trades are absolutely not oversaturated.
As for the rest, hopefully the democratic party old guard gets kicked out completely and new non-bought and paid for politicians actually get into office. Once the people standing in the way of advancing the interests of the people are removed, I bet we will all be shocked by how easy it is to improve the lives of every day people.
skinnymatters | 6 hours ago
Man, do I fuckin feel this. Very well put.
glenpiercev | 7 hours ago
The constitution doesn’t matter anymore. We do a wealth tax and in exchange, we do not pull out the guillotines.
triple-double | 41 minutes ago
I think you need to get off Reddit fam and find something you enjoy in your life.
skripachka | an hour ago
Ok. “owning a home, buying new cars, raising two children and sending them to college, retiring, paying for healthcare, having a wedding, owning pets, and taking a yearly vacation.” There’s a lot of decisions in there.
FIicker7 | 10 hours ago
Totally sustainable. /s
Untjosh1 | 11 hours ago
My wife and I have a house and kids and live comfortably in Texas on like 120k. This is far too fatalistic.
Phillip_Spidermen | 9 hours ago
$5.3M over the course of a lifetime.
At 120K, you're over the average it's working with.
Untjosh1 | 9 hours ago
40 years working between two people is 66k per year per person. I’m right at the marker.
beautybirdy | 6 hours ago
Disagree. This number takes into account what it costs Americans on average. It takes into account that for many in the US, it costs far more than a $120k income to raise a family.
Where I live, rent on a 2BR apartment averages $2800/mo and daycare is $2500/child. That puts a family with two young kids at $7800/mo ($94k/year) before food, healthcare, transportation, or any of that many things children need to thrive, let alone savings.
ChairmanReagan | 8 hours ago
Right? I live in Georgia. Have two kids and own my house. Neither me or my wife have a college degree and we live comfortably in a nice neighborhood. We make around 110k a year
McGrim11295 | 5 hours ago
Which, over a lifetime, is where the headline is.
Puzzled-Painter3301 | 6 hours ago
What do you do?
ChairmanReagan | 4 hours ago
I manage a bar