Welcome to America 2025, and while we're trying to make it great again it's important to realize just how bad things are.
And nothing explains that more than this:
Yeah...
The analysis, from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), looks beyond whether people can afford daily necessities like food and shelter to consider whether they have the means to pay for things like the technology tools necessary for work, higher education, and health and child care costs.
The analysis shows more than just GDP or job rates. It looks at how much money people earn, how much it costs to live a normal lifestyle, and analyzes how attainable it is to achieve what would be considered a "normal" minimal lifestyle.
And it shows that more than half, 60%, of Americans aren't at the minimum standard.
By those standards, the lowest-earning Americans around the U.S. are falling well short, according to LISEP. These households, which in 2023 earned an average of $38,000 per year, would need to make $67,000 to afford the items the group tracks as part of its index, which also includes professional clothing and basic leisure activities.
Yeah, I can hear you now, I read your comments on the Dave Ramsey story.
But it's not because of laziness, unemployment, or GDP.
It's largely because our money is worthless.
From 2001 to 2023, the cost of affording what amounts to a basic level of economic security doubled, according to LISEP's analysis. Housing and health care costs surged, while the amount of savings required to attend an in-state, public university soared 122% ...
Meanwhile, median earnings for the bottom 60% of income earners fell 4% over that span when adjusting for the cost of goods tracked by the group's index, according to LISEP. Income growth for these households has also lagged, rising 0.37% per year during the same period — less than half as much as for the top 40% of earners, the group found.
A house of cards, ladies and gentlemen. A house of cards.
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