60% of Americans now living paycheck to paycheck - again. You can't blame Bidenomics for this, but it sure hasn't helped . . .

Photo above - Nancy Pelosi (age 83, net worth $120 million) consults with Pope Francis on eradicating poverty. Stop laughing - what else could they possibly be discussing?

I wasn't surprised when I read the “60% living paycheck to paycheck” headline – again. (See link below). It's been popping up for years. I remember it during the Trump administration, and during the Obama years too. I'm not an expert on presidential eras before that, but if you showed me discouraging “paycheck to paycheck” stats from Bush, Clinton, Carter, Ford and beyond, I wouldn't dispute them. I suspect that during George Washington's presidency people lived “harvest to harvest”, and a poor one meant misery or starvation over the winter.

What caught my eye this time was the subtitle: "nearly half of people earning $100,000 a year are also living paycheck to paycheck." Geez Louise – I don't earn close to $100,000 (it's $58,000), and I'M not living paycheck to paycheck. Where do all these hamsters earning 6 figures live? Are they all in Silicon Valley, Seattle, NYC, and Los Angeles?

I suspect that's part of the answer. “Affordable housing” NYC style is around $3,500 a month for a walk up junior 1 bedroom on a crappy street. So right off the bat, nearly half their after-tax income is gone, before they even start thinking about food, clothing, electricity, cable, internet, cellular, subway fare, health insurance, liquor, pot, or junkets to Atlantic City to pay the slots and blackjack.

Don't scoff when I toss in “Atlantic City”. Half of all personal bankruptcies are precipitated by gambling losses. This is an official court statistic. And if your state has Powerball or scratch off lotto sales, then you've seen senior citizens lined up a dozen deep to buy tickets. Half of all retirees believe “lottery winnings will be an essential part of my retirement income”. I blame public schools for not including statistical probability in the core curriculum required for a diploma. But every kid has seen at least a dozen global warming films.

Snark of the day – wasn't Obamacare supposed to fix this paycheck to paycheck problem? To prevent people from being driven into bankruptcy by an auto accident or cancer? The actual cost of health insurance has skyrocketed. Most single worker coverage is around $700 a month ($8,500 a year) split between employer and employee. Coverage for a family of 4 in California or NY can easy top $25,000. It's surpassing car payments, for sure, and possibly edging up to match rent/mortgage payments for some unlucky people. No wonder some are tempted to ditch coverage and just pay the penalty - and hope for the best.

If we're alarmed at 60% living paycheck to paycheck (and we should be), here are some other official statistics to throw into the mix.

- 44% of workers don't earn enough to owe any income tax.

- 70 million people collect social security.

- 38 million people are on food stamps

- 13 million people work at least 2 jobs

- 10 million people live in rent subsidized units

- Over 2 million are homeless, live in tent cities, or sleep for free on a relative's couch

- Nearly 2 million are in prison or jail. Another 5 million are on court supervised parole, or out on bail awaiting trial.

- Only 1.4 million new homes are built annually, in recent years. This includes apartments, tiny homes, mobile homes, manufactured homes, etc.

Okay – that's a lot of data, I know. The conclusion I reach is that America doesn't build enough new homes, and people couldn't afford them anyway. At least not as Uber drivers, Amazon pickers, ex convicts, healthcare system compliers, and weekend blackjack players.

I'm not blaming President Biden. I'm not blaming people in general. But these statistics are so effed up. How can we be at “full employment” (like Bidenomics always claims) and have so much poverty and misery? How can we keep re-electing a US Senate where the starting salary is almost $200,000 annually (plus food housing and travel stipends), their average net worth is $7 million, and their average age is 64? How is this dystopian paycheck to paycheck life ever going to change with the same rich, old ruling class always in charge?

I'm just sayin' . . .

Nearly half of Americans earning more than $100K now report living paycheck to paycheck — here's why your savings are more important now than ever (msn.com)