The other day, Axios published an article, Life Brightens, Sourness Surges. The basic premise was that life has never been better, but a lot of people have not benefitted. With large chunks of the federal government shut down, all of the sudden, stories are being told of people with good government jobs who cannot make ends meet. Who live paycheck-to-paycheck. Who, if you take away a single paycheck, are suddenly in financial peril.
It seems like a disconnect. All you read about is a booming stock market and low unemployment, but when you scratch an inch below the surface, you find that the majority of stock gains are (shocker) concentrated in a small percentage of people and that while unemployment is low, many of the jobs available are low wage, retail or service sector jobs. And so, the idea that people with stable employment struggle to pay the bills comes as a surprise to the serious people who write about our world.
I am more fortunate. I have some savings. If worst came to worst, I could scratch by for a few months without a paycheck. But I am not that much better off than the people who are being profiled. Who are selling things on eBay or Craigslist. Who have picked up part-time work while they wait for government to reopen. Income insecurity reaches further up the economic ladder than you might think.
Follow me on Twitter - @scarylawyerguy
No comments:
Post a Comment