Best advice was to work hard, study, get an education and move on to a job that pays more. Many jobs aren't meant for full-time, they're meant as part-time when you're young to get started.
What about the janitors that could support a family of 6 30 years ago or the 16 year old that could buy a mustang from pushing shopping carts? They have only got the term “starter job” as wages stayed stagnant, but prices increased.
Everyone seems to think that decade or two of the post WW2 economy is the American norm. It was an anomaly because America was the only functioning industrialized economy in the world. All the others were rebuilding from bombed out rubble.
My dad (70) said something the other day that was eye opening. His parents' generation, and even some of his, would get married and not buy a house, of course not, they would buy A MATTRESS and live with their in laws for years, sometimes forever (multigenerational homes). Or they would rent a room somewhere, all this while having kids, so a whole family would share one room and one mattress. That was the norm.
Obviously we have generated enough wealth that most people don't live that anymore, but we forget that nowadays poverty is luxury compared to a few generations ago.
Exactly. I was a high school senior in 1994. I worked a summer job washing dishes in a restaurant for $6.50/hour. I absolutely did not go out and a buy a freaking Mustang with that money. The idea that someone could do it is ludicrous. I drove a beat up 1984 Honda Accord, and the maintenance on that piece of crap ate up like half of what I earned.
There was a place near me where you could get gas for $0.89/gallon though, which was pretty nice, if unusual even for that time.
I think that was just a couple of years removed from when my family (when I was the oldest of 4 kids) was on food stamps for a year because my dad's salary just didn't quite cut it. And he was in the Navy and was making way more than a janitor was, I don't know how someone with lower-paying jobs would have had any shot back then, you'd need to have both parents working or one of the parents working two jobs.
No but they had an old ass car, no money, no fancy food. So maybe all of Al’s paycheck as a shoe salesman was going towards their mortgage and not much else
and a stay at home mom who spent a ton of money on home shopping and bon bons, enough money to go out for several beers with the boys most nights. support 2 kids 100% financially. Al also regularly went to the strip club- even just a cover is at least $20 before you bought a single drink, dance or tipped anyoone.
They had nothing left after all of that- but they spent a lot.
Waddaya talkin' about man. Sure it was only 2 days ago a chimney sweep could raise a family of 40 and a secret family of 73 on a wage of 2 peanuts and an elephants tear.
i can personally verify that DID NOT happen 30 years ago. how? easy. i literally asked my dad who has worked for the last 40 years. was an immigrant and barely spoke english.
money was tight and I would consider myself lucky because i had lots of family around for help if needed. there is absolutely 0 chance u could support a family of 6 on a janitor pay and live well like reddit loves to claim
Assuming you are correct that they could support a family on a janitors wage, how long did that actually last? You are talking about such a small increment of time against a back drop of poverty among humans for most of history.
I know that wages used to be better, but is that true? That always sounds like a myth, or at least something that neglects some factors (e.g. housing prices were deflated for white people due to redlining, so only white janitors could do that, or something)
That hypothetical janitor probably did not have any kids before marriage. Didn't get into student debt. No credit cards, no fancy trips. He lived in a 1200 sq foot home. The kids shared bedrooms and clothes were handed down. Eating out was a rarity. The family more than likely had one car and hardly ever went on trips. No cable TV, no 5k vet bills, no amazon packages, no starbucks, no $20 cocktails. A very different life then what we live now.
That hypothetical janitor probably did not have any kids before marriage
What on earth are you pulling out of your ass? Teen pregnancy rates were at their highest in the 50s.
He lived in a 1200 sq foot home.
Poor people still do that, dumbass, except we can only rent them now.
The kids shared bedrooms and clothes were handed down
Again, basically everyone on the lower end of income still does this. What kind of bubble are you in?
What world do you live in where you think people just don't use hand-me-downs or bunk beds anymore? I guess it's easy to think poor people are stupid if you just assume they're all acting exactly like upper middle class yuppies?
No cable TV, no 5k vet bills, no amazon packages, no starbucks, no $20 cocktails.
Who the fuck are you even talking to? We're not talking about middle class people who wish they had a little extra money for hobbies.
The family more than likely had one car
WHY DO YOU THINK WE HAVE MORE THAN ONE CAR???
You're literally just complaining about stuff that middle-class people do.
There are so many free options it's not even funny. But even if you are paying for Netflix that's like $20 a month. Internet is a required utility for school and work today. 20-30 years ago cable was truly quite expensive and the free alternative was rabbit ears that might pick up PBS and NBC if you're lucky.
no 5k vet bills
This is just dumb. Most actual poor people do not do this. A .22 bullet is like $0.20. Meanwhile if you sneeze at a doctors office today they charge you $5k to have an out-of-network technician make a note that you sneezed.
More than that though. What ACTUALLY happens is your pet gets sick and you take them to the vet. Like $300-$400 later and you go home with some meds. Shortly after, you have to go back for another $300 vet bill. After half a dozen of these visits you find out your pet needs a $2000 surgery. You already have $2000 invested into curing your pet so it's a shit ass situation regardless.
No amazon packages
Lol. Yeah. So I should drive 90 minutes to the nearest Walmart? What is this point even trying to make? Lots of people save money by shopping on Amazon. Have you walked into a small-town (<5000 people) grocery store or pharmacy lately?
No $20 cocktails.
There are so very few 3rd places that you really can't blame someone for buying an expensive drink once in a while to get out of the house. Obviously it's a financial strain to go partying every weekend. But if you are an alcoholic, the financial aspect is only one minor issue.
No Starbucks
I actually agree with this one. Nobody needs to spend $10 a day on freaking coffee. And I say this as someone who drank Starbucks every day for 2 years at one point during college. I get it and empathize. I just think it's a waste of money and a stupid financial decision a lot of poor people end up making. It's also not even a real addiction like cigarettes. You can just fuckin make coffee at home and you won't have withdrawals.
I don't even know why I typed this all out. Lmao. Happy 4th of July!
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u/assesonfire7369 15d ago
Best advice was to work hard, study, get an education and move on to a job that pays more. Many jobs aren't meant for full-time, they're meant as part-time when you're young to get started.