“When destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men’s protection and the base of a moral existence.”
~ Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
Written by Bryan Lutz, Editor at Dollarcollapse.com:
The American Dream is far out of reach, but there are still ways to gain your independence – to work towards the idea of America.
So, just how much does the American dream cost on Independence Day?
CBS News reports:
Here’s how much Americans say they need to earn to feel financially secure
“Americans have a specific annual income in mind for what it would take to feel financially secure, according to a new survey from Bankrate. The magic number? $186,000 per year.
Currently, only 6% of U.S. adults make that amount or more, Bankrate said. The median family income falls between $51,500 and $86,000, according to the latest federal data. Achieving financial security means being able to pay your bills while having enough left over to make some discretionary purchases and put money away for the future, the personal finance site said.
Many inflation-weary consumers continue to experience financial stress, with a new Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia survey finding that 35% of Americans are worried about making ends meet, up from 29% a year earlier.”
$186,000 per year to live the American Dream.
The average median income for families comes in at about 30% of that – not much at all…
And even when you look at the United States’ bluest, most taxpayer funded, bureaucratic State in the country, those with the power to position themselves for big time crony wealth gains, aren’t making it either.
If you look at their median income, they’re still not making enough.
Many in Washington DC are about $20,000 shy of a secure life per year.
The Visual Capitalist reports:
With the cost of a secure life so high, it’s undoubtably hard to live for so many families.
For Gen Z’ers too.
They’re complaining on social media that their new, entry-level jobs don’t pay enough for the cost of living.
It’s an unfortunate reality of debasing a currency for the perceived benefits of “improvement” only to realize year later how wrong the solution really was to begin with.
So very wrong that the United States has become an Empire of Debt creating one debt slave after another.
Yet, even in hard times there must be a way to gain your independence.
Owning gold is one solution…
Because it removes you from the system, but…
In hard economic times, there may not be savings, gold available for ownership, or land you can use to produce your own crops.
The other solution is to keep educating yourself.
Education and hard work are the realities of independence. They are what America was built on.
Not extravagance. Not “revenge spending.” Not universal basic income.
But educating yourself and hard work…
By making your hands useful in the marketplace.
Cut your TV subscriptions, your alcohol consumption, and your expenses whereever you can.
Then head to your local library after work or on the weekend where you can start finding path to improving your value to the marketplace, or developing secondary skills with your hands.
Those secondary skills are things you can barter for…get money for…and even develop community around.
That is the payment for independence, today.
