The Salary Needed to Achieve the American Dream

[Independent thinker]

Thought this was interesting to post. For the most part, the worst cities of not being able to achieve the American Dream are all blue cities from blue states. Any who don't fit that criteria are blue cities in red states. And yet the left are always griping about wealth and income inequality and most all of that is in their very own backyards.

Original Research Center | GOBankingRates

www.gobankingrates.com

 

[JohnDB]

Thought this was interesting to post. For the most part, the worst cities of not being able to achieve the American Dream are all blue cities from blue states. Any who don't fit that criteria are blue cities in red states. And yet the left are always griping about wealth and income inequality and most all of that is in their very own backyards.

Original Research Center | GOBankingRates

www.gobankingrates.com

Amazing how they create the very problem they campaign upon.

Go Woke, go Broke.

Housing prices are high because of the housing needs of illegal aliens the Left allowed into the country.

Wages are low because of the surplus labor supplied by illegal immigrants.

And then....to top it off....
Inflation, caused by unrestricted Government spending, is destroying the salary you currently make....impoverishment those who are working with high tax dollars being handed out to NGOs and deadbeats for votes.


Funny how that works.

 

[BULLDOG]

Years ago the number a $5.00 If you could jut make $5.00 more per hour, you could pay all your bills and have some left over for enjoyment. I'm sure that number has gone up since then.

 

[Mr Natural]

Amazing how they create the very problem they campaign upon.

Go Woke, go Broke.

Housing prices are high because of the housing needs of illegal aliens the Left allowed into the country.

Wages are low because of the surplus labor supplied by illegal immigrants.

And then....to top it off....
Inflation, caused by unrestricted Government spending, is destroying the salary you currently make....impoverishment those who are working with high tax dollars being handed out to NGOs and deadbeats for votes.


Funny how that works.

It’s good to have the government to blame all your failures on.

 

[JohnDB]

It’s good to have the government to blame all your failures on.

Ummmm
It's not my failure.
I'm not one who looks to be rich or even richer than my peers.
I just want the SAME opportunities my parents and grandparents had by going to work and bringing home a paycheck.

Back when Henry Ford began building cars on an assembly line he paid his unskilled/low skilled workers $5/8hr day and people worked 6 days a week.

Today that same salary is equivalent to $200,000 year.

And Ford wanted to raise their pay $1/day because of profits. But a federal Judge said he couldn't....he needed to pay the investors a larger dividend even though their stock value had already returned 500-800% profit.

The game is rigged.
If you don't understand it....you are a slave.

 

[Independent thinker]

Years ago the number a $5.00 If you could jut make $5.00 more per hour, you could pay all your bills and have some left over for enjoyment. I'm sure that number has gone up since then.

Especially in blue cities and blue states who all control their own destinies. It is THEIR policies which promote income and wealth inequality.

 

[Independent thinker]

It’s good to have the government to blame all your failures on.

It's rather funny that in these higly blue states and cities who mostly control their own destinies with their own policies and laws, always seem to blame their higher costs of living and income and wealth inequality and homelsessness on the federal government and none on the state and local governments.

 

[JohnDB]

It's rather funny that in these higly blue states and cities who mostly control their own destinies with their own policies and laws, always seem to blame their higher costs of living and income and wealth inequality and homelsessness on the federal government and none on the state and local governments.

Now that I'm retired....
I've lived extended periods in over a dozen states....bordered dozens more. (I'm itinerant by nature)

The local government has EVERYTHING to do with your standard of living. The federal government has very very little. Unless you work for the federal Government directly and even then the local government still affects you more.

The variations are insane.

But you can tell when you live in a "problem state" because Walmart (by number of people) is the largest employer. The local school systems provides the highest paying jobs.
And housing costs are over 25% of your net salary.

There's the indicators.

 

[1srelluc]

Largest Employer by State 2025

Discover population, economy, health, and more with the most comprehensive global statistics at your fingertips.

worldpopulationreview.com

Back in 2019, Virginia Business put together a table with the state’s largest employers, including

• Mars Inc, a food manufacturer and distributor, with 100,000 employees
• Bechtel Corp., an engineering firm, with 55,000 employees
• Walmart, with 45,000 employees

The fed jobs almost eclipse them all combined.

As of March 2025, there are approximately 192,000 federal jobs in Virginia, which represents a 0.41% increase from the previous year

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

Wages are low because of the surplus labor supplied by illegal immigrants.

And then....to top it off....



Funny how that works.

It Works for the People at the Top, Who Need to Be Toppled

The parasitic plutocracy is financing the anti-ICE riots. Don't be decoyed by the Dead Right's meme lords. It's not about votes and not about criminality.

 

[MarcATL]

How is Trump planning on improving this situation OP?

 

[JohnDB]

How is Trump planning on improving this situation OP?

Deportations of as many illegal immigrants as possible.

Making labor expensive again. So we can afford to live again. I don't think we will see deflation happen ...but service industry will see inflation for labor. (Their largest expense)
Fast food giants might have some serious problems.

Fast food often has budgets where food plus paper products is 25% and labor makes up another 25% of variable "cost of goods sold". Then rent, R&M, and insurance is a fixed cost and the rest is profits, advertising, and upper management costs.

The real money is made in the food and sundries sold to the restaurants as it is specialty packaged and labeled. Napkins, cups, wrapping paper, and etc can be bought in high quantities and then sold with atrocious sized margins for a non-perishable product. (Plus franchise fees you claim is for other stuff....you still bill extra for advertising).

The real cost of French fries is stupid cheap but sold at extremely high prices to the various stores.

But the kicker is the labor....it's already at 25% of sales. If it goes to 35-50%....you will be out of business in a hurry.

Eating out will become a luxury again instead of a staple and standard practice. Prices for custom pre-made food becomes too high. Professional Chefs become a good job once again instead of low, slave labor style wages. Waitstaff can actually earn a living wage and won't receive paychecks anymore. That money used to pay their taxes now goes to back of house staff. Meaning that the pay is reasonable and sought by better quality personnel instead of those who will never pass a drug test.

Other service related fields will be much more expensive. PAs will become more rare. Office staff will do less but still expect more pay. AI might offset some of these costs through automation processes for data. But not all.

Low-cost rewards/benefits for staff will rise. More group cell phone discounts, big box store discounts, travel discounts, movie/entertainment discounts and reward tickets (sports games tickets for PSL seats)

And the biggie....
Health/life insurance policies will actually provide benefits instead of confusing and complicated hoops to go through to get the benefits.

(Huge current scandal arising from health insurance companies charging premiums but not providing benefits)

That's what's coming....eventually the pay scale will rise. But large employers will try everything but hard cash payscale first.