Kate Hackett
It’s not a huge revelation to assert that the middle class is getting squeezed. The fact of the matter is that wages have not climbed the same way cost of living expenses have. Rents, groceries, gas, electricity, etc. have all skyrocketed. Wages have not.
Sometimes it helps to check out the actual specifics — in this case the math — which is exactly what Twitter user @Hawthorne_Rob did for us in his viral tweet.
$1,500 rent means you paying $18,000 a year in housing.
Someone making $50,000 is paying 22% in taxes. ($39,000) now has to pay rent and is left with $21,000. For the year with all other life expenses.
Rent is too damn high for a lot of folks.
After years of the pandemic, the American people are burnt out and exhausted. It’s hard to constantly worry about money; remember back in March of 2020 when we weren’t entirely sure if we could pay our bills? If our jobs would even be there? And now that we’re emerging, we’re faced with rising costs.
Rob’s tweet inspired others to share their stories.
I’ve done the factoring for this in some cities with the projected minimum 3x the rent salary attached(1st pic), and the taxes on a 50k salary minus homeowner property taxes in select states (2nd pic).
If there’s no action, renting in the US will become a humanitarian crisis.
@LukeJohnson2014 / Twitter
“Move out of cities” is not a viable argument. Cities mean jobs and unless that current job affords the worker the ability to work remotely, they’re stuck there. The cost of relocating is also high. And don’t forget that landlords ask for 2 to 3 times the rent in your application.
Another user noted application fees have gone insane.
And why is this all happening?
Wages. Have Remained. Stagnant.
