As of the end of 2023, the typical U.S. worker could afford the same goods and services as in 2019, prior to the pandemic, and had an additional $1,400 to spend or save per year, according to a January analysis by Treasury officials.
Demar Byas of Pontiac, Michigan referred to experts touting the nation’s economic performance as a “slap in the face.”
“You’re celebrating these numbers, but we are struggling,” said Byas, who juggles several jobs to make ends meet. “It’s no relief in sight, and just say those numbers and to celebrate that, and as I said stuff becomes a slap in the face.”
Still, when you say “wages are still rising” you mean companies are, on average, offering slightly higher pay to new hires. That doesn’t help anyone who has been working the same job since covid started. All they see are higher prices. Averages can be useful metrics but this particular average means fuck all to a huge chunk of working people.
Do you still have some notion of “faithfulness” to a company? If they don’t rise your salary to market value, you ask for it. If they refuse, you find someone who will. Be the new hire.
I’m sure that works for some people but it’s not a universal solution. It’s like telling someone who complains of high home prices to just move somewhere else. Yeah, in the scenario where you can make that happen it will likely help but it ignores the complexities of life that make such a solution impractical for a multitude of reasons.
Well, things can’t be all that bad if someone isn’t wanting or willing to change things. Like I get some scenarios in life make things extremely complex but if something is really a problem, you don’t sit on your hands and do nothing about it.
It’s been several years since Covid started. If your job hasn’t given you any annual raises in that time, what the hell are you doing still working for them?