I recently listened to a statement by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Dean of The Black Business School, where he provided disturbing information about the state of America’s middle class. Dr. Watkins stated that, according to the Social Security Administration, over 50 percent of working Americans make less than $30,000 a year.
Surely, this could not be true.
Not being one of those people who believes everything I hear, I did a google search to test the validity of his statement.
He was right! Here is a link to the report so you can check it out for yourself.
Indeed, in the 2014 report, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that 51 percent of working Americans make less than $30,000 a year. In the report, that SSA revealed that half of working Americans reported income at or below $28,851. That’s less than $2,500 a month. Even worse, 40 percent are making less than $20,000 – less than $1,700 a month. The federal poverty level for a family of five is $28,410, but almost 40 percent of all American workers are earning less than $20,000 a year.
Shocking Salary Figures
Here are some of the other alarming numbers that stood out.
- 38 percent of all American workers made less than $20,000 last year.
- 51 percent of all American workers made less than $30,000 last year.
- 62 percent of all American workers made less than $40,000 last year.
- 71 percent of all American workers made less than $50,000 last year.
After reviewing these figures, surely you can understand that something is terribly wrong with America. It is very difficult to feed a family whilst making ends meet. It’s no wonder that Donald Trump won the election by stating that he wants to “Make America Great Again.” There is nothing great about these numbers. In fact, it quite sad.
For example, if you worked a full-time job at $10 hour and got two weeks of vacation each year, you would make around $21,000. However, you are still better off than 40 percent of Americans.
It’s hard to live on $21,000 if you are single, imagine how difficult it must be if you have a family to support.
While these facts are alarming, it should tell you something about the standard of living and quality of life in the United States.
Wages Have Remained Flat
Despite the lows in unemployment, wage growth has remained flat. People are employed, but they are not being paid a living wage. The economy is not producing middle-class jobs. Quite sadly, despite Trump’s proclamation to “Make American Great Again” the trends that are destroying the middle class are likely to continue and even accelerate.
The world is changing economically. The American economy is changing. Even now, pundits and talking heads on TV are expressing concern about falling real estate prices in California. If you recall, falling residential real estate prices in California, among other things, significantly contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
If you haven’t done so already, it’s time for you to start thinking about your future and, perhaps, the future of your family.
If another recession in on the horizon, it’s time for you to protect yourself by taking action to mitigate what is a predictable outcome – which is high job loss, lower wages, and a more competitive job market.
Develop A Side Hustle
It’s time for you to start thinking about forming a side hustle and owning your own business.
Favorably, there are lots of businesses that you can start right now that require very little startup capital.
I will talk more about some of the businesses you can start in a future post.