The US has been in a downward economic cycle ever since 1973. Things are not getting better, but exponentially worse as inflation and stagnation are destroying people’s wealth and forcing poverty upon them.
For many years, especially on the right-wing and from Boomers, is the mantra of “pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work harder”. There is truth in this to a point, for while people must work hard, the average man today works very hard, but his productivity is declining. The reason for this is because men are not machines, and they have limits within which they can reasonably be expected to work. If people are too stressed, they simply cannot work effectively. This is affected obviously by pay rates, hours worked, work environment, and family life, and since all are in a very poor state, it is only natural that one would have trouble performing duties related to labor regardless of what type of labor.
There reaches a point where, as some say in the world of production and manufacturing, the “input is not worth the output”. That point seems to have come for a lot of the US, as a lot of jobs don’t pay enough for people to live at all.
In a recent analysis, we found that 53 million workers ages 18 to 64—or 44% of all workers—earn barely enough to live on. Their median earnings are $10.22 per hour, and about $18,000 per year. These low-wage workers are concentrated in a relatively small number of occupations, including retail sales, cooks, food and beverage servers, janitors and housekeepers, personal care and service workers (such as child care workers and patient care assistants), and various administrative positions.
Just how concerning are these figures? Some will say that not all low-wage workers are in dire economic straits or reliant on their earnings to support themselves, and that’s true. But as the following data points show, it would be a mistake to assume that most low-wage workers are young people just getting started, or students, or secondary earners, or otherwise financially secure:
Two-thirds (64%) of low-wage workers are in their prime working years of 25 to 54.
More than half (57%) work full-time year-round, the customary schedule for employment intended to provide financial security.
About half (51%) are primary earners or contribute substantially to family living expenses.
Thirty-seven percent have children. Of this group, 23% live below the federal poverty line.
Less than half (45%) of low-wage workers ages 18 to 24 are in school or already have a college degree.
These statistics tell an important story: Millions of hardworking American adults struggle to eke out a living and support their families on very low wages. (source)
It is easy to criticize people for not “working hard enough”, but the reality is that people are working themselves to their deaths. I have noted that 44% of the country earns less than $18,000 per year, and those who earn $60,000 or more individually puts on into the top 25% of Americans, and this is not a lot of money at all.
As artificial intelligence and robotics is used to replace more workers, the fact is that this trend of economic decline is going to continue to get a lot worse, and will gravely affect Millennials, Zoomers, and their children.
So what can be done to stem this?
I can propose a possible solution to this, and one can see this by looking at historical Mediterranean, Slavic, East Asian, or enclaved Jewish disasporas in the US but prior to “full integration” into American society. When I speak of these ethnic communities there are two things that people will find in common with them. This is also most consistent today when it comes to the Jews, who still practice such things in the highly closed Hasidic-type communities throughout the US. Likewise, this does not include dishonest practices (such as gangs, etc.) They are:
-Assuming a lower-than-average standard of living
-Family living with each other
-Pooling of financial resources within families to buy common properties in an area and share wealthThe logic behind these positions is simple. One must be able to save more money that what one spends, reduce expenses as much as possible, and pool what resources one has as a team. This is why historically, and which is reflected today in the creation of Hasidic neighborhoods, families can go in and buy up properties in poorer areas and establish a presence, because they have collective wealth.
There is a tremendous amount of talk about “teamwork” in the corporate world, which some companies today are now calling “corporate tribes”. However, unlike a manufactured corporate tribe by force, families are bound by shared ties as well as close and naturally existing knowledge of each other. Instead of forcing people to be next to each other, families are naturally with each other, and so knowing their strengths and weaknesses can work better.
The main obstacle to this is two things, and both are cultural and related, but can be generally summarized as a sort of “Anglo-American” mindset that while always inclined towards an individualistic mindset, has been taken to the extreme where it is every man for himself against all other me. The result of this has been a race between individuals, including against people in one’s own family and friend circles, instead of cooperation.
Groups or if one wants to use the term, “tribes,” will beat individuals all of the time because of strength in numbers. This does not mean that individuals are not successful, but that one very strong man is highly not likely to fight weak men ten at once and win. This is what Russia fears about China and Siberia, for while Russia is strong, she has 142 million citizens and China 1.3 billion, and China could walk into Siberia and take it.
One of the reasons why “Americans”- i.e. “not foreigners” used in the anti-immigration sense -are “losing” economically is because foreign people have yet to be poisoned by the above-mentioned mindset, and they can see through it and work as a collective with each other. Notice how these same groups, once they adopt said mindset, they instantly find themselves in the same position as “real Americans”, which is divided against each other, in debt, broke, and struggling against each other like crabs in a bucket.
The breakdown of the American family has only worsened this. There is a certain parasitic individualism that has always existed in Anglo-type families as I noted above, but just as I have noted in my criticisms of Jews, the issue is more of a tendency of one’s mind and behavioral issues that while showing prevalence among this group is also a possibility for any group to adopt. It is not an inherent quality, but a known tendency that can be mitigated, worsened, or stopped depending on one’s actions.
Until families in the US- and it does not matter what ethnic roots they have -adjust their mindsets to one that is at least somewhat collectivist in so much as people work together, their economic situation will worsen. I am aware that this does not stop the decline in good jobs, but that is being driven by other factors. Rather, I speak here of a look towards the future- that is, if one cannot stop what is coming, one must adapt accordingly.
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