Getting by on the US median income

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Graham Summers of Phoenix Capital Research guest posts at Zero Hedge and it’s a great one. He illustrates how hard it is for a family earning the US median income with two kids, $45K per year, to actually get by.

Suffice to say, I am assuming Joe maintains EXTREMELY conservative spending habits. Personally, I know NO ONE who meets all of the above criteria. However, even if the above assumptions applied to the average American, you’re still only looking at $100-200 in “wiggle” room for spending per month!

If Joe:

1) Overpaid on his house
2) Didn’t have a full 20% down payment
3) Owns two cars
4) Eats at restaurants
5) Splurges on heating & A/C bills
6) Has any medical expenses aside from monthly premiums…

… he is running into the red EVERY month.

via Guest Post: It’s Impossible To “Get By” In The US | zero hedge.

Read it all. It’s good and depressing. Contrast that with David Brooks using some incongruent basketball analogy to explain why he believes wealth is an effective measure of how hard someone has or will work.