I’ve been noticing a recurring sentiment among Americans - frustration and disillusionment with the economy. Despite having gone to school, earned a solid education, and worked hard, many feel they can’t get ahead or even come close to the standard of living their parents enjoyed.
I’m curious - is this experience unique to the United States, or do people in other countries share similar frustrations?
Do people in Europe, Australia, Canada, or elsewhere feel like they’re stuck in a rut, unable to achieve financial stability or mobility despite their best efforts?
Are there any countries or regions that seem to be doing things differently, where education and hard work can still lead to a comfortable life?
Let’s hear from our international community - what’s your experience with economic mobility (or lack thereof) in your country?"
Im in a strange position in that im unemployed at the moment but when I was employed I have done relatively well but my wife has medical issues to where she can’t work and we pay maximum out of pocket every year and then some (we try to limit over out of pocket but we spend a lot of time dealing with denials or uncovered stuff). So basically to get my lifestyle vs the norm you sorta have to use the value of half my wage and then assume a larger than normal monthly nut. Im sorta stuck having to constantly seek more wage but not to live extravagantly but just to keep pace. I don’t really want to have to be doing that I would just like to work at what im good at and be able to relax when im not working. Of course if things worked that way I would likely be working in microbiology now rather than tech. Things are definitely dystopian for me.
Really makes me pleased not to be American when I read things like this. Unfortunately this really is an American exception. These days there are even some pretty poor countries with universal healthcare. It’s just something most countries do as soon as they can afford it, it makes sense in lots of ways. But not America. You have my sympathy.
yeah the us has things (or um does sort since it now seems like its trying to be stamped out) for the poor but it tends to be all or nothing so not much is geared toward preventing folks from falling into poverty or helping people get out of poverty nationally (it also tends to keep itself just barely not quite adequate). There are like charities and states doing inititatives but boy would universal healthcare go a long way to making the middle class more stable or even to grow.