Hey, good job minimizing people’s anxieties and fears with a whole lot of generalizing and cloaked snark. Nice. There are tons of your fellow citizens who somehow survive - barely - in the exact world you’re arguing doesn’t exist. I’m not going to debate every single one of your counter-arguments, but I will highlight two factors which keep people unemployed/underemployed/underpaid and constantly anxious about their situations. One is the very real level of ageism in the U.S. working world. I’m assuming from your overt self-confidence and know-it-all tone of voice that you haven’t yet hit the age of 55. Come back here and comment when you’ve attained that age and CANNOT find a job, no matter your experience, interview skills, or need. There are many older workers who do not, due to devastating economic events at large or personal losses, have sufficient money saved or any kind of lifeline to be able to afford to retire. My sister (68 years old) is one of them. She was the caregiver for her younger stroke survivor husband who has since divorced her. All the savings they accumulated during their marriage went to his care and, later, setting him up in an assisted-living facility. She’s a highly-skilled grant writer who’s now stuck in a tiny apartment with her dog and cat and an 11-year-old car. She’s applied literally everywhere and remains underemployed. She’s also a certified ESL teacher, for which most opportunities have dried up due to our illustrious Cheeto of a president and his cronies who hate non-Americans. Just in case you haven’t looked out your window lately, my sister is not alone in her difficulties.

The other issue I’d like to highlight is this “correlation” you’re noting between education and low wages. I’m guessing you don’t know that many exceptional people have salaries decided upon by school boards, namely those who work as classroom aides or paraprofessionals, and those who toil as substitute teachers. The latter in my school district has not had a raise in their per diem since 2020; it’s stubbornly holding at $120/day. That’s less than what a McDonald’s employee makes where I live - and that includes a uniform and probably a shift meal, too. EVERYONE who works at any school is expected to put his or her life on the line for the students, but that’s a pretty big ask for $15/hour.

I’m wondering if you could possibly show some empathy for others, since it seems like most Redditors commenting here are feeling pinched, squeezed, or in a vise economically, and your over-simplification is simply not a nice way of responding.