Could You Come Up With $400 If Disaster Struck?

[senz]

If a financial emergency struck — say, a health problem or a car that needed repair — would you be able to come up with $400? According to the Federal Reserve Board, 47 percent of Americans would have trouble paying it — they would have to sell something, borrow money or simply couldn't pay.

And this is true even for people who consider themselves middle class. Neal Gabler is one of them. He's a successful writer with five books under his belt, and he's a visiting professor at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. But in a new article in The Atlantic, he admits to having "financial impotence":

I know what it is like to have to juggle creditors to make it through a week. I know what it is like to have to swallow my pride and constantly dun people to pay me so that I can pay others. I know what it is like to have liens slapped on me and to have my bank account levied by creditors. I know what it is like to be down to my last $5 — literally — while I wait for a paycheck to arrive, and I know what it is like to subsist for days on a diet of eggs. ... And I know what it is like to have to borrow money from my adult daughters because my wife and I ran out of heating oil.

Gabler spoke with NPR's Rachel Martin about this secret "shame" of millions of Americans, and why he wants to redefine what it means to be a success.

This is what has happened to America's vanishing middle class over the past 35 years.

Interview highlights and audio --

http://www.npr.org/2016/04/24/475432149/could-you-come-up-with-400-if-disaster-struck

[RKP5637]

1. Many if not most Americans live in denial as to what is occurring and has been in the US.

Just a brief look at the wealth distribution in the US is clearly indicative of how absolutely screwed most Americans are now and into the future as this continues.

[senz]

3. If people can get past the social shame, they can unite to fight what is happening.

There's no shame in having been forced to struggle in this lopsided economy. We just have to see it for what it is and unite to turn it around.

Together, we are strong.

[RKP5637]

37. And TPTB use that to their advantage to tell them it's their fault, not working hard enough, not

enough education, not motivated and all of the rest of the guilt BS they lay on people to keep them financially impoverished.

[senz]

53. Yes they do

and you can even see it happening downthread.

[senz]

132. Yup. It's very Republican.

Rig the system to serve yourself and then call the ones who got cheated "losers."

That's why we're Democrats.

[RKP5637]

136. IMO many people have no idea how millions have to live in America, and

the sad part is many probably do not even care.

[Stryst]

119. I made $9,000 last year.

Social Security is a joke. A very bad, kind of mean joke. After my student loan payment gets automatically deducted, I don't make enough to cover rent anywhere in this city, let alone bills. If things don't change... I don't know. I don't know how to finish that sentence. What if things don't change? I'm angry, and I know plenty of guys from the Air Force that, like me, fought in some of the shittier parts of the Middle East only to be thrown away. But as soon as one of us says "Rise up!", that's the moment black clad storm troopers kick in your door and put a rifle to your wives head and then blow you away as you're "reaching for a weapon".

[senz]

128. It is possible to reform the system peacefully.

If you take a look at Bernie Sanders' platform, he outlines an orderly, peaceful path to changing the system so that it works for everyone.

https://berniesanders.com/issues/

Check out the issues that most concern you. If he doesn't win this election, we can still do it. He has always said he's running to launch a political revolution. The millennial generation is with him -- and many older people like me, too. One of Bernie's major concerns as a Senator has been veterans. We have not served our veterans as we should, and Bernie is fighting that.

It can happen if we make it happen.

In the meantime, you could talk to some kind of social worker, someone who can direct you to the aid you need. I used to volunteer at a food bank which had a huge list of agencies in my city that can help people get by and get back on their feet. Check around at local charities and agencies -- food banks, churches, housing assistance, etc. -- find out what's available. Make a list and check each one out.

You're worth it, Stryst. You're going to make it. Hang in there.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. There was a time in the not too-far-distant past

when I would have had trouble coming up with $40 for an emergency, much less $400. Fortunately for me, my situation has changed, but I am still very sympathetic to people in that situation, and I never take my current good fortune for granted.

[senz]

4. I now realize how lucky I was to get a start before Reaganomics took hold.

My ambitious Republican nephew was astounded to learn that my generation did not have to worry about student loans and finding a job.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. Yes, I feel really bad for the kids today.

I graduated from college in 1968 with zero student loan debt...in fact, I was able to pay for college using the money I earned in summer jobs. It was that cheap. By contrast, my one daughter who went straight to college and law school after high school, graduating with her JD in 2003, is still paying off student loans and will be into the foreseeable future, despite earning six figures. My other two girls have been going to school on the installment plan, picking up credit hours when they can, but one is now almost 44 and the other 30. In some ways they're better off.

My own past troubles were the result of a poor choice of marriage partner, so I have no one to blame but myself. Word to the wise - never marry an addict.

[senz]

15. They do not know how the system is stacked against them but they try

and I admire their fortitude and forbearance. But what they need to do is see how it's stacked, know that it does not have to be this way, get together with others, and start changing it.

As for what we do to screw ourselves up -- well, that's life.

But at least it was easier to get back on your feet before Reagan/Bush, Third Way, etc.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

25. I would admire them more if they all rose up to demand for the

return of the policies of the fifties and sixties.
They need to realize that they have the power to bring change.
It's all about saying NO, no more of this.

[jeff47]

83. They are.

You don't recognize it now, but you'll figure it out after.

[jeff47]

127. After they've succeeded. Whether or not that involves Sanders.

It's not like people recognized the conservative revolution when Goldwater started it. It was not recognized until Reagan basically finished it.

[senz]

133. Many people don't realize what happened

and that's part of the problem.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

129. It's not Bernie's revolution, it's ours

and now is the time to be radical.
No more waiting.

[CoffeeCat]

116. I just had the "college" discussion

with several people. I was surprised to hear that several friends who live in households where both spouses are professionals--can only afford to pay for half of their child's college education. They've got multiple kids going to college.

Annual costs to attend an in-state university are 17,000. Two kids x 68,000 means that parents must come up with $140,000.

Meanwhile, you've got all of the costs associated with living and raising a family--plus saving for retirement.

This is what Bernie is talking about. This is organized theft. Our wealth is being transferred to the banks, the top one percent. It is theft!!!

College should not cost $70,000 for in-state tuition. It's this way all over the country. This is tuition for Iowa State University, which is probably a bargain. So, parents have to give away their hard-earned money to the banks--and their kids are still saddled with debt. If the kids live in a household where the parents are making $150-200k--they can afford to pay half. Those kids will still have to get $15k in student loans, which means 60k in debt upon graduation.

This is ridiculous!!!

The healthcare system is even worse. Even if you have insurance--if you're in a car accident or if you get cancer or some other chronic condition--your money gets sucked away to the top one percent, once again!

[Hortensis]

49. +1000, Senz.

THIS is our shame, and since most of us aren't dropping dead any time soon, we are obliged to fix what we allowed to be destroyed -- and in more cases than will be admitted, I'm sure, actively assisted because of inexcusable ignorance.

[Enthusiast]

51. +1!

[kimbutgar]

75. Ditto

[malaise]

34. Well said Blue_In_AK

[Solly Mack]

39. That's just one of the many reasons I love you.

You're a good person.

[Blue_In_AK]

40. You, too, Solly.

[Enthusiast]

50. +1 a whole bunch.

[Pacifist Patriot]

123. I'm in the same situation.

For years I lived in dread of an emergency expenditure. I feel incredibly fortunate to no longer be in those circumstances, but it's only made me feel stronger that no one should have to live under those uncertain conditions day in and day out. And I know darned well that one major catastrophe and I'll be right back where I was.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. But people continue to vote against their interests out of fear

and that assumes they vote. Most Americans no longer vote, and I do not blame them whatsoever for not voting.

[Hydra]

10. Right now, we're seeing how our votes don't count unless it's the answer the Establisment wants

I only vote because in my advocacy, I encourage people to vote and participate. The sooner everyone sees how little it does, the sooner we can fix it.

[cui bono]

12. "The sooner everyone sees how little it does, the sooner we can fix it."

How wonderfully positive that was! I was ready to read that people would stop voting after seeing how little it does. I like your take on it better though. I'm going to keep reminding myself of what you said when I think people will just become apathetic.



.

[Hydra]

16. Apathy is what they want people to feel

"No we can't! And we don't care! You are all non-people!" As HRC's campaign puts it.

I'm encouraged though- people are not accepting. Climate change is killing us, we are running out of time...it's time to do something, or it's all over. And that something is happening.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. I know and the fact is that the more peopel realize this

the less legitimacy the whole thing has. This has a certain danger... not that some folks realize why In time the joke, which will be far from funny, will be on them.

[senz]

17. Not voting is giving up.

Granted, TPTB don't give us a full range of choices, but we can do something about that if we wake up and take action.

Last night I read in Late Breaking News about Germans filling up the streets and demonstrating against the TPP prior to Obama's visit. Someone asked why we don't do that here, and I suggested it's a difference in the media and in who owns the politicians.

We can do something about this, but not voting for anybody or anything is like being paralyzed and mute.

[Enthusiast]

54. People here have mostly never heard to the damned TPP. Besides, we get arrested for demonstrating.

[senz]

60. Yet the German people know all about it and have no problem demonstrating.

Media deregulation resulted in media monopoly by a handful of multinational corporations who want the TPP. I'm not sure what keeps us from demonstrating beyond for the fact that we're distracted by infotainment and our media doesn't let us know about things like TPP.

[shanti]

141. Europeans

think differently than us in the U.S. In Europe, the government is afraid of its people. In the U.S., the people are afraid of the government. Americans do have the power, but are afraid to use it, and here we are.

[ohheckyeah]

7. We've had to come up with thousands for

Medical deductible. I had two strokes. Thank God for family, I didn't even have to ask they just helped they aren't wealthy either just put family first.

[senz]

22. Family is a special kind of riches, but nations the world over have single payer

and the people pay little -- or nothing! -- for medical care. Everyone's taxes are a little higher, but medical and pharmaceutical providers are no longer able to gouge people, yank them around and drop them, so the savings are felt throughout the system.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

27. Look how simple it would be for businesses with universal health care.

You would think that they would be all for it.
It would be cheaper for them.
All of them!

[Enthusiast]

56. "You would think that they would be all for it. It would be cheaper for them."

Yes, but. Pirates stick together.

[Hydra]

8. I had this exact thing happen last month

I had to get a $400 advance from my boss, and all told, it will take me 2 more months to pay off.

Being so close to disaster and knowing it is torture...and then watching the Dem Establishment callously say everything is ok and don't expect any help in the next 8 years is insane.

We need HUGE changes, and we needed them years ago.

[Arugula Latte]

52. And stop asking for "free stuff"! However, if you are a corporation or the military,

OF COURSE you are entitled to UNLIMITED free stuff!

[Hydra]

63. Free stuff for the 1%~!

They're so awesome and can do it themselves, but we still have to give them everything because...reasons. Adult stuff. We wouldn't understand.

[Arugula Latte]

65. Yes, step aside with your fantasites about rainbows and ponies.

Let the grown-ups handle this. You should be happy with any crumbs of incremental change that might be dangled in front of you. Silly peons.

[Enthusiast]

57. Huge +1!

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. kick

[cui bono]

11. Well, when half the Dem Party has lost it's drive and focus to take care of the 99%

Last edited Sun Apr 24, 2016, 07:48 PM - Edit history (2)

this is bound to happen.

The disparity in incomes of workers to CEO's has grown immensely and that is just the salaries without including the bonuses and golden parachutes, the bonuses they get after they ruin the company and the lives and pensions of the working people who made it what it was.

We won't get back on track until after the progressive movement takes hold. We have a lot of resistance in the establishment but the more people keep getting informed and energized the more TPTB will have to give in. They don't even see they can't sustain their model of greed if the people can't afford to pay their bills, let alone purchase anything extra like a new car or TV or anything other than the bare essentials.

.

[senz]

26. Right, cui bono. We have the numbers and cold hard reality working for us.

When enough people get tired of feeling the pinch, something will happen.

I'm hoping we can get a peaceful revolution started in time to head off the violent one. This country has done it peacefully before - we headed off the Robber Barons, and with the help of a wise president, FDR, we strengthened the position of the people and put limits on corporate and banker power. But we've lost much of it now.

We did it before, we can do it again. It's time.

[Enthusiast]

62. Excellent post, cui bono. You are actually more optimistic than I am.

Something like enacting the TPP and TTIP might prevent the progressive movement from ever taking hold. I won't say what I think it will take as the DUPTB will just hide my post.

We watched the media build this anti-human narrative. Their narrative says those struggling are lazy lay abouts that lack drive. We heard a similar narrative two centuries ago while millions of Irish died in the potato famine. Fortunately in modern times no major crops have failed. TPTB would stand by while the American people starve in the same exact way.

[Mbrow]

103. +1 well put.

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. Interesting...this paragraph

In the end, my parents wound up covering most of the cost of the girls’ educations. We couldn’t have done it any other way. Although I don’t have any regrets about that choice—one daughter went to Stanford, was a Rhodes Scholar, and is now at Harvard Medical School; the other went to Emory, joined WorldTeach and then AmeriCorps, got a master’s degree from the University of Texas, and became a licensed clinical social worker specializing in traumatized children—paying that tariff meant there would be no inheritance when my parents passed on. It meant that we had depleted not only our own small savings, but my parents’ as well.

[senz]

30. Yes, it's a very interesting paragraph

It shows how the generation that preceded Reagan had the means (but not unlimited means) to help the two generations that followed. The grandparents gave everything they had to help their grandchildren when their own children didn't have enough to do it.

That means the family middle-class wealth was depleted within two generations. Now they're entirely on their own, nothing to fall back on.

This is happening all over America. Yet the 1% is far, far wealthier than it has ever been.

How can our society continue along these lines?

[yardwork]

104. How are his parents going to live in retirement? What if they need care?

And all he says is that he won't get an inheritance!

I read the entire article. It was appalling.

A lot of people are hurting through no fault of their own, but this guy made stupid choices and is trying to blame everybody else.

Why didn't his wife get a job? He says it's because her skills as a "film executive" weren't easily transferable in the Hamptons, where they chose to live.... Why?

Honestly, the article read like satire.

[senz]

125. You missed the point. The article was about the 47% who don't have $400

That's 47% of Americans who can't come up with $400 for an emergency.

He was indeed a poor money manager, but it would be stupid to use one individual to cast aspersions on nearly half of all Americans.

That's the point you are avoiding.

[yardwork]

137. I'm not avoiding it. I'm saying that his story is a very poor example of the real problem.

[Liberal_in_LA]

146. He hid his financial stress from her. Much of thetime she was probably unaware of

The needfor her to work

[JDPriestly]

142. Absolutely. I see that in my family too.

[oberliner]

98. People can have happy and productive lives without going to Stanford, Harvard, and Emory

Lots of much less expensive schools out there to choose from.

[NewImproved Deal]

18. Just scramble for stray dollars...

...at one of Clinton's $300,000/couple fundraising soirees...

[link:|

[hfojvt]

19. I find that to be astounding

and would like more information about Gabler.

What, for example, is his annual income? Not sure where Stony Brook is.

I still feel like a huge part of this problem is too much spending. People's eyes are bigger than their stomach. Their WANTS are bigger than their income.

I mean, according to this, 80% of households in Kansas make more than $20,000 a year. 60% of them make more than $38,000 a year. 40% of them make over $59,000 a year.
http://www.itep.org/whopays/states/kansas.php

My income from 2014 was $30,493.27. For 2015 it was $14,636.33. Some of that income is from interest on savings and some from dividends too ($2,400 was even from capital gains). Granted I put some money away in those good years from 2011-14 before I switched back to part time, but here is some history.

2002 - $10,617
2003 - $13,891
2004 - $19,704
2005 - $24,120
2006 - $22,924
2007 - $11,202
2008 - $12,604
2009 - $14,482
2010 - $13,130

In any of those years I could have easily paid a sudden $400. In fact, I was paying lots of extra money on my house. Bought it in November 2001, paid it off in October 2005. And somewhere in there I had an $800 emergency room visit and also a $1,600 hospital stay.

Most people make more money than me. Lots of people make a LOT more than me. Remember the 40% who make over $59,000 a year? The thing is, if somebody makes $65,000 a year and spends $67,000 a year that does not necessarily mean they are not making enough money. It may mean 1) they bought a house that was too expensive, 2) they bought a car that was too expensive, 3) they spend too much money on cable TV and cell phones, 4) they eat out a lot, and so on.

People DON'T save money in this country, that doesn't mean they CAN'T. If I CAN at $15,000 a year, I don't wanna hear people who are making over $55,000 a year telling me that they can't. Bullsh*t.

[ErikJ]

29. Too many Americans have a champagne taste on a beer budget.

Its seems when they get any kind of windfall or money in their pocket they HAVE to go spend it on something.

[hfojvt]

42. sometimes I think they are the smart ones

I look at my savings and I am like "hey, that is $70,000 that I worked for and did not get to spend." Saving it for my retirement, but there is no guarantee I will live that long.

There is lot of marketing encouraging that. "Get a home equity loan and take a vacation". When I was house hunting, my realtor tried to tell me I could afford a $70,000 house - on $23,000 annual income. Probably I could have, but the income wasn't exactly secure. After I closed on my house in November, I got fired in March. And it has always been very hard for me to find a job.

[haele]

143. Good Lord, that comment again.

While I will admit that there are some people who never had to worry about money until they had to get a job because Daady and Mummy always paid their way, the majority of those "making good money but living paycheck to paycheck because they're always spending everything they get" are the $54k to $100k whose primary money mistakes are either 1) living in a high COL location because that's where their job is, 2) regular certification and association requirements and education required just to be considered for hire that can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars on a regular basis at that level of income, 3) medical issues, 4) investing in one's own children or grandchildren.
And these aren't "either/or" situations. If you had children or grandchildren any time during the last 15 years, you should have been putting aside at least 2% of your annual income per child just to give them seed money to start out without serious debt or some hope of being able to built a fairly secure financial base to handle their emergancies if they aren't going to spend it at a reputable higher level educational facility. That's being a "responsible" parent, because the social safety net is all but gone - and what's left is means tested. If you aren't poor, your kids are going to have to wait to even apply for grants or low-income loans or subsidies until they're over 25 or so, and your income no longer counts against them.
After all, that's one of the reasons the ACA allows you to carry your adult children on your insurance for as long as you can.
In a similar note, everyone I know (including myself) that has adult children "just starting out" is subsidizing their critical expenditures the jobs those children have can't cover - like adding them to a family cellular plan, or paying auto insurance because a mobile phone or a car is a necessity for that child to work and make enough money to be able to "leave the nest". Even starting out Skilled Labor doesn't pay what it used to. Apprentice Welders at a local shipyard used to start at $11.50 in the late 1990's; now they start at $10.30. Similar starting wage slippage can be found in other more " professional" or supposedly middle class fields. So a lot of parents are supporting one and a half households, just so their children and grandchildren don't fall though the cracks.

And don't even talk about the 401k retirement trap. 401ks suck ass, and that's what most working people have now as a part of their defined benefits. "Put in 10% of your income if you want to retire in some form of comfort", because you can't depend on Social Security and the maybe $700 a month after fees and taxes you'll get from a more affordable 2% - 5% that will allow you to keep a rainy day fund of 1/2 year's income to cover emergencies, moving expenses, or unexpected unemployment. Y'know - the emergancy funds responsible people are supposed to save for and maintain.
So there's your equivalent of taking the family out to a weekly Sunday after Church eat out - at an Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel, or Red Robin right there - funding the 401k.

Look, I'm not saying that the 20% of the full-time working population that is making between $50k and $100k are poor, or need pity. I'm just looking at the " professional fees" I need to spend just to be able to keep my under $80k a year job, and pay for groceries, gas, lot rental and utilities, the Home Depot card (home repairs), HSA (medical bills for 5 people), insurance (auto and home), Student Loan (just for me), and wonder - do I put the $100 a month I have left over?
Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate I have it comfortable. I just went through 5 weeks without pay due to funding issues, and had enough of a rainy day fund saved up from the last emergency to make it through without having to sell plasma and take a job at WalMart as a greeter to supplement unemployment until funding kicked back in and people started hiring again.
But to peddling that "champagne spending on a beer budget" is typically the sign that someone is more comfortable with working for the money rather than working for a family. There are just some expenditures that need to be made. Not movies, video games, and eating out - but the things that are required to encourage and advance the individual or family.
Things that are no longer free or as cheap to get to as they used to be.
Of course, YMMV, depending on where you live. But there are a lot of places in this country where you really do have to be able to pay premium cost for everything. Either because your birth condition or employment training has locked you into a location and you can't afford to just pick up and move, or just chuck it all and start your own business or contract yourself out, both of which have their own set of economic drawbacks, if you aren't lucky.

Haele

[senz]

41. His income sources sound honest, honorable, but unreliable to me.

He has book royalties and a "visiting" professorship at a state university. Book royalties depend on sales, and unless you write best sellers, book sales can be so-so. Visiting professors are not full-time professors, so they don't receive the salary and full range of perks. I doubt his income is very high.

Where you live is also a factor. If you live in the South or the Midwest, your cost of living is lower. Cost of living does make a difference.

Your line of work is also a factor. After living in extreme poverty in my youth and twenties, I discovered I was very good at a field that pays quite decently. But my poverty years made me permanently frugal and watchful lest I ever experience them again -- like those who lived through the Great Depression -- so, like you, I got in the habit of living below my means, saving money, learning where to invest, and bought a modest house in a pleasant neighborhood and then paid it off as quickly as possible. I am not materialistic and like to feel safe, but not everyone has these traits, and they are not necessarily better than other traits. Certainly there's no need to be smug or superior about it.

It sounds like this man's talents are primarily intellectual and literary. He probably spends much of his time writing. He may very well be impractical, too, as intellectuals sometimes are -- although we don't know this for a fact, so let's not start the blame game.

Whatever his particular situation is, statistics show that Americans are struggling, and the middle class is shrinking. Trends like these do not just happen out of the blue, and it is unrealistic to blame them on all the individuals so affected.

Something was working in America 40 years ago, and it is not working now.

[hfojvt]

43. oh probably people were struggling in America 40 years ago.

Lord knows I was through most of the 1990s. Quit my one good job in November 1986 and ended up going to graduate school. Not really because I wanted to, but because I could not find any other job.

The poverty rate was not really any better in this country 40 years ago than it is today, and this guy who is "struggling" probably is not very poor. But even as they go on about his troubles, they don't bother to talk about his income. And he is lending money to people and feels bad about asking them to pay it back.

Bully for him, he gets to be an "artist". Meanwhile I am shoveling excrement.

And also not sending my kids to Stanford.

[senz]

48. Statistics show a pronounced increase in poverty and fewer middle class

since the 1980s.

But, hey, let's just fight amongst ourselves rather than do something to fix a broken system.

Unless you think Reagan was good for the country.

[hfojvt]

120. actually no they do not

the low point for poverty in the last 40 years was the year 2000.

Part of what is wrong is not "the system" it is the people in the system. The greed and materialism do not come from the system, they come from the people. The poor, or those in the bottom 50% do NOT just get squeezed by the legendary 1%. We get squeezed by the top 50%. By people like Gabler who already make lots of money, but they want more, more, more.

Part of the reason there might be fewer middle class, is because there is more upper class. In 1993 10.5% of households had over $250,000 in net worth, by 2002 that number was up to 19.6% and by 2011 (after the Bush recession even) was 26.1%. Some of that gain is coming from inflation, no doubt, as $250,000 in 1993 was worth $311,000 in 2002 and $389,000 in 2011, but there still appear to be gains at the top.

I don't think we fix anything by becoming greedier and more materialistic.

[senz]

130. Agreed. We discussed the greed/materialsm problem a bit downthread.

I like your focus on numbers -- my mind works quite differently -- and when I get more time, I'll read your journal and am sure I'll learn something.

Thanks, hfojvt!

[hollysmom]

90. some of that is true , some is not

I have a young relative that I talk to about budgeting (her parents were older and should have been fine but the minute they got money it went out to pay for something they wanted,there have always been people like that they both died suddenly from unpredictable things and I have been trying to fix their finances, I could not believe how poor they were and still living as if they were both bringing in income. No you do not have to buy things you like from QVC)

My parents went through the depression and apparently I am the only one who ever talked to them, guess I was always the home buddy. They would tell me depression stories, so when I got married in the 70's we had no TV, had lawn furniture in the living room for a year until we could afford new furniture, ate a lot of liver and stew and soup made from left over bones.

I am trying to teach this to my niece raised by her now dead parents. Told her to check phone rates, they are getting cheaper, and she did that. But the idea of no TV is bothering her and her husband. cable is so expensive,

[oberliner]

99. Did you read The Atlantic article?

It outlines what Gabler spent his money on (mostly crazy expensive private schools, colleges, and med school for his kids).

[closeupready]

124. On "cable TV and cell phones", I ditched my Verizon cell for a cheapo Boost account -

My Verizon bill was about $150/mo. My Boost is $30, AND they gave me a phone SUPERIOR to the one I got from Verizon. No appreciable difference in service quality. Happy camper here, lol.

Now on the cable TV, I just can't bring myself to ditch FiOS! It's just too much fun, and the picture quality is excellent. Wish I could do it, but I count it as my month's entertainment. Could save a ton if I did cut the cord.

[RadiationTherapy]

20. I can't even come up with $250 to donate to Clinton.

Just $250!

[grasswire]

31. Bernie doesn't require $250. He'll welcome your $5 as if it were $250. nt

[MrScorpio]

21. No.

We're pretty much screwed.

[oldandhappy]

23. My emergencies cost more than $400!!

I have spent the last two years scheduling repairs and rearranging the schedule when the unexpected happens. Everything has been more than $400. This is very real. I think we need to talk about this. Well, talk more about it.

[ErikJ]

24. The rent is too damn high.

Its now taking up to 50% of peoples incomes in the bigger cities.

[senz]

44. In parts of CA and NY, you have to be middle class to even think of renting.

[7962]

28. This is also what happens when people just dont THINK.

The last time a similar article came out, using 500 as the figure, I was at a meeting with about a dozen others. They all make a lot more money than I do. One of the ladies was reading this online as we waited to start the meeting. Almost everyone at my table said they didnt have 500 in the bank, although they all could "charge" it. But they DID have plenty of big ticket crap at home that they didnt need. And most went out to dinner most days of the week.
Its amazing how many people live paycheck to paycheck even when that paycheck is a pretty large number. Just to keep up some "image" that others have formed for them.
They dont know what its REALLY like to struggle like the folks in this article, but they'll tell you they do

[senz]

66. That's why the author talks about getting rid of the "shame"

that accompanies poverty. He even refers to "financial impotence," and I'll bet that idea resonates with a lot of men in an uncomfortable way.

I remember old TV shows that featured everyday people, like the Honeymooners, where the main male characters were a bus driver and I think a custodian. Or I Love Lucy where her husband didn't have a fancy job.

I also remember when people started admiring great wealth in the 80s with shows like "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and "Dallas."

Not long after, people were buying bigger and bigger houses and cars and America started to change.

[7962]

68. YES! That is exactly when it all started; those 2 shows.

And now nearly EVERY "reality" show is a showcase of excess; The Kartrashians ( basically famous for just being gold diggers), Real Housewives of ______, Love & Hip Hop, any of the shows based on Ca or NYC, etc etc. They all drive 100K cars, live in mansions, have parties all the time, you name it. Then they come out with the "Million Dollar Listing" shows to showcase the people making a ton of money SELLING the homes like you see on TV
And people watch that shit & think "why shouldnt I have that?"

[senz]

70. At the time, it was just a little jolt, sort of "what's going on here?"

I could feel something changing in the national consciousness, and knew it was related to crass materialism, but didn't think it would last long.

So it's nice to know that you saw it too, and stayed clued in long enough to notice the other shows and how they affected people.

[Kaleva]

32. My annual income is a little over $15k and I have over $400 for an emergency

[7962]

69. Obviously you realized the importance of having a fund.

And did whatever it took to create one. Good on you!!

[oberliner]

100. Did you send your kids to Stanford, Harvard, and Emory?

I am not sure I understand why this guy felt that he needed to do that.

[yardwork]

105. In the article he says he wanted them to be "winners."

Lots of good state schools in NY, but...

And his wife not even trying to get a job through all those years?

Smh

But according to him, it's everybody else's fault.

[oberliner]

111. That attitude is part of the problem

One can be a "winner" and have a very satisfying and successful life attending a state school.

[dembotoz]

33. few months back i took in a fellow dem who was evicted what i did not understand

but i understand better know, is just this thing.

what is what i would consider a minor blip in my financial life becomes devastating when you have no resources.

crazy shit....a 250 car repair bill and her financial boat is sunk for the month.

i never want to be that broke.
i have thought myself poor and by most measure i am.
but i have never been this broke

[Rex]

35. Yes, but not $4000.

[Boomer]

36. The Greed Factor gets us from every side

On the one hand the 1% really are sucking up the wealth in this country, but we also have a social problem of elevated expectations. People are surrounded by images of wealth and luxury items, large houses, "modern living" and they spend to the limits of credit and beyond trying to build the lifestyle that they feel belongs to them.

My in-laws make significantly more money than I do, but are running through it like water with lavish vacations and mortgages on large houses. My wife and I live much more modestly, clip coupons and make large-ticket purchases only after considerable reflection. The result is that I could pay that $400 emergency bill without blinking; I could pay for a $4,000 emergency even if I might make me gulp. $40,000 would take a few days to liquidate investments and would ding my retirement plans, but I could DO it if I needed to.

Given what the 1% are doing to this country, we have to be all the more careful with how much leverage we give them. Frankly, I'm not sure I'd send my (hypothetical) kids to college under the conditions of debt that are considered the norm now.

[senz]

82. Thoughtful comment, Boomer.

Yes, it's like media images and advertising give an inflated impression of how Americans live, so people want to spend to the hilt to feel that they're "getting theirs" while the rigged economy is undercutting them every inch of the way, and they don't know it. Yet. Like you, I feel uncertain of what's coming, especially if we don't get Bernie and sufficient down ticket progressives in office, and so have been very careful about expenditures.

[greymouse]

38. Gabler

Unfortunately, I think the OP is mostly true, more or less, but I am puzzled about Neal Gabler. I looked up the salary for a visiting professor at Stony Brook. The closest I could find was for an assistant professor, and that was about $80,000. Unless he has huge debts of some sort, where is that money going?

[senz]

46. Visiting professors are not permanent, full-time professors.

Full time professorships are hard to get, and many colleges and universities save money by hiring part-time professors who are famous for struggling to make ends meet.

Of course many, many businesses do that, as well. It pays less and eliminates employee benefits.

Republicans always blame these conditions on the employees.

[greymouse]

72. right, but are they full time or part time when they're there?

The situations I know of, they are full time and so I presume getting a full time salary.

A visiting professor is not an adjunct. Adjuncts get paid dirt.

[senz]

74. They're "typically paid less than their tenured or tenure-track peers, but the salary

is higher than adjunct wages" and "visiting and in-residence positions are typically one step away from the lowly 'adjunct' status in the faculty hierarchy."

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/19/americas_visiting_professor_scam_how_colleges_are_watering_down_higher_education/

The article said colleges use the position as a cost-cutting measure.

[Victor_c3]

76. I'm not sure about the area around Stony Brook

but I live about an hour north of NYC and, when I was working, I was bringing in about $80,000 a year between about 2012 and when I stopped working in 2015. I sounds like a lot of money, but it isn't around here. After my deductions (taxes, healthcare, social security, etc), I'd end up with roughly $2,500 every two weeks.

I have two kids and a wife. I'm the sole income for my family. I live a halfway decent living, but nothing special. My wife and I have a 2010 year old Subaru outback ($470 a month car payment) and I'm driving a POS 2003 VW Beetle. I live in a tiny house that is hardly 1,400 squarefeet and I pay $1,725 a month in rent (which is a bargain in my area as most houses easily go $2,500 or more a month). Heating my place costs nearly $600 a month in the winter if I don't burn wood (which goes for about $200-250 a cord). By the time I pay bills, buy groceries, pay for whatever field trips my kids are doing at school, there was just about nothing left. I could have come up with some cash thanks to a credit card, but I didn't just have that laying around.

Up until my life situation changed about a year ago I didn't even have a decent cell phone. I had a pay-as-you-go thing that I dumped $20 a month into. The only way I went on vacation was when I'd visit family or they'd pay for my way to go somewhere special.

[yardwork]

80. I read the article, and he and his family made some very unwise financial choices.

It sounds like his income was reasonable, but their expenses far exceeded their income.

His wife quit her job years ago and never sought another job. They had their parents pay to send their daughters to private universities, wiping out both families' retirement plans. They chose to live in the Hamptons. Most of their income came from signing bonuses for his books. They chose not to pay taxes on that income, instead choosing to deliberately postpone paying taxes, thus ensuring that they will pay large penalties.

A lot of people are hurting through no fault of their own, but this particular example is one of almost mind-boggling foolishness. imo.

[greymouse]

94. Even though I don't have a ton of money, I like to read financial stuff.

The Gablers are a primo example of what not to do.

As an old crone, I have two or three things I like to tell young people, no doubt boring them to pieces.

One is: Be financially responsible. And save as much as you can, starting as early as your can. And build an emergency fund.

I don't know how Gabler and his wife could look themselves in the mirror taking their parents' retirement money.

[yardwork]

97. Taking their parents' retirement money to send their kids to Stanford and Emory.

How are their parents going to live in retirement?

It shocked me.

[oberliner]

101. He sent his kids to very expensive private schools and colleges

That seems to have been a big chunk of it.

[yardwork]

106. And he chose not to pay his taxes on time, deliberately choosing massive fines.

It's kind of buried in the article, toward the end. Instead of paying taxes on his book advances, he chose to pay his taxes later, knowing that he'll owe much more in penalties.

Wtf was his wife doing all day long in their house in the Hamptons, with the kids off at private school? At any point did she consider that it might be a good time to get a job??

[oberliner]

110. Right

Not an especially sympathetic figure.

[LibDemAlways]

45. I needed some dental work last year. I have dental

insurance but it's pretty useless. At the end of my first appointment for a crown, the receptionist matter of factly informed me that I needed to pay a down payment of $600.00 on the spot and another $600.00 before the work was completed.

I just as matter of factly told her that all I could afford that day was $200 and that I'd pay another $200 each month until the $1200 was paid. After further negotiation, we settled on $250 a month, which meant I had to cut corners big time on the food budget. I'm a substitute teacher making $115 a day when I work, which is not every day. Things are tight. I have no doubt there are many out there barely scraping by for whom that $400 would be impossible.

[greymouse]

93. dental work

I live in a high cost of living area. I'm retired and live on Social Security and savings. It wasn't a HCoLA when I moved here years ago. Estimates for a new dental bridge: $10,000. Estimate for an implant to replace a tooth that just spontaneously cracked through the root: $6000. Crowns are about $2000. So, no bridge, no implant. Teeth are in pretty good shape, though, except for the hole where the missing one was. Fortunately it's not a front tooth.

[LibDemAlways]

117. I'm in a high cost of living area too. My crown is

now paid but it was a struggle. I also have a missing tooth in the back of my mouth. After yanking the tooth,the oral surgeon told me to come back to discuss an implant. I was honest with him and told him I couldn't afford it. He just nodded sympathetically. I'm sure he's heard it many times before.

Dental work should be covered, and I mean covered (not the half assed coverage offered today) by health insurance. Dental health is an important part of overall health care. Ridiculous that it's excluded.

[MisterP]

47. well, fortunately for45 membership starts at only $250!

[ghostsinthemachine]

55. I could barely come up with 4 dollars (NT).

[mnhtnbb]

58. There was a time in my life when the answer was 'no'

When I separated from my first husband in 1979--at age 28--I had to borrow money from my parents to buy
a refrigerator because the apartment I wanted to rent in L.A. did not have a refrigerator. It took everything
I had to put down first/last/security. I was changing jobs, too, and making the rent was not going to be
a problem, but hiring movers and getting into the apartment took all my savings.

I also learned the hard way--as a woman--to ALWAYS have an account in your own name only with savings in it.

[senz]

71. Me too, mnhtnbb.

I learned about poverty by getting out of a bad family situation before I had jobs skills, education, or even a basic understanding of the world.

But your experience is more widespread; divorce is often very hard on a woman's financial status, and things that sound simple, like moving to a new apartment, can indeed take all of a person' savings. That's what's so amazing about rightwingers who can't understand why poor, uneducated mothers on welfare can't just jump up and get jobs -- forgetting the costs of childcare, transportation, business attire, etc. There are so many expenses in life, and not everyone has family to borrow from.

I agree that women should always have some money of their own to fall back on. It should be a priority.

[merrily]

59. Thanks for this post, senz. The content is horrifying, especially for the richest country in

the world. (Is that still us?)

[senz]

61. Probably depends on the definition of "rich."

On income alone, the top 5% could skew it way up -- so we'd look rich even though the majority are insecure and fearful for their future.

I posted this OP on impulse and then realized there are many ways to approach a vital subject -- without all the noise. Good thing to know.

[merrily]

64. Thank you. The "same old, same old" here has gotten really, really old and boring.

[senz]

67. It's grinding

and seeing such behavior day in and day out can do bad things for one's outlook.

We have to keep our spirits up.

[merrily]

73. You are ideal for keeping up spirits. And I don't mean ghosts or alcohol!

[senz]

77. lol, ty merrily, you are the same

but you have no idea how much contempt I'm feeling lately in the other forum.

[merrily]

95. Never let anyone else determine who you are or what you are worth.

Unless, of course, that someone else is moi.

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/be-yourself

[senz]

122. Thanks, merrily, but I didn't say that very well

I meant I'm feeling contempt FOR, not from.

But thank you!

[merrily]

126. You said it fine. I probably read too quickly.

No harm done: Those are still neat quotes!

[Depaysement]

78. There's that 47% again

Always messing themselves. Now they're going to want a handout the from the wealth-creators.

[nichomachus]

79. A sound piece of financial advice

That someone gave me years ago:

Don't buy anything unless you really, really need it. Then, when you really, really need something, you'll have the money to buy it.

[bigwillq]

81. Fortunately, yes.

It's sad that some folks cannot while living in supposedly the greatest country in the universe. Our leaders have failed us.

[snowy owl]

84. He lived way above means then. TV host? Writer?

Still, I'm glad he's talking about it. The middle class is stressed and even those who think they are doing well, honestly, if the right circumstances struck, they might be surprised.

[oberliner]

102. Yes indeed

His story does not elicit much sympathy, relatively speaking.

[doc03]

85. No problem n/t

[oneshooter]

86. Yes. n/t

[Omaha Steve]

87. Yes and all our kids could too

K&R!

OS

[Rhythm]

88. Not quickly... and sometimes not at all.

[Fla_Democrat]

89. Baby step 1

Was a long time ago, so yes.

[Nye Bevan]

91. Anyone who can't has no business being in a Starbucks line (nt)

[Marrah_G]

92. newp

[oberliner]

96. This guy comes off as a complete entitled jackass

He emptied his 401K to pay for his daughter's wedding?

[oberliner]

109. Agreed

Not an especially sympathetic figure.

[Buzz Clik]

113. At the center of many of his complaints was living beyond his means.

He's made some remarkably bad decisions with his money.

[senz]

134. The article is not about him. It's about the 47% who don't have $400.

That's nearly HALF of America. Democrats don't blame that many people. Democrats look for reasons why.

[Harriety]

112. Have to put it on our credit card.

[senz]

135. Works out well for the credit companies.

They keep people in debt and clean up on the interest payments.

When 47% of Americans can't cover a $400 emergency, something's wrong with the system.

[Live and Learn]

114. Those types of emergencies happen about every other month in my experience,

the refrigerator goes out, a car needs repairs, the roof leaks, medical bills, dental bills, the dryer quits working, the water heater leaks, someone gets a ticket, etc. It seems every time you save some money up something comes along to take it away.

This is one of the reasons the majority of people will never be able to save for retirement.

The lack of sympathy and victim blaming in this thread confounds me. Does it somehow make some feel better to blame others for their circumstances?

[senz]

131. I was surprised and yet not surprised.

We have to keep reminding ourselves that the word "Democrat" now includes traditional Democrats like you and me, and Third Way/DLC types who see economics through a Republican lens. Not sure if it's a psychological need to feel superior or an inability to see the forest for the trees, or a little bit of both.

Anyone's misfortune can be viewed as "their own fault." But when statistics show a huge increase in such misfortune, and when, as Bernie reminds us, over the past 30+ years, wealth has accumulated at the top and diminished from the rest, clearly something is not working in the system.

This is a fault in the system.

What the conservadems haven't absorbed is that severe income inequality causes serious problems in society itself.

You always get the heart of the matter, Live and Learn.

[Live and Learn]

139. And you always say it better than me.

Thank you for saying it so well.

[Adrahil]

115. A great number of people consider themselves "middle class" who are not.

My sister is solidly working class. Her family hovers around the median income in a high cost-of-living area. She still considers herself "Middle Class" when she clearly is not.

Up to this point in her life, she has been TERRIBLE with money. Any financial windfall (like when her husband gets a lot of overtime) is instantly spent on extras, rather than paying down debt. Rather than investing in their retirement, they decided to spend all of their disposable income (of which, in reality, they have almost none) on buying a couple used Harleys and riding with their buds every weekend.

However, how that she's in her 50's, she's decided that maybe her little brother is not an idiot after all, and she asked me for advice on how I paid off my debt in 30's and saved. Now to be fair, I now make a LOT more than her, but when I eliminated my consumer debt in my 30's, I did not. She's adopted a budget and is sticking to it, and lo and behold, her debt is declining. CXonencting this back tot he OP, she puts $10 a week into an emergency fund. It hasn't covered all her emergency expenses, but having an extra $100-$150 bucks in that fund has made a difference.

[TBF]

118. Sure can remember when I couldn't -

many years of that. In better position now, but mostly due to modest inheritance and dumb luck that we haven't lost work. We feel extremely fortunate yet our student loans are still not paid off and we barely have positive net income if you subtract debt from savings. And we still haven't bought a house (if we did that the savings would be gone and our net would be way negative).

And we know we are still on the more fortunate side. Much worse for those who have lost their jobs. Only ones winning right now are the very wealthy.

[Dustlawyer]

121. Speaking of $400, after 6 years of waiting for the court to address

the BP Gulf oil spill victims who "Opted Out" of the one-sided Class Settlement that the Plaintiff'Steering Committee (PSC) agreed to because BP promised the PSC $600,000,000 if they agreed to it and helped it make it through without being overturned on appeal. The PSC would be the main ones who could appeal this grossly unfair settlement that only paid 1/3rd of the claimants any money. They would forfeit the $600 million if they did that though.

Now the judge is requiring the victims who chose to opt out at the beginning (once in the Class you cannot get out, like a Roach motel) and already paid a filing fee, to pay $400 by May 2nd or have their case dismissed. They were only given 20 days notice after nothing for 6 years.

I could tell you more about what the court is doing to the victims, but I would be in contemporary of court. They don't want anyone to know.

Meanwhile the PSC is about to get their $600,000,000 for selling the victims out! Justice in America!!!

[alarimer]

138. I don't really feel sorry for Gabler.

He is the one who insisted on expensive private schools for his kids, when public schools are readily available. They are, however, not good enough for some, because they have to be "winners" (as opposed to "losers" like me who went to public schools my entirely and only ended up with a Master's and no debt, at least now). I am no paragon of virtue and I can see how one mistake or major illness can derail the entire thing. But I save my pity for those who really have the short end of the stick. I think Barbara Ehrenreich examined this phenomenon very well in "Nickle and Dimed", how one car or dental emergency can derail everything.

[librechik]

140. If part of your job benefits include satisfaction in a decent job needed and done well

Or helping others, or cleaning up after others or feeding them or teaching them, wiping bottoms or soothing cries, and are never monetarily compensated for those indispensable services--Americans laugh at you and condescend to you and don't recognize you as a citizen. That's just who we are. Corporations and oligarchy made us this way, in their image, so they can continue their slavish hold over our minds and hopes.

[ileus]

144. I had to put out 200 up front today for a emergency CT.

[senz]

147. No fun. Hope you're okay, ileus.

[a la izquierda]

145. Yes, but it wasn't always so.

I very fortunately have a solid job. I don't get a summer paycheck though, so I have to be very careful (I'm a university professor and my idiot state won't pay its state employees on 9 month contracts over 12 months).