Inflation is systematically destroying our standard of living, and the middle class is shrinking a little bit more with each passing day. The Social Security Administration just released wage statistics for 2021, and the numbers that they have given us are quite stunning.
As you will see below, half of all American workers made less than $3,133 a month last year. Once upon a time, you could live a very comfortable middle class lifestyle on $3,133 a month. But thanks to inflation, such a wage now puts you just barely above the poverty level. The decisions that our leaders have been making are absolutely eviscerating the middle class, and that should deeply trouble all of us.
You can find the new Social Security Administration wage report right here. The following are some statistics that I pulled out of the report…
More than 30 percent of all American workers made less than $20,000 last year.
More than 41 percent of all American workers made less than $30,000 last year.
More than 52 percent of all American workers made less than $40,000 last year.
More than 62 percent of all American workers made less than $50,000 last year.
These numbers tell us that most Americans are just barely scraping by, but our leaders want us to buy into the illusion that most people are “doing well” these days.
Of course that isn’t even close to the truth.
According to the Social Security Administration, the median wage for 2021 was just $37,586.03…
By definition, 50 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the median wage, which is estimated to be $37,586.03 for 2021.
If we were still living in 1980, that would be fine.
But we aren’t in 1980 anymore.
In 2022, the poverty level for a household of five in the United States is $31,040.
That means that a worker in the United States making the median wage would be earning just enough to lift a family of five above the poverty line.
If you divide $37,586.03 by 12, that gives you a median monthly wage of $3,132.17.
For purposes of this article, I will round up and call it $3,133.
Half of all American workers make more than that per month, and half of all American workers make less than that per month.
And it is important to remember that this figure is before taxes are taken out.
Ouch.