Hospital bills, college tuition, childcare, and housing have skyrocketed while cars, clothes, and TVs got cheaper. Only 13% of Americans think the country is heading the right way. Google searches for side hustles have surged as people look for alternatives to traditional work.
Chapters
The middle class is being absolutely squeezed right now. Take a closer look at this chart. Look at everything that has increased over time and look at what has decreased. So we have hospital services, your education, childcare, medical care services, hourly wage going up a little bit, housing and food and beverage. All the things that we need to basically survive and educate ourselves has gone up exponentially, practically. Then look at all the things that have gone down or stayed the same. Cars, household furnishing, clothing, cell phone services. Then at the bottom 3, we have computer software, toys, and TVs. Doesn't really seem to be much of a coincidence, does it? We're all aware of this too. Only 13% say the US is generally headed in the right direction, while 57% of us say things are off on the wrong track and 28% are unsure. This is a bipartisan issue too, because 37% identify inflation as the most urgent economic priority. And this is again bipartisan— Democrat, Republican, and independents all feeling that way. This affects all ages too, because Harvard did a poll on the youth and it revealed a mounting strain on young Americans that were financial, institutional, and social. It's no wonder why everyone is turning to things like side hustles. I mean, take a look at this Google Trends from 2004 all the way till today, and it has absolutely skyrocketed. And it is no surprise because everyone wants out of the traditional system and everyone is tired of it.