I read that half of Americans couldn’t cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. This sounds crazy to me. I understand that poverty exists, but the idea that an adult with a job doesn’t even have that amount saved up seems really strange.
What’s your relationship or philosophy with money? What do you credit for your financial success, or alternatively, what do you blame for your failures?
For the extra brave ones: how much savings do you have, and what are you planning to do with them?
YOU charge… I don’t get to charge for my services… I just have to take whatever society offers… In fact, with a lot of those jobs I listed, they are legally not allowed to stop working (strike) to get better wages BECAUSE it would fuck society so bad. I’m also in the US, so my apologies if it’s not the same where you are
You’re being paid a wage for the work you do, which is effectively the same as charging for your services. I also don’t understand why you think I can just charge my customers whatever I want. There’s a certain price range that plumbers in my area operate within, and if I set my prices higher than that, nobody will hire me.
It’s not like society is forcing you to be a wage slave either - you’re free to start your own business, just like everyone else.
If inflation causes your costs to go up, can you, and all the other plumbers in your area just go ahead and raise your prices to make up for it? Yes… People who are paid by tax money can’t just raise their rates. Even if they go private, Medicaid (in US) tells them what they can charge.
Anyway, I didn’t mean to disparage plumbers. I was using them as an example of an equally important part of society, but that gets to adjust their prices as needed instead of having to wait for a literal act of Congress to adjust prices and pay for inflation.
Fair point. That indeed I can do.