THE COLLAR BEAM - ( TCB )

San Francisco Bay Area - by Michael Rulon West

ALMOST AUTUMN - 2014

HAVING LESS

The sparseness of life that is the daily lot of those who must make do without sufficient cash, credit, or anticipated income to adequately provide for their everyday existence may seldom come to our notice. If our lives are filled with schedules, events, projects and the obligations that must be met to support ourselves, our families, and our desired life styles, when would we have time to think of it? This is a reasonable question. When we feel that we have not an instant to rest it seems certain that we will think of little else than how to get to the next item on our to-do-list.

According to statista.com, there were 122,459,000 households in the United States in 2013. From reports by Time magazine (see Sidebar), the following may be said:

5% or 6,122,950 households enjoy an annual average income of $332,960 or about $27,747 each month.

17% or 20,818,030 households enjoy an annual average income of $134,520 or about $11,210 each month.

22% or 26,940,980 households enjoy an annual average income of $77,158 or about $6,429 each month.

26% or 31,839,340 households enjoy an annual average income of $43,565 or about $3,630 each month.

30% or 36,737,700 households enjoy an annual average income of $16,095 or about $1,341 each month.

AT THE BOTTOM

We know that many are retired among the 30% of households that have less than $30,000 in annual income. Living a reasonably pleasant life may be possible for some couples in this group if they are senior citizens who have savings, who own their home free and clear, who have Medicare, and who live in an area having easy access to healthcare and a good public transportation system.

For those who have children or other dependents the story is far from rosy.

The plight is also difficult for a single Federal minimum wage full-time worker who gets gross annual income of only $15,080.

CONCLUSION

There is a common saying known to many: “A rising tide lifts all boats . . . “

Here is the problem:

Since 1975 the top got an 80% increase in income while the bottom got only a 7% increase.

HOUSEHOLDS

REPORTED BY
TIME MAGAZINE
(Sept. 8-15, 2014)
__________________

5% of households with income more than $200,000:

Avg. Income: $332,960
Increase since 1975: 80%
__________________

17% of households with income from $100,000 to $199,000:

Avg. Income: $134,520
Increase since 1975: 56%
__________________

22% of households with income from $60,000 to $99,000:

Avg. Income: $77,158
Increase since 1975: 24%
__________________

26% of households with income from $30,000 to $59,000:

Avg. Income: $43,555
Increase since 1975: 12%
__________________

30% of households with income less than $30,000:

Avg. Income: $16,095
Increase since 1975: 7%
__________________

PERSPECTIVE

However you choose to cut it up and look at it a few things seem evident:

- 44% of American households are doing pretty well.

- 56% of American households are having more of a struggle in attempting to meet their needs.

- At the bottom 30% or more than 36 Million American households find it impossible to live very well on what they get from a current income that averages $1,341 per month.