Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Are You Seeing These Ads?

said they did not have
emergency funds to cover three months of expenses.
What are those numbers for everyone else?  My impression is that many Americans are in similar situations.  The answer:

A large number of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and lack funds necessary if an emergency arises, according to recent surveys.

Willis Towers Watson’s Global Benefits Attitudes Survey discovered that although 58 percent of workers think their finances are heading in the right direction, 38 percent of employees are living paycheck to paycheck, and 39 percent could not come up with $3,000 in an emergency. 

Almost one-fifth of those making more than $100,000 are living paycheck to paycheck, and about one-third say their financial problems negatively affect their lives. The survey polled 8,000 American workers.

If you are living paycheck to paycheck on $100,000 a year, it is time for some serious budget examination.  The rest of the article is similarly depressing evidence that many Americans are incompetent to run their own lives, much less anyone else's lives.

And the hash tag #WeAreDoneDying

Charlotte, N.C. (2020)

6/21/2020: Block party celebrating Juneteenth went bad; more than 100 shots fired.  “A video posted on Twitter showed the scene when an ambulance arrived for a report of someone being hit by a car. It was at this time that shots were fired, with more than 20 shots being heard on video.”  The shooters (still unidentified), killed four and injured five others.  Five more were injured “when they were hit by vehicles driving away from the chaos.”

Category: public

Suicide: no

Cause: unknown

Weapon: firearms[1]



[1] "'People were running everywhere'; 4 killed, 10 hurt in north Charlotte shooting," WCNC, Jun. 24, 2020, https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/deadly-shooting-north-charlotte-beatties-ford-road/275-781db2ad-0768-402f-8ebc-09f2526172a7, last accessed July 7, 2020; "Community calls for change after Beatties Ford Road shooting kills 4, injures 10," WCNC, Jun. 23, 2020, https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/community-calling-for-change-after-charlotte-shooting-kills-4/275-23fa960b-430c-487e-a59a-a6285b66bab7, last accessed July 7, 2020.

And at that second article: whataboutism:

“You guys always say 'Black Lives Matter,' but you’re out here killing each other,” said Sabrina Cassell, Jamaa’s cousin.

3 comments:

  1. If anybody ever accuses me of "Whataboutism" to my face, I'll tell him or her "No, it is your bete noir from high school called 'Compare and Contrast.'" We can't know how to respond or what to do, if we don't compare it to other situations.
    That's the point of learning history; it's human nature combined with different situations in different times, and with different resources. Otherwise, why not just read Jack Ryan and Jack Reacher stories?

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  2. "If you are living paycheck to paycheck on $100,000 a year, it is time for some serious budget examination."

    No. The budget is not the problem. It is instead time to examine their thought process or lack thereof. I never earned as much as $100k in a year, but never lived paycheck to paycheck after the first year of permanent employment, and my checks only came once a month. But I use my brain.

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  3. Jeff: Cklearly these people are not thinking, but a budget to find out how they are spending a decent income is a good starting point. Fifi really does not need silk tutus for her canine ballet lessons.

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