It’s no secret that the cost of living has skyrocketed over the past 20 years. So, from affording housing and health insurance to food, gas, clothing, and other essentials, it’s a major struggle for young adults to make ends meet nowadays.
Many people believe the crux of this issue is the fact that wages haven’t increased fast enough to match rising living expenses.
Sure, minimum wages do vary state by state, but the federal minimum wage is still a measly $7.25 per hour. At such a low rate, even a single individual would struggle to stretch their budget.
However, this reality can be challenging for some older adults to comprehend because, when they were younger, their incomes were significantly lower than today’s average salaries. Even so, the gap between income and cost of living was never as wide as it is today.
That’s why this woman recently experienced her own wake-up call after watching her teenage daughter enter the workforce and earn basically the same as she did at 16 years old in 2005.
Apparently, 20 years ago, she worked at a grocery store in high school and made about $8 per hour. Then, this year, her daughter got a summer job at a local café and began earning $9, just $1 more than her own rate two decades prior.
She realizes her daughter’s paycheck might “sound fine on paper” to some people. But compared to when she was 16, the cost of rent, gas, and food has tripled.
“I sat down and did some quick math: with what I made as a teen, I could cover a full tank of gas, a cheap dinner out, and still have money left for savings,” she detailed.
Meanwhile, her daughter is only able to fill up her gas tank once before half of her paycheck is gone.
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Thankfully, her daughter has a “glass half full” perspective and jokes that she’s just working to afford gas for her car and iced lattes.
“But honestly, it hit me hard. It feels insane that wages for entry-level jobs barely moved in 20 years, while every basic expense exploded,” she said.
She realizes now that it’s not just hard to afford luxury goods on a modern paycheck. It’s a battle to satisfy basic living needs alone.
“Anyone else feel like we are raising kids in a world where ‘starter jobs’ don’t even start anything anymore?” she asked.
Are you worried for younger generations who are just getting their start in this economy? Should the minimum wage be raised to match inflation?
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By Katharina Buczek
Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing in... More about Katharina Buczek
