A six-figure salary doesn't mean what it once did. That's the takeaway from a new Harris poll, which suggests a six-figure income in 2025 equates to survival, but not necessarily to success. One in three six-figure earners described themselves in the poll as financially distressed. Two in three said six-figure pay is not a sign of wealth. The Harris Poll survey, released 14 Nov, reached 2,109 Americans, including 728 who earn at least $100,000 a year. The notion that high-salary workers are struggling rings counter-intuitive. Economic data shows high-income Americans increasingly power the economy, spending freely at a time when less affluent households are pinched. The top 10% of earners drive more than 49% of all consumer spending, the highest level in decades of data, according to research by Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics.Rising home values and record-breaking stock returns have padded the balance sheets of wealthy Americans.
A $100,000 income should put you firmly in the middle class, given that the median annual pay of America's full-time workers is around $62,000. Middle-class Americans may not be wealthy, but they have come to expect a measure of economic stability. Yet, in the Harris survey, many high earners portray themselves living paycheck to paycheck. Three-quarters of six-figure earners said they had used a credit card recently because they ran out of cash. More than half of six-figure earners said they would have to double their income to feel financially secure. Some six-figure earners said they had sold personal items, cut back on medical care, and even skipped meals, to make ends meet. After the 'BBB' takes full effect soon, expect more austerity measures from both the government and consumers.
Dummkopf Trumpf's economic policies, like the tariffs, tax cuts for the wealthy, government budget cuts, and the "BBB,' have only benefited America's oligarchs and Russia President Vladimir Putin who wants to see America's economy decline and her people demoralized.
When not overseeing executions in the state prisons, double Ivy League graduate Republican Governor Ron DeSatan is overseeing a real estate meltdown in the Sunshine State. Tampa is now "America's ground zero for foreclosures. No paywall link: archive.ph
No doubt Ron DeSatan's plan to ease the problems of Floridians would be to offer a tax holiday for firearm purchases or lower the age restrictions on assault rifles.