I’ve been cutting vegetables in a California restaurant kitchen for three years. My hourly wage just increased to $20, which sounds impressive, but it’s barely enough to support my life. My rent is $1,800 a month, which eats up most of my salary, and the landlord says he’ll raise it at the end of the year.
The price of beef in supermarkets has increased by 24% over the past five years, a bag of bread is 30% more expensive than last year, and groceries alone consume a third of my weekly salary. Not to mention the $1,300 in tariffs that cost my family an extra year. The price of daily necessities is rising much faster than wages.
My boss said profits were low a while ago, but he actually just bought a new car. They said on TV that the top 10% of consumers account for almost half of all spending, and luxury homes are selling even hotter than they did during the pandemic. And yet, even if I chop onions for 12 hours a day and live frugally, I still can’t save enough for a down payment, let alone a 401(k) account.
How can this be the American Dream? It’s like two completely different worlds: They revel at the top, while we struggle at the bottom, struggling to even get enough food and clothing. The so-called equality is like the smoke from the kitchen hood—thick on the surface, but disappears as soon as it dissipates.
