The Rising Costs Of Rent And The Housing Crisis Explained

This crisis is affecting the majority of the population

Kylin

• Published in Interesting
• April 23, 2022

It’s not breaking news that basically everyone in the working class and those living below the poverty line are suffering a financial crisis right now. Living expenses have skyrocketed: rent, groceries, gas, new & used cars, medical care, utilities, and more have all steadily risen over the years, and the pandemic has been like a shot of adrenaline to these price increases.

With the cost of living rapidly increasing, the glaring stagnancy of wages is a worrying and quite literal painful problem for millions of Americans. It’s no wonder that Americans have on average $155,622 in household debt.

That’s more than 15 TRILLION dollars in debt altogether. And there’s little relief on the horizon.

The average annual salary in the United States in 2021 was $51,480. And the average rent for a studio apartment in New York City is $3,000 a 43% increase compared to the previous year.

Despite the growing expenses, workers are being denied raises, having hours and benefits cut for benefit of the business owners, and shareholders. And somehow the estimated 3.4% raise that companies are expected to pay to their workers in 2022 is supposed to help, which is shit math since inflation has increased by an average of 7.1% nationally.

Of course, many boomers and GOP politicians would argue that we just need to stop complaining and pull on some bootstraps to work harder to earn more. But we’re no longer living in a time where a single income can buy a home and support a family.

We’re living in a time tarnished by student and medical debt, a pandemic with a death toll of 6.21 million people and counting. The burnout is real, and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.

Existing has become an exhausting uphill battle. Think of the families who need more than one bedroom, more than one mouth to feed, bodies to clothe and health to care for. 

Twitter user @Hawthorne_Rob took to the internet to point out the sobering truth of the housing and wage crisis of 2022. His tweet inspired other concerned and otherwise stressed-out users to share more data and their own experiences.

A person making $50k a year has less than half their salary left to spend after paying rent

This is a generous look at this rental crisis, too. Most people don't make that much, and most rentals are not that affordable.

Twitter user did some sobering math

The picture attachments from the tweet

Renting quickly adds up to a substantial amount of money that could otherwise be used towards a down payment, if you know, you didn't have to spend a large amount of your income on rent

I tracked down the TikTok from the screenshot for your viewing pleasure

Do landlords even make 2-3x the amount of their rent?

Application fees are a scam

Government assistance doesn't help above a certain income bracket, and it doesn't factor in cost of living or expenses like debt

The federal minimum wage hasn't changed since 2009

For reference, here's how the federal minimum wage has changed since 1980, with an inflation adjustment included

We should’ve listened to him in 2010

The rent is too damn high

Naturally, the data brought in the tired criticisms of “move out of the cities,” as if it’s that simple. Besides relocation being cost-prohibitive for a lot of folks, what with these low wages and rising costs we’ve been babbling on about, cities have more jobs than rural areas.

We're stuck paying over 30% of our income solely on housing, which doesn't leave a whole lot for basic survival. We have to be able to purchase food and clothing, afford utilities, and either have a vehicle or access to public transportation to get to work.

If we're lucky, we have to be able to pay for preventative medical appointments, and god forbid you or those in your care get sick, or have any sort of emergency. It's no wonder so many Americans are in debt.

It's great that this rapidly evolving crisis is gaining attention and people are talking about it, but to give credit where credit is due: Jimmy McMillan has been saying this since 2010. The rent is too damn high.

Kylin