"Poverty jumped sharply to 13.2 percent, an 11-year high." And the article says: "Household income declined across all groups, but at sharper percentage levels for middle-income and poor Americans." Since I've been seeing whining from professionals and others who are dismissive of the plight of the poor, it seemed appropriate to note this new information and just make a common sense analysis that a 2% decline for someone at the median salary is rough but 2% for someone already nearly destitute is potentially disastrous. Beyond that, much of my fussing at professionals will be related to their apparent indifference to or ignorance of what their clients make in relation to getting enormous professional service bills that are routinely shuffled off to (evil) collection agencies. Seemed appropriate to give a bit of overview of my own perspective basis.
A median salary of $50,000 is $25/hour for one who works 40 hours/week for 50 weeks/year; the minimum wage in the United States, by federal law, is $7.25/hour. From what I see and hear of the workplaces out there, darned few making the median are actually working their 40 hours but often spend a significant amount of time on the net and cell phones playing and taking care of personal business. Some may make that up with "extra" hours at the office but I doubt many of them actually get to the 40/week. Those closer to the minimum wage tend to being doing physical labor not amenable to such options and so tend to actually work they hours they're paid for. And now a look at some specific examples...
The "professionals":
- Physicians, start at over double the median, about $120,000/year. That's about $55/hour.
- Veterinarians,start at about the median and can reach about double that.
- Attorneys,start substantially below the median but pass it at about 5 years and can get to triple that.
The upper income clients:
- Fire fighters , high school teachers, and police officers have to be on the job about 10 years just to get to the median pay level.
- Nurses, start a bit below median and spend the majority of their careers at the median/hour rate (excluding overtime, shift differentials, holidays, etc.).
- HVAC repair technician, lucky to get to the median/hour rate with 20 years experience
- Look up others here.
Mind you, these are the salaries of individuals but there is also a "billing rate" that clients and customers pay. THAT rate is often triple or more of the hourly salary rate of the professional. More on that later. But just note that the client pays for the billing rate even though they get paid substantially less than, often a mere fraction of, what the professional makes.
If you're reading this and in financial difficulties, despite what you hear or see or feel, you NEED to consider the option of bankruptcy. The big boys are bailing each other out with your tax dollars, digging you an even deeper hole. Bankruptcy may be the only "bailout" that you can get and it isn't nearly as awful as you've been told. If you have a stack of student loans, it may not be a viable option right now; however, there is a push to change the law back and make it reasonably possible to discharge those in bankruptcy again. Put together a comprehensive list of your assets and debts and call around to get a couple of free sessions with bankruptcy lawyers. Bankruptcy is a realatively simple and quick process and few, if any, at the courthouse will make any attempt to shame or embarrass you, unlike the creditors haranguing and harassing you on the phone!
And lastly a note on labor unions. If you work for hourly pay and/or are at or below $75,000/year, JOIN a union. IMO, you should find one that focuses on the essentials: safety, health, pay equity and reasonable job protection and working environments. You should get involved. There has to be a reasonable balance between the employer and employees and that happens when they communicate and understand each others' issues. Nearly all professionals belong to unions, although they often call them by other names: bar, association, etc. YOU need to be in a union too if for nothing more than access to information and support when an employer goes too far or not far enough.