Throughout the Biden administration, Americans have struggled amid unfavorable economic conditions such as high interest rates and stubborn inflation. As a result, many members of Gen Z who are either just entering the workforce or are in the early of adulthood feel that the “American Dream” is no longer attainable.
Voicing this palpable frustration from the younger generations, one frustrated member of Gen Z took to TikTok to lament the state of the economy. The user, apparently named Nic, illustrated how life is a “struggle to survive” and pay for necessities, such as rent.
Nic claims he makes what one would assume to be a livable wage but cannot keep up with the cost of living. “Can somebody explain to me in crayon-eating terms why I make over three times the federal minimum wage and I cannot afford to live?” Nic said.
The TikTok continues with Nic dispelling the common rebuttal, instructing individuals to work harder and “pull yourself up from your bootstraps.” Nic emphasizes that absurd and stressful working arrangements should not be the standard, just to get by. He further questions how anyone earning an average salary can afford current housing costs. “And I do not want to hear the ‘Pull yourself up from your bootstraps, work 90 hours a week.’ That’s not the goal, guys,” he said.
Nic also addressed the generational differences in spending power, where Gen Z’s parents, and especially their grandparents, could afford a much higher standard of living with less money. “When my parents were my age they both made less than half of what I make, and they lived alone. I cannot afford to live anywhere alone,” he said.
Nic continued, “A one-bedroom apartment, $1,800. Two-bedroom apartment, $2,200. Who the f*** can afford that? It is embarrassing to come out and say that it is a struggle to survive right now. But I know so many people are struggling.”
“I clock out of my shift…And I checked the news. Another 60 f***ing billion to a country nobody can go out on a map. What are we doing? Why? Where has the plot gone? We have lost it folks. We have f*****g lost it. The American dream is dead. It is that said
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Nic further expressed his pessimistic outlook on this economic situation, claiming that partisan politics won’t get to the root of the problem. He highlighted a commonly held frustration with politicians in D.C. sending billions of dollars overseas despite the struggling conditions many Americans face domestically.
“I just now realized that regardless of which side I vote, it won’t be fixed,” Nic said. “They continue to pull this bulls—. The spending budgets that they keep approving, the foreign aid they keep sending out when we need that in America.” Watch Nic’s TikTok commentary below:
“How many homeless veterans are out on the street right now?” he added in a more recent post, further highlighting America’s domestic issues. “Government overreaching, government overspending has continued to happen and it is getting worse and worse.”
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.