[allana]

The severe wealth stratification that has occurred over the last few decades has left the majority of Americans facing a grim future of low earnings and unstable employment.

Its easy to see how that would make many people depressed and lead to a cycle of addiction to escape this crappy reality.

[chrisdhoover]

Bollocks, overall more people are rising out of poverty

[stevenicr]

Are you referring to the global overall rise out of poverty? or specifically the 'west coast cities' as were mentioned higher up in the thread?

Either way, from what I've been witnessing, as the commenter above yours was saying - but in a more specific way, is that many people who once had a fair amount of discretionary spending ability have seen that money sucked up into higher rents and needs for broadband - having more needs for kids and slightly higher expenses for many things all around... it appears that saving to do big things is not an option.

all the while seeing people on instagram living best lives of travel and decadence, many people can't even afford to make healthy choices for food - that once could.

More and more people who were above poverty are finding the higher rents and other expenses taking them into debt with no good way out - more and more people are getting unbanked by fees, and leaning on pawn shops / family and friends to skirt by getting power and water turned back on.

Sometimes they climb back up out of this, but I think more and more people are just simply going without. Going without dental care and healthy food. Skipping meals. There appears to be a bunch of people using dating apps to get free food.

Just that reality is hitting people - and if they can an unexptected larger expense - they are over the edge.

I don't think we have good statistics to show all this. It may seem that poverty is being reduced, and I saw a meme saying the avg household has gained 5k per year lately.. but that's not enough to take care of the basics for most people I see around our growing city that is not on the west coast.

I hear that things like this are even worse elsewhere.

[TheHypnotist]

Tell that to those forced out by skyrocketing housing costs a la San Francisco, and as I've come to understand, parts of Seattle.

[fwip]

The official poverty line is drawn by the government. It's great news for them if the poverty line rises slower than cost of living increases.