Revelation 6:6 again

Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds[a] of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

Anybody?

"When analysts at Oxford Economics recently studied American spending patterns, they found that the bottom 60 percent of earners was essentially drawing on their savings just to maintain their lifestyles. Their incomes weren't enough to cover expenses."

'Gasoline prices have surged 24 percent over the past year to a national average of $2.94 a gallon, according to AAA. That's the highest average since 2014.

"Analysts at Morgan Stanley have estimated that the increase this year will likely eat away a third of people's savings from Trump's tax cuts.'

"The real estate brokerage Redfin says the median sales price in the 174 markets it covers has jumped 6.3 percent over the past year to $305,600. A general rule of thumb is that buyers can afford a home worth roughly three times their income. So the median home sales price far exceeds what a typical U.S. household earning a median $57,000 income can manage.

"On top of that, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are growing costlier. The average interest rate on these mortgages has jumped to 4.62 percent — from 3.95 percent at the start of the year — according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac."

"The top 10 percent of the country holds 73 percent of its wealth, a share that has crept steadily up since 1986, according to the World Inequality Database. The most sweeping gains are concentrated among the top 1 percent; this group holds nearly 39 percent of the wealth. And they're arguably poised to become even more prosperous because Trump's tax cuts largely favored the wealthiest slice of individual taxpayers.

Contrast that with the middle 40 percent of the country, a group that would historically be considered middle class. In 1986, they held 36 percent of the country's wealth; now, it's just 27 percent.

Worse off is the bottom 40 percent of Americans: They have a negative net worth and almost no financial cushion in case of an emergency."

I just always figured, if I was going to be in the bottom 40%?

I might as well do it my way :-).

Why many Americans aren't benefiting from robust US economy