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mmarino51589
Super Regular
Soldier Flag
Defense
|  | | P: | 08/13/2026 09:07 EST | | E: | 08/13/2026 09:13 EST |
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If we want to have a real, legitimate discussion about cost of living in the US (I can only use myself as a sample, but I'm in the Northeast which is historically on the higher side and among the sharpest affected areas of cost of living changes), then I'll be happy to lay out from my perspective a truthful, facts based account
I bought my house in NJ in 2020. My property taxes were $10,300/year. By 2024, they were up to $14,200/year. Since 2024, they're up to $14,400/year. I previously lived in NYC - but the cost of living between NJ and NY have always relatively been similar (especially in areas of NJ that are close to NYC, which is where I am).
A dozen eggs costs me $2.50-$3.00
A gallon of milk costs $4 (been about that much for as long as I can remember, even pre-covid)
A gallon of gas is sub $4. Gas was ~$4.30/gallon in July of 2008 for reference. It fluctuated and eventually settled in the high $2/gallon range. Talk to CA residents about their state imposed gas tax that keeps prices in the $5-$6 range (and then ask them about the newly proposed mileage tax for EV's because the EV's don't require gas which means they can't collect their self imposed gas tax from you at the pump! LUL)
A burger is $10 (used to be maybe $8)
A beer at a bar is $3-$4 (been that way since as long as I can remember, not including happy hour or drink specials or stuff like that)
Cars are expensive - but that's our fault. Americans are obsessed with "the latest and greatest" things. We're very stupid as a collective - we have the power to dictate market prices of things thru supply and demand, but unfortunately we've done this to ourselves. We created this illusionary demand for something that was unnecessary during COVID (why did everyone convince themselves that they needed $70K SUV's when everyone was home???). So now the rest of us have to pay for the artificial demand that was created by lunatics. Was there a chip shortage? Sure - but paying $20K over asking price just to secure a car only convinced the banks and manufacturers that we're willing to pay that price - therefore, there's no incentive for the brands to "lower prices" to "attract new business". The leasing market has definitely cooled and you're starting to see deals for $300/mo again...but the only way for the prices to drop again is for people to stop buying so many new cars at such high prices with such high frequency. We literally have the power of dictating costs but we're too stupid to actually put our heads together to fix the market conditions that we created ourselves. I think the average car payment for Americans right now is somewhere around the $600/mo range??
Fast food got expensive - but I also can't help but at least give partial blame to society for that for the same reasons as above
Cost of building materials and blue collar work is also high - but according to well documented research, the sharp push for white collar work amongst college workers in the last 20 years has led to a disastrous decline of skilled blue collar workers (any kind of trades person). I file this one under the "our fault" category - we did it to ourselves because the previous generation tried to convince us that working with your hands is looked down upon. I still do plumbing work and handyman work on the side, and it definitely helps supplement my household income (I work in IT as my main career).
I whole heartedly believe that a lot of the "cost of living complaints" amongst MANY (not all) US citizens is rooted in the fact that they are up to their eyeballs in debt. I see it with my own eyes. These people live day to day at 90%+ utilization of their credit cards and they complain about the cost of living, but they've got $200,000 worth of cars in the driveway of an apartment or a small house. Americans, like I said, are obsessed with STUFF. The credit utilization issue is well documented in American finance journals - and sure, some of it is for survival, but if you walk around alot of the northeast, you'll find that MANY people have an image to maintain...and alot of their "cost of living issues" are self imposed.
I'm just giving context on different perspectives of issues. Correlation and causation are not the same - and more than one thing can be true pertaining to a situation. If I walk home in the rain and say that I'm wet because I walked home in the rain, that's causation. However, I failed to mention I decided to walk through the car wash for fun beforehand and didn't want to get in my car and get the seats wet. There's always more angles to every story.
Otherwise, my 401K is performing wonderfully, my personal investments and accounts are performing wonderfully.
This is not an elitist attitude, but everybody has access to the stock market. If you have access to a smart phone, computer, internet, you have access to the stock market. If you have access to the above, you also have access to the worlds biggest (and free) source of education. Anybody can make money in the stock market if they educate themselves. It's a long game, it takes time to learn it, but it's available to everybody. "I can't do it" and "I don't want to dedicate the time to getting good at it" are two different arguments.
If your question is "has Trump's presidency caused a significant cost of living increase for you?" then my answer is "not as sharp as my cost of living increase under Biden"
I don't like Trump, but this narrative from afar of how our lives are being ruined under crushing debt and a crumbling economy simply isn't as simple as your talking heads want you to believe. There's nuance.
There's without a doubt been a cost of living increase, but you have to understand all the economic factors of what's going on. I don't vote, but I will say, living under perpetual democrat leadership, my taxes have steadily climbed over the years. Not saying it wouldn't happen under republicans, but I've always lived in places controlled by democrats. And my taxes have always gone up, year over year. Nearly $4k/year increase in 4 years in my property taxes from 2020-2024. And yet everybody just magically had an extra $350/mo laying around to cover that. I guess the dirt and grass on my property got real expensive somehow
Life is expensive, salaries don't climb at the same rate. Americans spend money that isn't theirs and then bitch about their monthly costs. The problem is two fold and not as black & white as the media wants you to believe it is.
I'm happy to answer other questions if you'd like more context | |
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 | -X- wrote:
Apart from the war, immigration and Epstein, does anyone have an opinion on Trumps actual work?
From what I hear, everything has absolutely skyrocketed in price while he is making money by the truckloads by playing the market and using pay for play for both himself and his family.
Hs there ever been such open an brazen corruption in the most corrupt country in the world? Draining the swamp so we could take over? Make America GoBroke Again?
Laff | |
We’re a declining empire lashing out as we go down. | |
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Matt_tfc
Super Regular
Shotgun Quick
Draw
| | | P: | 08/13/2026 19:58 EST |
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| -X- wrote:he is making money by the truckloads by playing the market | |
Smart man. I’m doing the same thing.
My 401k, Roth IRA, and taxable brokerage account are all way up since Trump got into office. | |
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I feel so absolutely bad for the sailors on the Lincoln carrier strike group.
There's reports of sailors jumping off the Lincoln and now apparently a destroyer due to mental health crises.
Twice I'd spent four or more continuous months at sea, on civilian ships, and the combination of both monotony and stress and the imprisoned feeling can make anyone lose their fucking mind.
I get they're the military and supposed to be strong and tough or whatever but having them deployed in active combat for 8 months unceasing would break many people, and it's not necessary; we have ample other carriers and strike ships we could rotate through the region every few months. What the fuck.
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Matt_tfc
Super Regular
Shotgun Quick
Draw
| | | P: | 08/14/2026 20:26 EST |
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Rotating another carrier strike group every few months is not as simple as swapping ships on a map. Many carriers are unavailable at any given time because they are in deep maintenance, workups, certification, training, or committed to other missions. A replacement also needs its escort ships, air wing, munitions, logistics chain, and a crew that is actually ready to deploy.
The real criticism should be that senior leadership must either resource a sustainable relief plan or narrow the mission and not assume there is some spare fully trained strike group sitting idle. | |
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Errorist
Super Regular
Dizzy Capper
| | P: | 08/14/2026 21:47 EST |
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| Matt_tfc wrote:
Rotating another carrier strike group every few months is not as simple as swapping ships on a map. Many carriers are unavailable at any given time because they are in deep maintenance, workups, certification, training, or committed to other missions. A replacement also needs its escort ships, air wing, munitions, logistics chain, and a crew that is actually ready to deploy.
The real criticism should be that senior leadership must either resource a sustainable relief plan or narrow the mission and not assume there is some spare fully trained strike group sitting idle. | |
Fortunately they are rotating ships.
I cannot even comprehend being on a civilian ship for eight months straight, much less a combat deployment.
I’ve done two four month jobs as a civilian, one was as an engineer on a NOAA research ship and the other was in the Gulf of Mexico on a saturation support vessel (underwater divers that would repair oil pipelines on the seabed).
I actually applied to military sealift command to be an engineer on a support vessel. I was not allowed to join the real military for medical reasons but the support vessels are operated by civilians, but those tours also are often 8 months (but you come home with $150k even at the lowest merchant marine officer rating, which I have). | |
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EnginGhent
Super Regular
Crack-Powered Capper
| | | P: | 08/27/2026 16:55 EST |
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| Canada’s aluminum industry is not worried about U.S. tariffs continuing into the new year.
While Canadian domestic producers will absorb the loss of U.S. business and find other customers, the U.S. will find it nearly impossible to replace its cheapest supplier, says Jean Simard, president and chief executive officer at Aluminum Association of Canada.
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🎉 | |
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What do we hope to realistically gain by bullying Canada.
They’ll just sell their shale oil to china instead of pumping to our refineries. | |
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| mmarino51589 wrote:
i don't like trump
but 79 pages of you guys bitching and whining on the internet is sad | |
It is very important the D2F intellectuals sort out the world’s problems.
Also we’re only on page forty!!!! lol. | |
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EnginGhent
Super Regular
Crack-Powered Capper
| | | P: | 08/28/2026 13:04 EST |
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| EmotionallyDisturbedParakeet wrote:
What do we hope to realistically gain by bullying Canada.
They’ll just sell their shale oil to china instead of pumping to our refineries. | |
The same things we gain by entering another never ending conflict in the Middle East. | |
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Prelude to Agony
Super Regular
Sniper Harassment
Duty
| | | P: | 08/29/2026 01:49 EST | | E: | 08/29/2026 01:53 EST |
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I find it funny that Milo is in ICE custody. Deport them all.
edit: Saw Rush tonight...fantastic show. I think the setlist on Wednesday was better....they played all of 2112. | |
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Matt_tfc
Super Regular
Shotgun Quick
Draw
| | | P: | 08/29/2026 09:02 EST |
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| Prelude to Agony wrote:Deport them all. | |
Hear, hear
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| EnginGhent wrote:
| EmotionallyDisturbedParakeet wrote:
What do we hope to realistically gain by bullying Canada.
They’ll just sell their shale oil to china instead of pumping to our refineries. | |
The same things we gain by entering another never ending conflict in the Middle East. | |
Trump is now owner of two failed wars, the one he started in Iran and the one in Ukraine which he now owns. | |
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Errorist
Super Regular
Dizzy Capper
| | P: | 08/30/2026 18:08 EST |
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Orange is a puppet. ZOG is in charge. There is no political solution. | |
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| Forums > Whiners Corner > Trump 2.0 |
