Sound the alarms, we've all been duped. First three paragraphs are just for context, feel free to skip over them.
I was recently added to a local activism group on facebook. I eagerly accepted the invitation, because I'm all about channelling some positive energy into important causes for the greater good. The first few posts I saw were pretty typical stuff given the current social climate - peaceful BLM protests, LGBTQ+ rights, etc. All things I'm happy to support. Then yesterday a post made by one of the admins came across my timeline, and it warranted some investigation.
The post was essentially about ways to boycott Amazon. It advised using amazon only as a directory to find products you want, and then using that to find the actual business selling that product and buy directly from them. Sounds well and good I suppose. I don't really have an issue with Amazon personally, aside from how many people use it to buy things they absolutely do not need. Some of the points however specifically mentioned doing this to "stick it to Bezos", and the comments mostly reflected that general sentiment. One comment however asked a question that I too was curious as to the answer to.
Someone asked "Why exactly is it that everyone hates Bezos so much?" To which the admin responded that he hoards wealth, doesn't pay taxes, and doesn't pay his employees a living wage. The guy who originally asked the question did some research, and responded that according to reporting by glassdoor and other websites that track employee wages for various companies, the average pay for an Amazon warehouse worker is about $17.90/hr. He then asked the question I was thinking, which was "What exactly do you consider a living wage?"
The response? "Well, $17.90 is not a livable wage and you know that. It's already been proven that the cost of living plus debt that you need at least $60k a year to survive. I had a union job with benefits at $17 an hour and I still needed a second income to even survive."
After reading that, I bellowed a hearty laugh before sheer incredulity over took me and replaced my mirth with indignant rage. I took a few deep breaths and proceeded to share my own comment explaining that I am able to live comfortably on $19k a year, and I know people all over the country living on similar budgets, even managing to live in HCOL areas like NYC on less than $30k. I asked them to break down for me what a bare bones cost of living budget looks like that comes out to $60k a year. They followed up with some figures about the average cost of rent being $1200 a month, and said that their 5 years of experience as a "Financial and Loan Representative" allows them to say with certainty that their figures are accurate. They said that my statements were classist and full of "poverty myths that have no place in progressive thinking". At that point I decided to opt out of the conversation, because it was clear that if I kept pressing the issue I was only going to get myself banned from the group.
Is there a better way to explain these things to well intentioned but clueless people? How can you convince someone to actually see through the consumerist brainwashing, and realize that a comfortable lifestyle costs far less than what they've been led to believe?
Oh, it's also worth mentioning that the person making these assertions lives in the exact same town as me, where I am living comfortably on $19k. Not sure what could possibly be making up the extra $41k of "necessary spending" in their budget.