The 2023 Random Meme Thread

Yep. We're boned.
Bring on the asteroid.

Working on it.

Faster! Harder!

Not all teachers make shit money. Also, my father went back into teaching before retiring because the state health benefits were better than the corporate world. I have not seen breaking bad, but state health benefits seem pretty good, and covered some good cancer treatments without a lot of cost. I think in his pay range being a teacher would have gotten him the best treatment options for his cancer.

MS ***finally*** raised teacher pay to something around the national average last year - but their state employee insurance plan eats a massive hole out of their take home pay and bills to mitigate that problem this year died in committee.

I don't know how good the coverage is but the premium turns a reasonably god salary into a shit marginal salary.

I can only really go by what my parents and grandparents were telling me, but they did the math on their healthcare benefits. It also might be different from state to state. I just know my dad actually decided to go much lower on salary and use his teaching degree to finish off the state retiremenet in FL because the healthcare was better than he was making in a decent corporate plan. My grandmother who was a retired teacher had all sorts of options for nurses, medications, and health but she was tenured and worked during the golden years. My other grandmother worked for the local town as a clerk and I was amazed at the resources they threw at her cancer at her age.

This all may have changed for people now, or it may not be present in a state like MS where they do not do a lot of state taxes to pay their workers.

I really find it amazing what long term teachers do make over time. Now it probably all goes to administration.

Wasn't sure which thread to post this in, so I posted in both.

"Money doesn't buy happiness" is true only above a certain point.

If a person bringing home $400,000 a year is unhappy, it's unlikely that doubling their salary would change their happiness level at all. But does having all your material needs met, being able to travel and do other fun things, and not having to worry that your next unexpected car repair will leave you unable to pay the electric bill make a person happy? Fuck yes.

I don't make any where near that. But I do make a decent amount over the average US salary. In the last two years I've taken 10 week long vacations in the Nashville, Myrtle Beach, Knoxville, Fayetteville, Memphis, Bowling Green, Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Asheville and a couple other areas. I don't really need to worry about unexpected bills, usually go on a day trip that averages 80-100 miles one way once or twice a month, then about the same on shorter trips (10-12 miles) to a local brewery or restaurant for lunch. I even pay my mom's bills for her (electric, water/sewer, gas, internet/cable/phone, auto insurance). I'm not rich, but did pay off my home when I bought it. I'd say I'm generally happy, sure there are times when shitty things happen, but they're temporary and I get over them.

Right now I'm writing towards buying a cabin somewhere in the north Georgia, possibly Tennessee mountain area. It would be something that my sister and I would split on.

My work week is a four day one, 40ish hours a week. I definitely have it better than most of the people I work with. Several of them are working two jobs to be able to make their rent/mortgage, car note, bills, etc..

Definitely not in the top 10 or 20 percent of wealth or income, but from what I read and know about the financial security or stability of the U.S., I'm probably better off then 80 or more percent of the population.

It does bother me though that most of the people I work with would be hard pushed to have unexpected bills they can't pay off directly. That they are working a second job to just make it, that missing a week or two of work may not even be possible, missing a month would be detrimental.

I do count myself lucky that I could be out of work for a couple years and be able to make it. Is it fair to others, not really, but sometimes people make choices that put them where they are, but also bad luck, bad timing can put people in a bad situation.

One of the guys that I usually work with, we have had many, many conversations about the above, race, social problems and issues, finances, both ours and others, and while we feel empathy for others, we also feel that some, but not all can be consequences of choices people make.

Well any way, that was a lot longer than I intended or thought this post would be.

Ah, so for the 'liberty' on a penny, you can achieve final and lasting liberty

Posted this here as didn't know if it would be seen in any other thread.

It might make you happy. More likely it just makes you comfortable.