Bloomberg’s recent opinion piece with tips for surviving inflation "if you earn less than $300k" received backlash on Twitter, with many people sharing their reactions
People were left upset and rightfully confused after reading the article. After all, it blatantly attempts to share pieces of advice on how to pinch pennies if you’re unlucky enough to make less than $300K every year. However, some tips the labor economist and expert in retirement security offered seem innocent enough. Well, at least at first.
Ghilarducci’s op-ed reads: "To deal with gas prices, it’s worth reconsidering public transportation if it’s an option where you live. Fares are up about 8% compared with 38% for gasoline. Now may even be the time to sell your car."
Well, public transit might be an essential everyday necessity for many people across the country. It allows to reach jobs and schools, do shopping, have access to healthcare, and other services while also being a sustainable form of mobility. However, according to The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), 45% of Americans have no access to public transportation.
Another tip that caught the attention of the Twitter-sphere was when the economist said that households might consider swapping out their meat for lentils. "Meat prices have increased about 14% from February 2021 and will go up even more. Though your palate may not be used to it, tasty meat substitutes include vegetables (where prices are up a little over 4%, or lentils and beans, which are up about 9%)," she wrote.
Yet, there was one more suggestion that immediately struck a chord with the users — advising them to skip out on their pet’s medical bills. "If you’re one of the many Americans who became a new pet owner during the pandemic, you might want to rethink those costly pet medical needs. It may sound harsh, but researchers actually don’t recommend pet chemotherapy — which can cost up to $10,000 — for ethical reasons," the scholar explained.
"Harsh" may be an understatement. Many social media users viewed this suggestion as straight-up dark. They had some more severe remarks to say about the article and its writer, and as you can see from this post, they did not hold back. Even when Bloomberg Opinion reshared the article on Twitter, they wrote "nobody said this would be fun". Well, folks online certainly didn’t think it was.
People started talking about how yet again the privileged members of society who hold positions of power explain what those who earn less should be doing with their personal lives and finances. Some were baffled that this financial news site shared such advice to those struggling every day with such a lack of consideration.
According to the Washington Post, wealthier Americans have stronger protections shielding them against increasing prices. And that is why inflation won’t affect them as much. They already own homes, have substantial retirement savings, and their investments will probably outpace inflation in the long run.
Meanwhile, lower-income workers usually feel only the negative side of inflation. "Their rent goes up. Their heating oil prices go up. Their grocery bills go up. And there’s no room for higher prices in their already stretched budgets. Plus, with stimulus benefits and child-tax credit payments long gone, many have exhausted their financial cushions."
Xavier Jaravel, a London School of Economics professor said that for low-income Americans, a small change in disposable income is very difficult to cope with. "Every bit of additional inflation just reduces purchasing power. If you have a large income, which often goes with the fact that you’re saving a lot, then losing some of your purchasing power is not a big cost."
