There was a recent report issued stating that nearly 40% of Americans do not have enough money saved up to deal with an unexpected expense of $1,000 or more.  These people would have to go into debt (probably further debt) to deal with it.

In other words, a large percentage of Americans are broke.  Probably more than half of Americans don’t really have any significant liquid funds that could be used in an emergency, especially if it is something as bad as a job loss.

There is a difference between broke and poor.  Broke is a more temporary position.  It means you don’t have access to money right now.  Poor is more a way of life.  It means you have little in the way of assets and there is nothing indicating that this will change any time soon.

Most Americans somehow muddle through, even with minimal or no savings.  If something breaks, such as a car, they find a way around it. They somehow come up with the money or find an alternative.

Of course, not all Americans muddle through.  This is evident with the epidemic of homelessness, particularly in California. Most of these people have problems beyond not having a decent shelter, but you have to consider that they didn’t live this way since the day they were born.  There was a breaking point where they started living in a tent on the side of the road.

When we hear about how little in savings Americans have, there are multiple responses that can be heard.

From the political left, we will hear about how the top 1% is gaining while everyone else is losing. This isn’t completely inaccurate. The problem is that the solutions they offer are the very things that cause much of the problem in the first place.  If you want lower and middle class America to do better, then you need to drastically reduce government spending and regulation.  You also have to address the inflation coming from the central bank that disproportionately hurts those with less money.

From the political right, it is typical to hear that things aren’t that bad.  This is especially true when there is a Republican in the White House.  We will hear that this is America, the land of the free, and people can live a wonderful life with some hard work and determination.

The problem is that there are many people who do work hard who are still struggling to pay the bills.

This is somewhat typical of conservatives, although definitely not all.  Unfortunately, I also hear libertarians talk like this, and I think it does a disservice to the message of liberty.

Selling Liberty

If someone is complaining about how it’s hard to pay the monthly bills and save money, I don’t think the best libertarian response is to tell the person that they should suck it up and work harder.  Maybe this is a possible solution to their problem, but I think it is important to empathize to a certain degree.

The proper response isn’t that you should be happy you live in today’s world and not 100 years ago or 50 years ago.  This can be pointed out as a sidebar, but it shouldn’t be the main point.

It isn’t a choice of living now or 50 years ago.  I would still choose now because of the luxuries and technologies we enjoy. I want my smartphone and internet access.  But it doesn’t mean that we should just accept outrageously priced medical care and insurance. It doesn’t mean that middle class America should suffer trying to save up a few weeks worth of living expenses.

From a standpoint of selling liberty, we should empathize with someone who is working hard and struggling financially.  This is the case with many people.  The reason for this struggle is because of government.  When the federal government is spending in the neighborhood of $40,000 per year per family, this makes it rather difficult.  When you add in state and local government spending, you get near what the actual median income is in the United States.

People are being forced to live a much harder life than necessary because of the massive government spending, the central bank inflation, and the tens of thousands of pages of regulations.

This is an important point in trying to sell liberty to others.  If you want a higher standard of living, then stop supporting big government.  If government is drastically reduced, then your life, at least financially speaking, will likely be much easier.  You can have your smartphone of 2020, while still being able to take a vacation and save money for a rainy day.

Making Excuses

There is a libertarian aspect of this, but there is also a personal aspect to this.  If someone is complaining about the cost of living, it is a good opportunity to educate this person on how the government is causing the high cost of living.

But life isn’t just about selling liberty to others.  You probably want to help this person.  Therefore, just because the government is making life unnecessarily harder than it should be, it doesn’t mean we should use this as an excuse to do nothing.

You have to make optimal life choices for yourself and your family given the situation. Hopefully this is done within a moral framework.  I don’t recommend stealing someone else’s money just because the government has stolen from you.  However, I am not against trying to get money back from the government that it has stolen from you.

If you are part of the large percentage of Americans who essentially has no savings, or if you know someone in this position, you can still make changes in your life to deal with this.  The government may be a good excuse as to why you are in this position, but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to not take action.

This is where the conservative/ libertarian tough love is useful.  If you want to save up a few thousand dollars, then work an extra job for a while on the weekend.  If you have a family, then don’t eat out for a few months and be on a strict budget when going to the grocery store.  Give up cable and Netflix for a few months.  Find some stuff around the house that you don’t use and sell it by posting an ad on social media or one of the platforms for selling used items.

In conclusion, when you see someone who is working relatively hard but struggling to keep up, you should empathize with them.  You should sell liberty by pointing out how much better their life could be without the massive intervention of the state.  At the same time, you should try to motivate them to change their situation.  You can have a good excuse up to a point, but then you still have to take action to better your own life, in spite of the situation.