And to think, people working in IT actually get raises, and can earn more money by changing jobs; they are already quite privileged compared to those earning closer to minimum wage (like 30K a year?), given that said minimum wage hasn't been increased from $7.25 in 13 years now, while cost of living and inflation HAS gone up.
One issue is that while costs of products, housing, etc is adjusted pretty much instantly with supply, demand and inflation, wages aren't. When inflation numbers are introduced, companies jump to announce they're raising prices, citing cost of resources or... whatever. But they don't increase wages.
How often have wages gone up at a rate higher than inflation? I can't remember it. So basically people are expected to continue living on a currency that is decreasing in value constantly. Or they're expected to switch jobs or grow in their career, not to have a better life, but just to be able to maintain their current lifestyle.
Remember these tropes from the 80's and 90's and before where people bought a sizeable house, one or two cars, and put money away to put their kids (they could afford kids too) through college, all on a single income? Yyyyeeeaahhh. actually I don't know if that was the case for most people, it's what sitcoms depicted.