Author name: Augusta Oakey

Technology promised to set us free, yet here we are in the 21st century still clocking roughly 40 hours a week on the job. Over a century ago, workers bled and fought to cut grueling 10–16 hour days down to an “eight-hour day” – a standard that eventually became the Monday-to-Friday, 40-hour workweek. Visionaries like economist John Maynard Keynes even predicted that by 2030, people would only need to work 15 hours per week thanks to technological progress.… Read more

In a world where nearly every developed nation treats paid parental leave as a fundamental right—Estonia offering over a year and a half, Sweden splitting 480 days between parents, even China guaranteeing at least 98 fully paid days—the United States stands alone, stubbornly clinging to a patchwork of unpaid time off and employer discretion. Rooted in a cocktail of free-market dogma, cultural myths of self-reliance, and political gridlock fueled by business lobbying, America’s refusal to mandate paid leave isn’t just an economic anomaly—it’s a social wound.… Read more

Once a symbol of the American Dream, college has transformed into a crushing lifetime financial burden for millions, with student debt soaring to $1.7 trillion—a crisis born not from greed, but from deliberate policy shifts: starting in the 1970s, states slashed funding for public universities while federal aid pivoted from grants to loans, forcing students to shoulder costs that had once been shared by society; this fiscal retreat coincided with a powerful cultural myth—that a four-year degree was the only path to success—fueling enrollment and tuition hikes as universities competed for students with amenities like lazy rivers, all financed by easy credit; meanwhile, other nations like Germany (where public colleges are tuition-free) and the UK (with income-contingent loans forgiven after 30 years) treat higher education as a public good, avoiding America’s debt trap, leaving U.S.… Read more

In the United States, often hailed as the richest nation on Earth, a paradox is playing out in everyday life. The country’s economy is enormous by traditional measures, yet countless American families struggle to afford basic necessities. Meanwhile, on the global stage, the U.S. is facing a surprising rival for economic supremacy in an unexpected metric: purchasing power parity (PPP). This measure of “real” buying power reveals that America’s wealth advantage isn’t as clear-cut as many think.… Read more

In the wealthiest country on Earth, millions of people still struggle to afford basic necessities. Homeless encampments sit in the shadows of luxury high-rises in cities like Los Angeles and New York. Food bank lines stretch around the block in many American towns. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a nation that once had one of the largest impoverished populations has lifted hundreds of millions out of destitution within a few decades.… Read more

In the United States, an income of around $12,000 to $15,000 per year, roughly the federal poverty line for a single adult, signifies hardship. It’s an income level associated with struggle: choosing between rent and groceries, skipping medical care, and relying on food banks or government aid. As of 2022, about 37.9 million Americans (11.5% of the population) lived below the official poverty line. For a family of four, this threshold was about $26,500 in recent years, while for an individual it hovered in the mid-teens (thousands of dollars).… Read more

Picture this: you get a routine medical procedure in the United States – say a minor surgery or an overnight hospital stay. A few weeks later, a bill arrives and your jaw drops. The hospital’s invoice lists a dizzying $20,000 for the procedure, an eye-watering sticker price that could wipe out your savings. Fortunately, you have health insurance, and after some mysterious “adjustments,” your insurer only pays about $5,000. You’re relieved, but also perplexed.… Read more

On paper, the United States is one of the richest countries in the world. The nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is hovering around $85,000 as of 2025. In theory, that means every man, woman, and child in America could claim $85k worth of the country’s annual economic output. It’s an eye-popping figure that suggests a nation awash in wealth. So why do so many Americans feel like they’re barely scraping by?… Read more