In just two years, inflation has taken its hold on the finances of everyday Americans. The average American now needs over $11,400 to be able to enjoy the same standard of living as they did in 2021.

According to a recent analysis of government data, the soaring 40-year high inflation is really starting to impact the everyday lives of most people. Many continue to report that they are “feeling the pain” of inflation. This fall more people reported struggling financially than they did prior to the plandemic, according to CBS News polling. Inflation is the main reason Americans express pessimism about the economy despite the slightly stronger wage gains in recent years.

Average hourly pay for workers has increased by a robust 13.6% since January 2021, although that lags the 17% increase in inflation during the same period, according to government data. The main categories requiring heavier spending for consumers simply to tread water: food, transportation, housing and energy, which together account for almost 80 cents of every $1 in additional spending, according to the analysis from Republican members of the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee.

“Middle- and low-income Americans aren’t doing well enough — they are living fragilely on the edge,” said Gene Ludwig, chairman of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), a think thank whose own analysis found that the income needed to cover the basics fell short by almost $14,000, on average, in 2022. –CBS News

Across the entire United States, the state with the highest additional expenditures to afford the same standard of living compared with 2021 is Colorado, where a household must spend an extra $15,000 per year, the JEC analysis found. Residents in Arkansas, meanwhile, have to spend the least to maintain their standard of living, at about $8,500 on an annual basis.

But everyone needs to spend more, and many don’t have the wage increases to do so. Debt is spiraling out of control, and not just the debts of the ruling class, but those of the slaves that they control.

Sovereign Debt is Eating the World

Inflation takes a big bite out of lower-income households, primarily because by necessity they spend a bigger share of their income on basics than higher-income Americans. And until recently, lower- and middle-income workers’ wages weren’t keeping pace with the gains enjoyed by the nation’s top earners.