This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog. 

For a long time, it has been clear that the middle class is being systematically destroyed.  The cost of living has been rising faster than paychecks have for years, and this has pushed millions of Americans into poverty.  As for those who were already impoverished, many of them have been pushed out into the streets.

According to the Wall Street Journal, homelessness in the United States is increasing at the fastest rate ever recorded in 2023.  Anyone who thinks that we do not have a major problem on our hands simply has not been paying attention.  At one time, living “the American Dream” was a goal that the vast majority of Americans could aspire to achieve, but now it is out of reach for most of the country.  In fact, a report that was just released concluded that it now takes 3.4 million dollars for the typical U.S. household to live “the American Dream” over the course of a lifetime…

The so-called ‘American Dream’ is the benchmark that many people hope to achieve in their lifetime – getting married, buying a home and a car and raising children.

But new analysis has found that achieving these milestones now costs a staggering $3,455,305 – much more than most Americans will make in their lifetime.

One of the biggest amounts is for paying off a mortgage on a property. The average homebuyer will fork out $796,998, according to Investopedia – assuming a 10 percent down payment and a 30-year fixed loan at 7.2 percent interest.

Are you going to make 3.4 million dollars during your working years?

If not, “the American Dream” is not for you.

Sorry.

Today, it is only those that are at the very top of the economic food chain that are thriving.

Once upon a time, America had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now the top 1 percent controls more wealth than the entire middle class…

Thirty years ago, America’s celebrated middle class commanded twice as much wealth as the upper 1%.

Over the years, the rich have grown steadily richer. The top 1% caught and passed the middle class in collective wealth in late 2020, Fed data show.

The top 1% of American earners now control more wealth than the nation’s entire middle class.

This is what happens when power and wealth are highly centralized.

The gap between the wealthy and the rest of us is now bigger than ever.

So good luck trying to live a middle-class lifestyle in this environment.

Do you want to buy a couch?  Well, the exact same couch that would have cost you $799 in 2019 will now cost you $1,599…

An interior designer has revealed an IKEA couch that used to cost $799 in 2019 is now double the price four years later.

Jilian Dee, a small business owner based in Los Angeles, went viral on TikTok after stitching @loljustmark’s video about the Swedish furniture giant’s ‘crazy’ prices.

Mark, a construction and home décor expert, pointed out that IKEA’s Finnala sofa and chaise now costs a whopping $1,599, saying he wouldn’t pay more than $700 for it.

And don’t even get me started on the price of food.

Beef is already considered to be a “luxury meat”, and it is going to be even more expensive in 2024 because the USDA is projecting that beef production will be way down…

The USDA projects beef production to be down by 180 million pounds over a six-month period by the end of 2023, while the Insider noted that the average size of herds is at 61-year record lows as farmers struggle to feed their animals.

“A lot of our neighbors are selling … The cattle values in general are worth more than they’ve ever been worth before. And quite frankly they’re worth more than what we’re having to pay for hay,” Kent told the FT.

And we are being warned that supplies of many other products in our grocery stores will be getting tighter as well…

As we prepare to step into 2024, it’s important to know what changes are to come over the next year—including the changes that might come to the selection of items at grocery stores.

In 2023, we faced scarcity of several products, from toilet paper to sriracha. Now, there are a few other items that may be become harder to find over the next 12 months.

Factors like environmental challenges, labor shortages, and more could pose a risk to the availability, quality, and affordability of certain spices, dairy products, eggs, seafood, grains, fresh produce, and meat and poultry.

Of course, there are some things that you won’t be able to get at all.

Members of Congress have been told that drug shortages in the U.S. recently reached a record high, and this is a problem that is not going away any time soon…

Drug shortages in the U.S. have hit a record high and lawmakers warn they could mean life or death for millions of patients. A House committee is investigating what Congress can do to the supply chain to make sure doctors don’t have to keep rationing essential drugs like cancer treatments.

Health experts agree the shortages of hundreds of generic drugs need urgent attention.

But they’re still trying to build consensus on a remedy.

If you go to the official FDA drug shortage list, you will see that there are 143 entries right now.

And some of the drugs that are in short supply are used millions of times each year…

Critical shortages in the US include albuterol, an asthma and allergy medication used to prevent and treat breathing difficulty; amoxicillin, a crucial antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, including pneumonia, which is seeing rising cases in the US; epinephrine — or adrenaline — a drug used to treat life-threatening conditions like severe allergic reaction.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 54 million prescriptions written for amoxicillin in 2019. In 2020, nearly 62 million albuterol prescriptions were handed out.

I am not going to sugarcoat this for you.

This is a crisis.

In some cases, the lives of American kids are being put in danger because they can’t get the drugs that they desperately need…

One teenage lymphoma patient from Indiana was forced to take a type of chemotherapy that had previously led to a life-threatening allergic reaction, because the medication he had tolerated was out of stock.

Another Florida-based mother of a nine-year-old girl with aggressive Leukemia was told to expect a 15-month wait for a $10 drug that would save the young girl’s life.

So why is this happening?

Well, there are many factors that are contributing to this nightmare, but one of the biggest is the fact that we have become so dependent on China and India…

Another factor driving the problem is the US’ reliance on key materials from China and India to make 95 percent of medicines used in emergency care.

We should have never allowed this to happen.

But we did.

And now we will pay a very great price.

If you think that shortages are bad now, just wait until China invades Taiwan.

Things will get really crazy at that point.

So I would very much encourage you to prepare in advance for the chaotic times that are rapidly approaching, but unfortunately, most Americans still believe that everything will work out just fine somehow.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “Chaos” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  In addition to the new book I have written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned)  When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending copies as gifts to family and friends.  Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible.  I have also started a brand new Substack newsletter, and I encourage you to subscribe so that you won’t miss any of my articles.  I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe.  I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article.  The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial, or health decisions.  I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and anyway that you can share these articles with others is definitely a great help.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.