Asklemmy

It really depends on the location within the US. Each state really operates like their own country, connected through the federal government, so standards of living, and what constitutes poverty can widely vary. However, the broad trend is: minimal to no labor protections, employer or self-funded health insurance are the only way to begin to afford medical care (dental insurance is a rarer offer), and there are a lot of trade-offs in determining how to survive. There is very much a different reality for people with money compared to how a lot of others are forced to live. The reasons are historic and systemic, and there's too much to fully unpack in a response to a post. However, it can be simplified to: rampant, virtually unchecked capitalism is used to extract all of the labor and wealth from the general populous. The "American Dream" is propaganda shoved down everyone's throat to make people think that they, too, can work hard to become wealthy enough to not have to scrape together enough money to survive. Except that it's all a lie built on generational wealth, servitude, and violence.

Tipped wages originated from business owners refusing to pay freed slaves a fair wage after the US Civil War. The US still openly practices economic slavery. The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution allows slavery as punishment for a crime, which is why prison populations in the US are enormous. Private companies operate prisons here. This country was built and is maintained by slaves. The wealthy segregate themselves so they don't have to see or think about it, but that doesn't make it any less true.