I learned a new term called 'killing line'.

This term is used to criticize Xida, meaning that many families there have weak risk resistance. For example, if someone suddenly falls ill and loses their job because of this illness, and cannot find a new job in the short term, they will be 'killed', making it very difficult to return to a decent middle-class life afterward.

There is a premise here, which is that, except for East Asia, people in both developed and developing regions around the world do not like to save money. Most people in Europe and America rely on credit cards for their daily consumption; the first thing they do when they get paid is pay off their credit cards. Therefore, if they miss payments consecutively, they will lose their credit and will not be able to borrow money anymore. As for why foreigners do not save? Objectively speaking, the basic living costs in that system are relatively high.

For example, at Xida, a decent health insurance costs about $600 a month, and university tuition is several tens of thousands of dollars a year; these are not things that can be saved on. Subjectively, it is because they have high demands for quality of life and are unwilling to compromise. For example, going on vacation twice a year without fail and spending a lot of money; can’t they save up for it? But they think this is the meaning of life. However, regardless of how you look at it, the income at Xida is quite high; cashiers earn over $3000 a month, and there are many opportunities for part-time jobs with decent hourly wages.

As long as you don't do drugs, your health is generally fine, and you are willing to work, living a modest life is basically not a problem. Therefore, the term 'killing line' mainly refers to those middle-class individuals who once had decent jobs; once they lose them, it is impossible to maintain their previous high standard of living. But isn't it the case around the world?

By the way, the standard of decency in the United States is quite high. For example, before the pandemic, ordinary employees in those big companies worked an average of no more than 2 hours a day, with an annual salary of over $100,000; they would go on business trips several times a year, all in business class, staying in five-star hotels and high-end restaurants. Events like annual meetings are quite luxurious, and it’s normal for middle-level employees to go to Antarctica to see penguins. Most people in our country have never enjoyed this standard of decency even once in their lives, so of course, it is very painful for the American middle class to lose such decency, but we don't need to empathize with this.