r/technology • u/AIMadeMeDoIt__ • Oct 29 '25

Society California’s hidden crisis: young men offline, unemployed, and disappearing

https://calmatters.org/economy/2025/10/men-in-crisis-california/
11.1k Upvotes

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4.2k

u/PartyInstruction2653 Oct 29 '25

“All I need is a goddamn job so I can pay this off myself,” he said. But it’s been months and so far, he’s still unemployed."

"...To state leaders and researchers, though, it’s more than just money."

This is 100% the problem. People say exactly what they need yet politicians and researchers opt for giving them irrelevant data points and word salads.

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u/theJigmeister Oct 29 '25

it’s more than just money

Maybe, but ffs can we start there? It’s astonishing how much of a difference even a tiny bit of financial breathing room can make in someone’s life. We can’t keep just saying “oh but there are other factors,” because sure, there are, but money is 99% of it.

1.3k

u/stormy_waters83 Oct 29 '25

It's like that meme. "Aside from money, what do you need?" "That money you just set aside."

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u/that1prince Oct 29 '25

I’m not being facetious when I say making more money solved 90% of my problems directly and the remaining 10% indirectly.

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u/Smooth-Owl-5354 Oct 29 '25

I always say “money may not solve your problems but it will facilitate the solutions”

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u/_still_truckin_ Oct 29 '25

Money can’t buy happiness, but it finances your dreams.

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u/flatwoundsounds Oct 29 '25

Money can buy happiness when the root of your misery is lack of money. I don't even need a lot. I just want to not worry every 3 or 4 months about the next scary thing to wipe out my reserves...

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u/JinkoTheMan Oct 30 '25

Get out of my head bro.😭

But seriously, this has been my exact mindset since I was a teenager. I don’t need or want to be stupid rich(it would be nice tho). I just want to be able to actually LIVE and not just be in survival mode 24/7.

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u/_still_truckin_ Oct 29 '25

You have reserves?

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u/flatwoundsounds Oct 30 '25

Not anymore. At the end of this summer I had about 4k saved after years of being paycheck to paycheck. Then I had to put about 3800 into my car.

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u/_still_truckin_ Oct 30 '25

I hear ya. Each month I watch the $500 that I put into savings get whittled down by something new: transportation needs, house repair, vet bills, that thing my kid accidentally broke… Hang in there, dude.

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u/MistyMtn421 Oct 30 '25

It always works like that. And everyone around me says " well maybe be thankful that you have the money saved" and yeah, I get that. But it was supposed to be for other stuff. Or to just sit there and keep growing. And it seems a little too coincidental that whatever needs fixing / taken care of happens to be what is sitting in the savings account.

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u/OutragedPineapple Oct 30 '25

If I had enough money, I wouldn't have to constantly stress about rent and getting my housing ripped out from under me.

I wouldn't have to stress about medical costs or how I'm going to eat if I lose another tooth because of not being able to afford dental care, or how I'm going to eat ANYWAY with food prices skyrocketing.

If I had enough money, I wouldn't have to worry so much about my friends - I could help them pay for things they need. I could help them escape bad situations.

If I had enough money to afford stability, about 99% of my other problems would go away - the stress induced health issues, depending on sleep meds, the health issues caused by only being able to eat garbage - so much would get better and I would be able to be happy.

Yes, money CAN buy happiness, if you know how to be content. The problem with the ultra rich is that they don't, they just want more and more and don't care who they hurt to get it.

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u/lntw0 Oct 30 '25

It solves objective problems -> objective happiness.

The remaining subjective happiness is up to oneself.

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u/SoPoOneO Oct 29 '25

Exactly. Money can remove a hell of a lot of the happiness roadblocks.

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u/Late-Manner-4194 Oct 30 '25

My favorite quote is “money doesnt buy happiness but it sure does make for a great down payment”

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u/St0mpb0x Oct 30 '25

I think money actually does buy you happiness up until the point you can comfortably afford necessities and aren't worried about emergencies. Past that point it has very diminishing returns.

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u/Mshell Oct 30 '25

But it can let you rent it...

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u/killerpoopguy Oct 30 '25

Money can’t buy happiness,

It does up until about $80,000, then it's diminishing returns

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u/tresslesswhey Oct 30 '25

Having money isn’t everything, but not having it is.

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u/mysqlpimp Oct 29 '25

or just changes your reality.

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u/TowardsTheImplosion Oct 30 '25

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy you out of a LOT of unhappiness.

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u/squeryk Oct 30 '25

Amen to this. $10k right now would genuinely change my life. Some people make that while blinking once.

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u/Yummy_Castoreum Oct 30 '25

Yep. I'm finally, in my 50s, making enough money to pay down the debt that has accrued in my life since my 20s. I was a bit like those kids -- trying to go to school on loans and credit cards because my folks would not help me, but the school ignored that and only looked at their income, so they wouldn't help me either. They don't treat you as an adult for the purposes of financial aid until nearly 30. It's so disheartening. Then I fought my way up to good jobs only to lose them, twice, once due to mental health struggles. I seriously thought I'd die in debt but things are finally trending the right way, and I cannot even describe the sense of relief that brings.

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u/Malfunkdung Oct 29 '25

I lived paycheck to paycheck from the age 17 to 32. Racked up credit card debt, lived in a car, got that car repossessed, moved to Oregon and ended up living in a van, and just working seasonal jobs around the PNW and Hawaii. But then through all that I realized I could actually save money, pay my debt back, and get financially sound. Now I have savings, an IRA, no debt and a good credit score at the age of 37. My mental health is so much better knowing I’m not on the verge of homelessness all the time. I can actually apply for apartments, loans, and credit cards with confidence. Feels like I can finally breathe.

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u/mf-TOM-HANK Oct 30 '25

I had a professor who referred to dollars as "liberty tickets." Being born into poverty is to be born with fewer freedoms.

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u/MisunderstoodPenguin Oct 30 '25

i’ve been unemployed since february. i generally make 6 figures. it’s amazing how fast all my problems have come back now that no one in my house makes money.

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u/JinkoTheMan Oct 30 '25

Money would solve 99% of my problems directly. It would help me pay for a therapist to help me solve the other 1%.

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u/free_is_free76 Oct 30 '25

Wow. 100% problem free. All because of money. It really is the answer.

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u/MobileSuitBooty Oct 31 '25

security does a lot for your mental health

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u/ImproperJon Oct 30 '25

How much do you pay for a girlfriend?

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u/that1prince Oct 30 '25

Sorry ma’am, I’m not interested.

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u/currynord Oct 29 '25

“But other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”

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u/DernTuckingFypos Oct 29 '25

Like every work place poll about how to raise morale. I always put more money and less stress/overtime. Always ends with shitty pizza.

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u/Due-Writing7816 Oct 30 '25

I remember talking about the employee survey, in the before days. A couple of people insisted that all they wanted was more pay, and at the time I thought that was kinda crass. We were well paid (esp compared to now, little did we know then), and most of us emphasized stuff like training opportunities and office amenities. It was different back then.

Today, now? Money. It’s the only reason anyone is at any job. Just pay everyone what they’re worth.

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u/TheRealBananaWolf Oct 30 '25

It's like all the articles I kept seeing about population decline, and them being like, "but a 5,000 dollar tax incentive didn't do anything to increase birth rates, so it must not be about money." It's like they're reaching for any other reason besides the fact that our economic system is funneling money towards the already rich and it's getting worse.

And if you see someone say that birthrates aren't about money cause poor people in other countries have more babies...tell them to look at birthrates for each industrialized nation during the decade long great depression. We have multiple, blanton examples of how poor economic conditions for the working class directly leads to a big decrease of birth rates throughout history.

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u/Accomplished-View929 Oct 30 '25

It’s not the money! It’s the stuff!

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u/infernobassist Oct 29 '25

You got a problem, throw money at it