Just a quick fact checking...

You say only 1% of Americans make minimum wage. According to Fed data reported by DQYDJ (https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-calculator/), 14% of American workers make under $15,080 (2080 annual hours multiplied by the $7.25 federal minimum wage).

In fairness, if we limit that to those working full-time, the figure drops to 6%, which is still 6x your claimed number.

If we add a couple of hours a day, seven days a week for a side gig of some sort at minimum wage, we're up to $20,358, and 9% of Americans working full-time-plus make less than that.

Setting aside your counter-factual numbers, I'm not arguing that nobody can do what Destiny suggests, nor even that the majority cannot do so.

I'm just acknowledging the elephant in the room, that there are over 10 million Americans making under $15,080, and that level of income in the US gives you very few options, especially if you're also raising kids and/or caring for aging parents and/or dealing with chronic conditions, etc.

I know and acknowledge that most if not all of my own financial articles are far more helpful for the middle class or higher, but I try to remember that this doesn't help everyone, and that's all I was pointing out here.

If you choose to get upset over that, that's your right.