Hickory, NC News & Views | January 25, 2026 | Hickory Hound

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Jan 24, 2026, 11:27:58 AM (11 days ago) Jan 24

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🔗 https://thehickoryhound.blogspot.com/2026/01/hickory-nc-news-views-january-25-2026.html

TIME Part 1: When Work Stops Paying Off

People are still working full days. Jobs still exist. Paychecks still clear.
So why does time no longer build security?

This week’s News and Views examines how effort stopped compounding for working households in Hickory and across the Foothills—why extra hours no longer create breathing room, how gig work amplifies the squeeze, and what happens when time gets drained instead of rewarded.

This isn’t collapse. It’s erosion—and it’s reshaping how people plan, commit, and live.

Read the full analysis:
🔗 https://thehickoryhound.blogspot.com/2026/01/hickory-nc-news-views-january-25-2026.html

Topics covered:
• Time and labor value
• The shrinking center of the middle class
• Gig work and irregular income
• Why effort no longer pays the way it used to
• Hickory as a case study of a national condition

#Time · #WorkStopsPayingOff · #ShrinkingCenter · #GigWork · #LaborValue · #MiddleClass · #HickoryNC · #FoothillsCorridor · #NewsAndViews · #TheHickoryHound

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