The entry level salary for a US restaurant worker is $30,000. That number also puts them at around the 50% mark for the globally richest people, when measured by income.

These debts are not just held by people who are unemployed. Given around 1 in 5 Americans already self-identify as having a disability, and most disabled people can't get employment, there are a lot of people who aren't even hitting $30k. The trend of increasing disability prevalence will also continue with an aging population, more people contracting long COVID and climate-change and environmentally influenced health problems that come with polluted air/water and extreme weather events.

How is it that the richest people in the world can't afford to live but also can't afford time off work to protest the own government's internal policies? It's a little weird to me that people aren't on the street in the US protesting about slow death from economic inequality, but the Palestine genocide protests have been huge. Granted, the Levantine has a pretty strong cultural tradition and pride around protests.

I honestly don't know. I'm just thinking out loud about why protests only really happen with immediate events and how political movements mobilize. Maybe this is actually a media coverage issue rather than a people motivation issue.

it’s a little weird to me that people aren’t on the street in the US protesting

You literally say it in the sentence above: we can’t afford to. Best case you lose wages. Worst case you get fired, then you have literally no wages and also no health insurance.