Sarcastic Meme About 3% Raise vs Higher Inflation

When you get a 3% raise but inflation is 5.6%

This is a single-panel sarcastic meme. Text at the top reads "When you get a 3% raise but inflation is 5.6%". Below the text is the well-known "Hide the Pain Harold" stock photo: an older white man with white hair and a white beard, wearing a light blue button-up shirt, sitting at an office desk that has a laptop, eyeglasses, and a coffee mug on it. He gives a thumbs up with a wide, forced-looking cheerful grin. The joke uses the iconic sarcastic Harold template to illustrate that a 3% raise is effectively a pay cut when adjusted for 5.6% inflation, so the positive gesture is ironic, representing the act of pretending to be happy about disappointing financial news.

This meme is a remix of the widely used "Hide the Pain Harold" stock photo meme template, which is commonly used for sarcastic reactions to unpleasant or disappointing situations that people are socially expected to react positively to. This specific iteration was shared on X (formerly Twitter) from the account @meme.jpg, and distributed via RSS feed.