Is Our "middle Class" Fading??

[Maximillian]

This was a question asked by Carla a couple of days ago and only got 5 responses to it ,I feel it is a wonderful question and ought to be addressed,so right here is the rest of Carla's question,If the present economic issues continue will we lose the "Middle Class",if we do will our weberian social class change to a Marxian social class?how will it impact life for all of us??

[Shay]

Did it ever exist? I'm not sure there ever was a middle class--just a group of working-class people that received favored status either because it pleased the upper-class to do so, or because they were briefly forced to grant it due to union activity. I hope that we are all beginning to realize that we have what we have because forces allow us to have it, and they can take our status, rights and privileges with a bit of effort at any time. I'll be glad to see the middle class go, personally--then we will all be on the same side against the billionaires! Sources: My fake middle class upbringing by two people from working class backgrounds. bigfrog 50 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Redley]

Well, the majority of the people are classified as "middle class." However, since they get the least tax breaks, they could very well be fading into the "lower class" because many are going bankrupt. MorningDew 50 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Holden]

ship jobs overseas without penalties and hiring illegals at low wages, and favoring corporate America which is devoid of all social conscience, who pilfered the life savings of all Americans, the middle class is diminishing to almost non-existent.  Our first clue should have been the demise of a large contributor of George W. Bush, ENRON.  Couple that with rising insurance premiums and health care costs that threaten to bankrupt most citizens who are trying to keep their head above water, the plight of the middle class is dire.  We were encouraged to spend by George W. Bush after 9/11, live beyond our financial means, and invest in the market, creating a false sense of wealth.  The promise of sharing in that prosperity lulled us  to sleep until the bottom fell out.  We trusted our leaders.  A wise person once said that, "Democracy demands constant vigilance."  We forgot that valuable lesson.   During the era of FDR, unions became strong because employers were taking undo advantage of the workers.  I'm from Detroit and remember the stories about the goons with baseball bats hired by Henry Ford, Sr., to discourage striking workers who were lobbying for a union.  Needless to say, there are various feelings about how powerful unions became and that salaries and benefits became out of whack.  But, with the efforts of Republican administrations(starting with Ronald Reagan), unions, that protect the working class, have been crippled.  Who can forget when Reagan fired all the air controllers.  I would like to know how many near misses we had with that little act of pique.  It boggles the mind how many Americans euligize Reagan, the era of greed.  He celebrated lifting restrictions on Wall Street, "letting the bull loose," as he said in a press conference.  I wonder what Teddy Roosevelt would feel since we are back to the era of the "Robber Barons" that he fought so hard against.    Now, everyone is confused and bewildered as to how we got here.  Just compare the salaries of CEOs in American corporations vs. the worker in the last 20 years.  It is unbelievable that you can drive a company in a ditch and retire with millions of dollars in severance and stock options!  How did it get so out of whack?  I was with a company when it endured a take-over and the new management told department heads to fire four people each(any four) and they would see the savings in their bonuses.    It would do us good to remember what made this country great was a strong work ethic, a large middle class, and the promise that you, too, could share in the American dream, with a job that would elevate your life. We let the top 2% of our society cripple the middle class; now, it's time to put laws in effect to build a strong middle class again by creating jobs, rewarding "made in America," and encouraging Americans to stop living on credit cards, and to save more.  We need to get back to basics...for some, a revolutionary and old-fashioned idea.  If this is truly a democracy, and the people have a say in the voting booth, it is time for us to act.

[Arland]

Answer: No Although the middle class was nearly wiped out under the previous administration. They tried, anyway. But hey, the super wealthy got tax cuts, thanks to their boy "W" and good ole Uncle "Dick". Maybe the national debt wouldn't be quite so bad if the super rich had paid the taxes they owed. But then again, that's why that idiot "W", was elected in the first place. I mean "chosen", not elected. riverrock 50 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[arvind]

The answer is yes. Thanks to the previous Republican administration, tax cuts to the rich, allowing manufacturers to ship jobs overseas without penalties and hiring illegals at low wages, and favoring corporate America which is devoid of all social conscience, who pilfered the life savings of all Americans, the middle class is diminishing to almost non-existent.  Our first clue should have been the demise of a large contributor of George W. Bush, ENRON.  Couple that with rising insurance premiums and health care costs that threaten to bankrupt most citizens who are trying to keep their head above water, the plight of the middle class is dire.  We were encouraged to spend by George W. Bush after 9/11, live beyond our financial means, and invest in the market, creating a false sense of wealth.  The promise of sharing in that prosperity lulled us  to sleep until the bottom fell out.  We trusted our leaders.  A wise person once said that, "Democracy demands constant vigilance."  We forgot that valuable lesson.   During the era of FDR, unions became strong because employers were taking undo advantage of the workers.  I'm from Detroit and remember the stories about the goons with baseball bats hired by Henry Ford, Sr., to discourage striking workers who were lobbying for a union.  Needless to say, there are various feelings about how powerful unions became and that salaries and benefits became out of whack.  But, with the efforts of Republican administrations(starting with Ronald Reagan), unions, that protect the working class, have been crippled.  Who can forget when Reagan fired all the air controllers.  I would like to know how many near misses we had with that little act of pique.  It boggles the mind how many Americans euligize Reagan, the era of greed.  He celebrated lifting restrictions on Wall Street, "letting the bull loose," as he said in a press conference.  I wonder what Teddy Roosevelt would feel since we are back to the era of the "Robber Barons" that he fought so hard against.    Now, everyone is confused and bewildered as to how we got here.  Just compare the salaries of CEOs in American corporations vs. the worker in the last 20 years.  It is unbelievable that you can drive a company in a ditch and retire with millions of dollars in severance and stock options!  How did it get so out of whack?  I was with a company when it endured a take-over and the new management told department heads to fire four people each(any four) and they would see the savings in their bonuses.    It would do us good to remember what made this country great was a strong work ethic, a large middle class, and the promise that you, too, could share in the American dream, with a job that would elevate your life. We let the top 2% of our society cripple the middle class; now, it's time to put laws in effect to build a strong middle class again by creating jobs, rewarding "made in America," and encouraging Americans to stop living on credit cards, and to save more.  We need to get back to basics...for some, a revolutionary and old-fashioned idea.  If this is truly a democracy, and the people have a say in the voting booth, it is time for us to act. MaryAnn 50 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Rogelio]

The phrase "Nanny State" comes to mind. For that is what Great Britain has, and the micro-managing we see there is exactly what is being offered to us here. Never mind economics: do I want a governmental inquiry because I tell a Moslem that His Mohammed never issued a successful prophecy?  danielpauldavis 50 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[lintun]

However, since they get the least tax breaks, they could very well be fading into the "lower class" because many are going bankrupt.

[Broehain]

I'm not sure there ever was a middle class--just a group of working-class people that received favored status either because it pleased the upper-class to do so, or because they were briefly forced to grant it due to union activity. I hope that we are all beginning to realize that we have what we have because forces allow us to have it, and they can take our status, rights and privileges with a bit of effort at any time. I'll be glad to see the middle class go, personally--then we will all be on the same side against the billionaires!

[Chap]

Although the middle class was nearly wiped out under the previous administration. They tried, anyway. But hey, the super wealthy got tax cuts, thanks to their boy "W" and good ole Uncle "Dick". Maybe the national debt wouldn't be quite so bad if the super rich had paid the taxes they owed. But then again, that's why that idiot "W", was elected in the first place. I mean "chosen", not elected.