Signs of the U.S. middle class in crisis!

[signalmankenneth]

Two recessions, a couple of market crashes, and stubbornly high unemployment are all wreaking havoc on America's middle class.

In the accompanying interview, The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task discusses the state of the middle class with Sherle Schwenninger, director of economic growth and American strategy programs at the New America Foundation.

Schwenninger's recent report "The American Middle Class Under Stress" has some stunning facts that highlight the struggles the average American is having getting a decent-paying job and keeping up with rising cost of living.

http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/the_american_middle_class_under_stress

Here are just some of the sobering facts:

-- There are 8.5 million people receiving unemployment insurance and over 40 million receiving food stamps.

-- At the current pace of job creation, the economy won't return to full employment until 2018.

-- Middle-income jobs are disappearing from the economy. The share of middle-income jobs in the United States has fallen from 52% in 1980 to 42% in 2010.

-- Middle-income jobs have been replaced by low-income jobs, which now make up 41% of total employment.

-- 17 million Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor's degree.

-- Over the past year, nominal wages grew only 1.7% while all consumer prices, including food and energy, increased by 2.7%.

-- Wages and salaries have fallen from 60% of personal income in 1980 to 51% in 2010. Government transfers have risen from 11.7% of personal income in 1980 to 18.4% in 2010, a post-war high.

The bottom line is simple says Schwenninger: The middle class is shrinking, which threatens the social composition and stability of the world's biggest economy. "I worry that we're becoming a barbell society - a lot of money wealth and power at the top, increasing hollowness at the center, which I think provides the stability and the heart and soul of the society... and then too many people in fear of falling down."

By Peter Gorenstein

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

and this is happening under your beloved leaders watch....but you will never criticize obama

that said...the article is has just a bit hyperbole

 

[Damocles]

Actually not much, it is a pessimistic view I'd say but not necessary hyperbolic, now the "Third World Status" thread, that was hyperbole.

All of the things it says are real, and it looks at it with a strong pessimism and an assumption that we'll continue on the same path. I just don't think the voters will allow us to continue on this path to fail.

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

Actually not much, it is a pessimistic view I'd say but not necessary hyperbolic, now the "Third World Status" thread, that was hyperbole.

All of the things it says are real, and it looks at it with a strong pessimism and an assumption that we'll continue on the same path. I just don't think the voters will allow us to continue on this path to fail.

the article and facts fail to state the reason why. we have more low income jobs because we have more fast food jobs, more agriculture jobs etc.... while we have more lawyers, doctors etc...they do not equal the number of people who work in malls, fast food, agriculture etc.

the death of the middle class has been predicted for a long time. it won't happen in this country. the wealthy (the smart ones for the most part) understand this. the wealthy know that the robber baron days do not make them more wealthy. a larger middle class makes them more wealthy.

 

[signalmankenneth]

and this is happening under your beloved leaders watch....but you will never criticize obama

that said...the article is has just a bit hyperbole

The republicans outsourced a lot of our middle class jobs to other countries, why pay someone here $60,000 a year, when you can pay someone in India $20,000 to $30,000 to do the same job at a lower wage too! These companies that outsource these jobs, get's tax breaks from the government too?!! Most of this happen under GWB!

 

[/MSG/]

The republicans outsourced a lot of our middle class jobs to other countries, why pay someone here $60,000 a year, when you can pay someone in India $20,000 to $30,000 to do the same job at a lower wage too! These companies that outsource these jobs, get's tax breaks from the government too?!! Most of this happen under GWB!

Most of it happened under Clinton actually, and if you continued to produce those commodities here in America, it would raise the cost of said goods proportionally with the increase in salary cost.

 

[Cancel 2018. 3]

The republicans outsourced a lot of our middle class jobs to other countries, why pay someone here $60,000 a year, when you can pay someone in India $20,000 to $30,000 to do the same job at a lower wage too! These companies that outsource these jobs, get's tax breaks from the government too?!! Most of this happen under GWB!

only republicans have outsourced? come on kenneth.....get a grip on reality

 

[Topspin]

I think it's really cute that a student like kenneth is trying to understand.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

The middle class has no one to blame, for the most part but themselves. It is the nature of the wealthy, particularly old money, to accumulate and concentrate as much wealth and power into their hands as possible and then do what ever is required politically to hold on to that wealth and power. In our nation, the middle class has a choice. They have the numbers. They have the political power. They can exercise that power to level the playing field too but what do most in the middle class do? Do they start up businesses? No. Do they go back to college to learn new technologies and marketable skills? Do they work together politically to create an economic agenda that advances their interests? Fuck do they even work a few extra hours on the weekends? Hell no.

They don't pursue a college education or if they do they major in Mikey Mouse majors like history, sociology, economics and art history. They don't take the tough classes where you learn skills and if their not college minded do they bother to learn a skilled trade like, plumbing, electricians, machinist, etc? No. That or they just prefer to sit at home on their fat asses after coming home from work at their lousy paying service sector job and focus on guzzling Budweiser with cheese nachos and fried chicken wings while they watch football and NASCAR and bitch and moan about how rough they got it. There also so uninformed that there easy prey for politicians who manipulate them as idiots by convincing them that guns, gays, abortion and other divide and conquer wedge issues are of more importance then economic issues are.

If the middle class in our nation wants to improve it's lot in life their pissing up a rope if they think anyone is going to do it for them. They need to get off their collective fat asses and do something about it.