American middle class dream is slipping away

Yahoo India News (IANS) ^ | January 27, 2010

[wbill]

health insurance, education, childcare or housing

I'd need to think about it, but "Health Insurance" might not even make my top 5 in expenditures. And I pay out of pocket for mine.

#1? Taxes, easily. I pay far more in income tax than I made at my first professional job. And that doesn't include gas tax, sales tax, property tax (that's huge!), city services taxes, and a bunch of other ones that I'm forgetting.

[american colleen]

So very sorry for you and your family. Stinks - been there, done that but got very lucky recently and landed a job.

IMO, it's all about jobs - a big company has got to step up and see the devastation for American workers when we ship everything possible overseas and ignite the foreign middle class (which is akin to the American lower class in most cases). If you work for a company that doesn't outsource, they cannot compete with companies who do.

Short sighted on salaries too - love it when common wisdom says that Americans make too much money (yet look at the article above and explain how we attain 'middle class') but yet supposedly we need much more education like the people have overseas where the jobs have been shipped. Which costs Americans a lot of money - kids are graduating with major college loans. The companies don't pay the overseas people enough to buy their products and slowly but surely, we can't afford it either when we have no job (or take a cut in pay).

Can't just blame Obama for this either - Bush & most Repubs are on the same page as far as the global economy mindset.

Good luck to you - I sincerely hope your fortunes change soon.

[freespirited]

The American dream is attainable, but if we don't attack the big problems today, whether it's health insurance, education, childcare or housing, it will be harder for more and more American families to reach the middle class,'' said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

I spent a lot of time around people like Locke. Due to their liberal idiocy, they cannot appreciate that the more gummint meddles, the more the end product/service costs.

Housing, health insurance, and childcare are indeed valuable and important. If we want to control costs, gummint needs to meddle less and let the free market work.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

Since the 1990s, according to the report, housing prices have risen 56 percent, college tuitions 60 percent and health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs 155 percent.

I agree with your comment about 2% inflation.

My parents purchased their house in the 1960s and had it paid off in about 5 years. It is a 4 bedroom ranch on about 4 acres of land. My dad also has a cabin a few miles away on 8 acres of land. My dad worked in a factory and had a very modest income. He also sent me and my twin brother to college simultaneously.

There is no way a working class blue collar Joe these days could possibly afford to do all that.

[familyop]

"Can anyone be a bigger nitwit? This idiot lays out the things people desire as big problems, but fails to mention the thing that enables people to obtain all those things for themselves: economic opportunity and good jobs."

Here's some commentary without respect for the sponsored, bipartisan political propaganda. I haven't watched television so-called news for a few years here.

The kind of Democrats who would tax and spend to support industry and jobs went away before the Clintons were in office. Now Democrats do as Republicans do: support big government for "women's" and "children's" sakes (breaking the potential competition--families--for favored constituents (see incomes from foreign manufacturing), before it rises).

The problem for the constituents with controlling interest in their politicians, is that they're headed for the big default. It's scaring them into hysteria, and the so-called news has been putting that hysteria on display.

Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public: Alice Schroeder
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=ahD2WoDAL9h0
[Title and link only, as no content from Bloomberg is allowed to be posted at FR.]

Intelligent Investing Panel
Going Great Guns
Forbes
David Serchuk, 04.23.09
"Thomas:...But, you know, you could always find another job that would pay all right, and pay slightly above minimum wage, could allow you to at least live and have a home in most communities. And I think that's slowly changed."
[...]
"Forbes: I was in Colorado, and I knew people who had 200, 300 guns. And they'd stash them in various hidden places around their compound. This wasn't all that uncommon out west."
[...]
"Sonders:...we have gone from a couple decades ago being a manufacturing economy to more of a service-oriented, information economy. That has just displaced permanently a lot of workers,..."


Have fun, and enjoy the ride. Interesting times are on the way.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Statement: "American middle class dream is slipping away"

Response: Not slipping away but being taken away.

Comment: The middle class, commencing at the end of WWII, accumulated enormous wealth expressed in the form of realty and personal property such as pensions. This pool of wealth had to be taken to provide income for political supporters. In general, the taking is being accomplished through taxation,destruction of wealth producing employers, collapsing stock,realty values and 401k's etc.

[Niuhuru]

Clever.

[GailA]

The more they various levels of government tax in taxes the less likely any dream will be realized. Trickle DOWN DESTRUCTION of the economy does not work...ask Louie 16 and Marie A...who over taxed the lower class into revolt.

The new Demonrat mantra! Woof, woof, let granny eat dog food...spoof on 'let them eat cake'. obama's war on seniors

See the links in post 43-46 and on the last page.

Expanding support for families balancing work with caring for elderly relatives with a $102.5 million Caregiver Initiative adding $52.5 million in funding to Department of Health and Human Services caregiver support programs that provide temporary respite care, counseling, training, and referrals to critical services. The administration says the extra funding will allow nearly 200,000 additional caregivers to be served and 3 million more hours of respite care to be provided. It also adds $50 million to programs that provide transportation help, adult day care, and in-home services, such as aides to help seniors bathe and cook, help which eases the burden for family members and helps seniors stay in their homes.

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/01/obama-puts-social-security-chopping-block

[Boucheau]

There is a lot more economic trouble and agony out there than we are seeing—courtesy of our Dear Leader’s Media.

This is inexcusable in the USA. We know who is to blame and they MUST be held accountable.

This is what they want, you know. I mean, if you hate capitalism and wealth, then what is the alternative?

That’s me giving these communist bastards the benefit of the doubt. That’s me doing my best to avoid sounding like an alarmist.

Having said that...

I will add that the time for us to resist with everything we have might be just after some big event. One big “terrorist attack”, for example, and these power mongers might get all they need to end our way of life, forever. Don’t let it surprise you.

[polymuser]

“American middle class dream is slipping away”

No, it’s been shipped away. Off-shored. Out-sourced.

Our loss of manufacturing is the loss of our middle class. Textiles, steel, electronics, cars & parts, produce, etc., etc., etc. And it’s been shipped away by business leaders. The reasons are many, including excessive taxation and regulation, but it is they that sent the work away.

[spectre]

OMG. I'm so sorry to read that. Things aren't good out there at all.

sw

[familyop]

"I mean, if you hate capitalism and wealth, then what is the alternative?"

"The alternative" is what we're seeing all around us, employed by government and by foreign debt through government. The well-to-do of now are the alternative. They hate American capitalism and prefer the twisted capitalism practiced by foreign communist dictatorships. The alternatives in power over our country now are the libertine hippie generation.

I look forward to the big default. That will cut spending. And no, government creation of more financial instruments won't keep the spending going (as we are beginning to see proven), because money that is not based on the manufacturing of useful products is worthless money.

[redgolum]

The “middle class” is a very recent and unique thing.

In the past there was those who had wealth, and those who were slaves.

[Woebama]

That’s a good point. I guess inflation does compound.

[cherry]

its going to be govt workers vs the rest of us....pensions vs no pensions....free medical vs high cost and taxed medical ....oh,and throw in the forgiveness of education loans.....

hide income...cheat on taxes...fudge numbers....apply for govt disability early and lie if you have too.....the zero govt gives the real workers no choice but to become dishonest...

[airborne]

I think it’s time for a government shut down, like what happened when Clinton and Monica hooked up.

Maybe if we’re lucky, Barack and Rahm will get caught in the act! ;^)