The Fall From Grace of the American Middle Class, By the Numbers

NewsMax / CNN Money ^ | June 12, 2014 | John Morgan

[2ndDivisionVet]

America's middle class has fallen to mediocre levels — the U.S. median income only qualifies for 19th in the world now, below Japan, Australia and most of Western Europe.

The bottom line is that the average Spaniard or Italian — not to mention the typical middle class denizen in 17 other countries — has more to his or her name than the average U.S. citizen does, according to CNNMoney.

Using data culled from the latest Credit Suisse Global Wealth report, CNNMoney reported Americans' median wealth is only $44,900 per adult — meaning half have more than that, and half have less.

"Americans tend to think of their middle class as being the richest in the world, but it turns out, in terms of wealth, they rank fairly low among major industrialized countries," said Edward Wolff, a New York University economics professor who studies net worth.

The U.S. middle class was damaged greatly by the housing collapse that began in 2008. The median wealth of families was $77,300 in 2010, a nearly 40 percent drop from 2007, according to Federal Reserve statistics....

[Gene Eric]

>> a nearly 40 percent drop from 2007

The idiot hasn’t done much to improve anything he blamed Bush for causing.

[Tzimisce]

It’s called “Socialism”.

Socialism is rooted in Karl Marx. He HATED the middle class and capitalism.

Using Marx’s ideas - ANY of Marx’s ideas to help the middle class is like using Hitler’s ideas to help the Jews.

But the middle class keeps voting for it. So what do you want me to say?

[RC one]

That has been my opinion for a long time and it's supported by plenty of historical evidence. Commies despise the middle class as it threatens the power hierarchy that communism seeks to create: the political elite and everybody else. Middle class folks like to talk about their rights and their constitutions and that kind of thing is wholly incompatible with socialist revolutions.

[wastoute]

See tag.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

To put this into perspective:

I was talking to one of my interpreters in Afghanistan one day and the conversation went to investments. I told him that I purchase gold and silver. He was very interested and said that his dad did the same thing. I asked him how much gold his dad had. He told me about 10 ounces.

Do you think the average American has $15K - $20K in precious metals or savings? Mind you, this guy lives in effing Afghanistan!

[2ndDivisionVet]

If you’d been in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or any random Arab sheikdom, it’d been pounds, not ounces.

[freedomfiter2]

It’s not just the socialists that despise the middle class. The crony capitalists are pushing government policies to destroy the middle class. Open borders are just one of them.

[kearnyirish2]

Bolsheviks (then and now) hate the middle class because they are usually docile and content with the status quo (and would therefore defend it against gibsmedats). Obama’s re-election was simply reflecting that the American middle class had shrunk to the point where they no longer outnumbered the gibsmedats.

When I was in college 20+ years ago, leftist professors would draw our society as a triangle (with a wide base of the poor, the middle class in the middle, and the rich at the top). At the time, a circle would have been more accurate (small lower and upper classes, and a large middle class in between). Today those professors’ portrayals would be more accurate (due to leftist policies, as well as the sale of our country to foreign interests). Romney was pilloried for saying it out loud with his 47% comment...

[Chickensoup]

Do you think the average American has $15K - $20K in precious metals or savings? Mind you, this guy lives in effing Afghanistan!

___________________

The average middle class American does not have access to the graft that this man and most of our ruling class does.

Also in third world countries people tend to put their money into portable assets. Most of the middle class would convert their current assets into much more than 15k of gold.

[CoastWatcher]

This guy is a clueless leftest moron.
First he claims that Americans’ median wealth is only $44,900 per adult and then states that median household income was down to $51,017. So accord to Mr. Twit, the average American spends his $51 K / year buying without buying anything that can be called an asset. They must be using all their income to pay back student loans.

[Tzimisce]

Go read the Communist Manifesto.

Marx is very front and center about what he thinks of the middle class. He starts on page #1 talking about how evil they are and how they should be destroyed.

There is NO debating it.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

The average middle class American does not have access to the graft that this man and most of our ruling class does. Also in third world countries people tend to put their money into portable assets. Most of the middle class would convert their current assets into much more than 15k of gold.

I'm pretty sure my interpreter's dad wasn't a shady corrupt grifter with nothing but a pot to piss in and 10 ounces of gold.

[Chickensoup]

I meant that graft is endiemic in most parts of the world and increasing in US. Many peoples in unstable parts of the world put their faith in portable assets.