Angry cries of America's 'outsourced' middle class

The Arizona Republic ^ | 03.09.04 | E.J. Montini

[Beck_isright]

Among those who apparently didn't listen to the 43-year-old unemployed woman whose recorded message was posted online last week by The Republic were Arizona's Jon Kyl and John McCain, along with 24 of their Senate colleagues, all of them collecting fat government paychecks.

[Texasforever]

think creating over 600,000 to 700,000 government or government related jobs in the last 3 years is plenty

Yes but this bill all of you are demanding Bush sign or else is for GOVERNMENT WORK. Do you not see the irony in your rant? LOL

[clamper1797]

Oh and ... where exactly did I write that I turned down a viable position.

[Monty22]

110

[dalebert]

I keep reading about outsourcing but I still don't know anyone who is out of a job and the unemployment rate is not that high. The people I know who lost jobs have new jobs and the ones that don't either have started their own company or are in school working toward a career change.

[FreeReign]

January 2001 Employment - 136.0 million

January 2004 Employment - 138.566 million

Shhhh!

[templar]

The Consumer Price Index shows the increase for the year of 2003 was 1.9% meaning wages and benefits increased at DOUBLE the rate of inflation.

I don't think your read my post very carefully. Why don't you go look up what the consumer price index includes and how it is figured and then compare it to what the middle class and lower people have to spend to maintain their lives. I gave a very precise example from my own life, and everyone I know concurs that their situations are similar. increasing credit card debt is reflective of a real wage loss, as are several other indicators that also aren't considered, such as number of bankruptcies.

You can believe whatever figures are fed to you by the overlords as you wish, but most people are going to look at their personal conditions to determine if their wages have actually gone up or not.

[bvw]

We must have a pretty prosperous society if 8.2 million workers can lose all their income and just be absorbed and become invisible to the unemployment stats by becoming dependants on by relatives who are making enough money to support them.

Of all your scoffing on thread, this statement, alone, has some merit. But the word is not "prosperous", exactly. We, the US of A, used to be prosperous. Meaning we made things, we traded for benefits, we grew, we prospered. Now we are, net out, something else entirely.

Living off of captial, okay, but not so much. It's worse.

Borrowing is not prosperity. We are still the richest, free-est and most powerful nation ever. But we have taken on a bad habit, and only by begging from tomorrow are we paying today's bills.

[rdb3]

What does "outsourcing" have to do with class warfare?

First, look at the title of the thread.

According to FR's Populist Brigade (FRPB), it has everything to do with class warfare. The FRPB argues "middle class" all day long. They are every bit as much of class warriors as the Left is.

Every bit.

Show 'em my motto!

[Ches]

"The people I know who lost jobs have new jobs"

LOL! I'll stop in at WalMart and tell them hi.

[Will_Zurmacht]

I'd have to agree with you. Real or not, many people are scared. If not scared, they are uneasy.

As an aside, I am amazed by the numbers of middle age folks coming back to college, to finish degrees, or get sesond, even third ones.
Many of the recent grads are doing the same thing. Something is very odd in this picture. Many folks have ebeen sold a bill of goods regarding education, that it will protect you.
Just has competence and skills didn't save the blue collar worker, neither will papers and advanced degrees save the white collar worker.

In fact, I think it's getting to the point that experience, training, and education are making you.....less desirable (more expensive) as an employee, at least in the Multi-National Mega Corp view of things.

Why hire a highly skilled American Engineer, (Accountant, Technican, etc.) when you can hire an Indian (Pakistani, Chineese) with the same basic training at much less cost.

A few will make it, certain professions, but not all. Software/Most Tech/Accounting/Finance is staring over an abyss. Between foreign competition and advanced software, it's over except for the truely elite. Remember, if it can be done over a data link, it can be done cheaper elsewhere. We'll still need a few doctors though, but a great deal of health care can be done via web/data link or by lower paid workers, for example. Maybe Bio-Tech will fill a bit of the gap.

Another survivable class is the self-employed, hopefully in a niche that simply demands people doing things. (until crushed by Mega Corp Competition....don't believe me?...
Imagine a MegaWalMart and Home Depot/PepBoys combo, with plumbers/electricians/carpets/painting on call, full auto service from tires to paint to engine rebuilds, etc, even baby/child care...hehe)

The middling class will linger on. Some will drop out entirely, end their addiction to debt/credit, lower their standard of living and their dreams and expectations and they'll survive. The rest will sink with the masses.

The vast majority will live in a America that bears a striking resemblance to Tijuana or Brazil, not a "shining city on a hill". The isolated projects of old could easily become the majority of Urban America tomorrow.

The super rich will live ensconced in their seperate communities, telling us how we should do more to help the poor.....hehe

Sound bleak? Nah, if you aren't slightly worried, you simply aren't paying attention.

We're not done in America, at least not yet. The next decade will either doom us or redeem us. after that the die is cast for a few generations.....

[Drammach]

Vote for the 3rd-party or INDependant candidates..

Put a bunch of "newbies" and "troublemakers" in office..
Some of them will even act according to their principles, at least for a few years..

If nothing else, a large influx of non-major-party related representatives in congress will shake things up a bit..

[oceanview]

does it include taxes and housing costs (inflation in the price of acquiring a home)? are they still excluding food and energy, because no one eats or uses gasoline?

[txdoda]

Now maybe we can get W to create some private sector jobs for non-Mexican legal American citizens >>>>>>>>>

Yeah, well W better get *real* busy on creating those jobs......'cause ONE mexican border town had 34,000 'pass thru' LAST MONTH.

Link to ONE *poor* little mexican town that had 34,000 invaders come thru, LAST MONTH on their way north, to INVADE....but, Fox has found the money to get them well enough to make the trip.


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1094071/posts

(snip)
From Feb. 1 to Friday, more than 34,000 people arrived in this Mexican town from Altar, a town of about 15,000 two hours south of the border. The Red Cross ambulance targeted the local drop-off point to treat migrants who needed medical attention while Grupo Beta trucks headed into the desert to watch for bandits and to make sure the soon-to-be-illegal border crossers were aware of the dangers they faced.

[FreeReign]

According to FR's Populist Brigade (FRPB), it has everything to do with class warfare. The FRPB argues "middle class" all day long. They are every bit as much of class warriors as the Left is.

Yes, there ARE some class warfare posts on this thread.

[FITZ]

I guess it didn't take Argentina too long to destroy it's large middle class and now half live the population lives in poverty.

[Texasforever]

LOL! I'll stop in at WalMart and tell them hi.

Well those that work at WallMart have job. Do you?

[NCjim]

Mark for later reading...

[CWOJackson]

Good thing Walmart ONLY sells cheap products made by slave labor...it gives us poor folk someplace to buy the cat food we eat.

[jpsb]

If any real choice reveals itself (third party get over 5% in polls) I'm there.