Angry cries of America's 'outsourced' middle class

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

[valkyrieanne]

Factor in inflation and that is a loss of real wages. I don't know what the government is claiming inflation is now days (I consider their figures phony and pay little attention to them), but I keep very accurate records (for tax purposes, I'm self employed) and my base costs for living in Feb 2004 were slightly above 10 percent higher than Feb 2003. By basic costs, I mean the ones that are absolutely essential for my life as an American, i.e. Heat, Vehicle fuel, food, housing, clothing, vehicle repairs (I schedule the same basic maintenance every February, tune up, alignment, etc.), electricity, water, phone, etc.

Medical insurance costs have been going up 10-15% *per year.* Obviously it can't continue like that forever, but when so many people have to pay their own medical insurance (like self-employed people, or those laid off at age 50-55), that cost becomes a significant factor in the household budget.

[KantianBurke]

Your comment was uncalled for. If you're ever unlucky enough to suffer through some tough times here's hoping your attitude doesn't turn those who would come to ur aid off.

[lelio]

Right now people are racking up credit card and home equity debt like crazy, because they're banking on future inflation to wipe that debt down.

Nope, they are spending on credit cards as they're just plain greedy and want a 2nd DVD player. Pay no attention to that man in the bankruptcy court line!

I wish the BLS would get their act together and stop trying to massage the PPI number into their "Rosy Forecaster V2.0" model and just present the raw data. Then they can move on to coalescing state bankruptcy figures into one manageable report.

Its going to be interesting seeing what happens in 3 years when people that had no business whatsoever buying a home but were sucked into it via low interest rate games are forced to sell it off. Might be a good time to pick up some cheap homes.

[Monty22]

Looking over your little quips and comments in the forum, I made a mistake for assuming you were anyone of any intellect. Sorry.

[clamper1797]

I may not be starving ... but I have pretty much lost my house. Thought I had a job after 7 months of unemployment ( and 17 months out of the last 24) but it seems to have fallen through.

The true idiots are the ones who are NOT listening to us

[claptrap]

Do they have an internet connection or kiosk at the shelter Monty22?

[Monty22]

As I explained, I barely avoided that fate. But now I'm getting offshored.

[raloxk]

sorry to hear that. Ihave been unemployed since Oct 2001, but I have also tunred down some offers recently so I cannot complain

[Ches]

"By basic costs, I mean the ones that are absolutely essential for my life as an American,"

Bingo! Tell me, are CD players still getting cheaper? Haven't bought one of those for years but I had to pay my electric bill this month and I filled up my truck this morning. My business accounting shows the same thing.

[Texasforever]

What comment? Do you mean my "no comment"? Give it a rest.

[lelio]

Medical insurance costs have been going up 10-15% *per year.*

And so have housing prices (although rents are falling). How the government can claim we have sub 1% inflation is beyond me.

Well it isn't entirely beyond my non-economist brain: they perform trickery. Like saying that a family can switch from eating expensive beef to eating cheaper chicken as being an equal trade, and not a sign of increasing prices. Hey, they're still getting their calories, right?

[jpsb]

I simply think Bush and his economic team really don't know what is going on.

They don't, they are the pampered sons of the wealthy elites and it's all a game to them. This will be the first election since 1968 that I will not vote in. I used to tell friends that it was important to vote that the great issues of the day were decided in elections. Well, I was wrong and my friends that told me that voting was a waste of time, and that "they are all thieves" were right. I intent spend this election with my friends at my bar laughing at all the fools that think either the rats or the gop is going to do any damn thing to help anyone other then themselves.

In 94 I worked hard to elect a GOP congress. Waste of time.

[Monty22]

Now playing innocent. Sounds like a clintonite now.

[Monty22]

Now playing innocent. Sounds like a clintonite now.

[CWOJackson]

My...you've angered him.

So tell me more about this little fan wench?

[Texasforever]

Now playing innocent. Sounds like a clintonite now.

Stop whining. Geeze

[Luis Gonzalez]

"I have been unemployed since Oct 2001"

But you can afford internet access?

[FITZ]

If telling someone off when they explain their hard times and belittling you for it is 'conservative' I may want to have no part of this whole damn movement anymore.

No --- someone like that is not a conservative. When the Founding Fathers wrote "in the eyes of God all men are created equal" they were setting up a country where the average ordinary guy could make it to a middle class lifestyle as long as he was willing to work. People didn't have to be extraordinarily talented and perfectly healthy to succeed in the America set up by them. The majority could be middle class and any poor guy could leave the poor class and just by working be middle class.

[Jorge]

"For the 12 months ending in December, workers' wages and benefits grew by 3.8 percent, compared with a 3.4 percent increase in 2002."

Factor in inflation and that is a loss of real wages.

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.

[clamper1797]

Internet is free on net zero ...jerk