Happy Labor Day.How soon will the US middle class disappear?

They've got me afraid.

Well, Joe,here we go with the polls. The polls show that 90% of Americans think they fall into the "middle-class" bracket while around 70% of us make less than $50,000 a year. In 2001, over 1 million more Americans slipped below the federal poverty line which is at around $18,000 yearly for a family of four. That would mean that around 33 million Americans are at risk of hunger. How many of that 33 million do you think are children? Well, nearly 13 million.

At the beginning of this century the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us "bottom feeders" had grown to levels not witnessed since the '20's. The rich got a lot richer and the poor got a LOT poorer.

According to Paul Krugman of the New York Times, "Most of the gains of the past 30 years were actually to the top 1% (of the highest 10%), rather than to the next 9%. In 1998, the top 1% started at $230,000. In turn, 60% of the gains of the top 1% went to the top 0.1%, those with incomes of more than $790,000. And almost half of those gains went to a mere 13,000 taxpayers, the 0.01%, who had an income of at least $3.6 million and an average income of $17 million."

The Congressional Budget Office says that between '79 and '97 the income of those in the middle quintile rose from $41,400 to $45,100, adjusting for inflation. A 9% increase. The income of families in the top 1% rose from $420,200 to $1.016 million, a 140% increase! So in'98 the top 1% had more income than the 100 million in the bottom 40%!

Now, what was your question? What middle class?

hi joe...just found a lecture given by Krugman at The London School of Economics in march of this year...
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEPublicLecturesAndEvents/pdf/20040526-WhitherAmericaPaulKrugman.pdf

Ain't gonna happen.

There are always going to be middle class jobs such as electricians, construction, plumbing, air conditioning etc. Those wages aren't going up to 150,000, and they're not going to drop below 30,000.

Not to mention the top 1% would be the millionaires, and I know for a fact that isn't true that they are the only ones benefiting. My income is increasing and I started from scratch. Many of my other friends who have middle class jobs are increasing as well.

The "middle class" disappearing is simply a scare tactic by socialists to try and get more taxation out of the government. And the liberal views of taxing us more to support the poor is just hindering us by providing no incentive for people to push away their welfare crutch and work. If you really want to see people strive make them work without receiving government handouts.

Here's what management's attitude is like in the real world:

What makes you so sure that I can't find someone to wire a house for under $30,ooo a year if that's all that's offered? Shucks, right now you can find folks here in New York to do that for a lot less unless the union finds out. Oops, sorry, that was probably a bad thing to say, I know we don't need any stinking unions looking out for us do we?

Why, with modular construction of houses, do I need to pay a guy $50,ooo a year because he can shoot a nail gun? So he can buy a bass boat? Give me ten guys and ten hours and I'll have ten guys who can shoot a nail gun.

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The above are approximate quotations of statements overheard.

So okay, whistle by the graveyard.

Joe

Joe - I agree with you about the middle class being in trouble, but see the causes differently.

Sooner or later, the standards of living around the world must begin to equalize. I'm not suggesting they will ever be equal, no more than salaries and housing costs are equal between New York City and Max, North Dakota. But the standards of living will become closer. And unless the U.S.A. begins to learn how to be independent in energy, and no longer run a trade deficit, we are going to be the big losers in this.

Another big problem (in my mind, probably a bigger problem than Globalism) is the bloated cancer of a government we have. Between federal and state income taxes, social security tax, sales tax, property tax ad nauseum most middle class families pay over 50% overall tax. This is a higher overall tax rate than what medieval serfs paid. And as long as a majority of our voters think the government can/should guarantee everything for everyone (such as health care) it's only going to get worse.

Nice that you and your friends are doing well. But the real fact is is that the gap between the rich and the lower wage earners continues to grow.

I agree, with sugar mamas like John Kerrys wife's slave labor company and job imports soon than later.. But ole John will always be a filthy rich snob.

I'll point you folks back at the Krugman lecture. Good statistical data there on where income is going/leaving and some bright surmise on why.

Your numbers don't jive with the census data. According to the 2000 Census data it's 59% that earn $50,000 or less. Also of note - just over 22% of households earn between the $30K Joe listed and the $50K you listed. Roughly 60% of us earn between the $30K and $150K numbers that Joe used.
http://censtats.census.gov/data/US/01000.pdf

my god...it's fishin!!!!

Hello, old chum.

chum...LOL

What's interesting, I think, is the difference between the portion of the population that is middle-class (by someone's definition) - and the proportion that thinks it is middle-class.

Middle-classness is in the eye of the beholder. Or so it would seem.

I used to be middle-class, but i couldn't keep up with the payments and still support my drug habit . . . well, we all have priorities . . .

I prefer to think of myself as impoverished upper class--a distressed gentlewoman who has fallen on hard times. Once upon a time the family did have money, but that was only one branch and that was 150 years ago.

This is methinks, largely true. Some of it might be related to the cost of living where the person asked lives. There is a big difference in the cost of living as you move around.

Thanks (I think).

Anyway, a "gap" doesn't constitute anything. Nearly all Americans are upper class in comparison to the world. A gap is a natural evolution of the productive achievers creating wealth for themselves.

The less government interference, the better the overall economy improves, including all classes. Of course the gap will widen, but a better economy makes all of those who work better off, and supplies more employment. What your socialistic policies do is create a lower standard for everyone while closing the gap.

Do you think the middle class is more a product of the government or the effort of the individual ?

The Heinz Building in Berkeley is now houses Dharma Publishing.

Conservatives wring their hands over any attempt to lend legitimacy to migrant labor (which I note someone just referred to as 'slave labor'). Who has done anything for migrant workers?

Cesar Chavez comes to mind. And I personally think they should all have ID cards and be quasi citizens. Punks on streetcorners are not going to fill those jobs.

The problem is the Prison-Military-(non-industrious) economy.

Between Bush and Kerry, I'll take Kerry.
I'll still have a little of the slowest Ketchup in the west on my fries too. And I'll make sure their fried in vegetable oil.

People complain of being presented with having to choose the lesser of two evils. The question is do they know which is which?

Poverty can come to you in spite of your excellence.

Well perhaps not to you; and maybe it ought to!