Comments on: Middle Class Feeling The Financial Squeeze
Study: More Middle-Class Americans Say They Aren't Better Off Than They Were 5 Years Ago
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- Get rid of entrenched incumbents.
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- Our problem is not illegal immigration. Immigrants are cleaning houses and doing landscaping and farming. Those are not middle class jobs.
Our problem is outsourcing of HIGH PAYING jobs to China, Thailand, Indonesia, etc.
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Posted by concorde5 at 11:15 AM : Apr 10, 2008
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That is not true entirely, they have taken over construction jobs, which were most definitely skilled middle class jobs, they have moved into once unionizes janitorial jobs. breaking the union and forcing the pay back down to minimum wage. These are only two situations I know of off the top of my head. I am sure there are more. - Reply to this comment
- ...the 53 percent of adults in the country who define themselves as "middle class," with household incomes ranging from below $40,000 to more than $100,000.
Notice the 53% figure is based on a ''self-defined'' parameter. Since when is ''below $40,000'' middle-class?
Personally, in the current wage-price-cost structure, with family members, I don''t think you''re talking middle-class unless you''re earning at least $80,000 per year. I think official govt calculators also set the figure higher than 40.
And, if this is the case, the middle class is a quickly shrinking segment of the income distribution.
The result being, it''s getting smaller and smaller as prices keep going up and up! Not good! - Reply to this comment
- Our problem is not illegal immigration. Immigrants are cleaning houses and doing landscaping and farming. Those are not middle class jobs.
Our problem is outsourcing of HIGH PAYING jobs to China, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. - Reply to this comment
- A return to the tax tables of the ''50s and ''60''s would be the best solution for the national debt.
"to whom much is given, much is expected''. Elvis Presley paid 90% taxes and lived well. We have people making millions and paying little taxes...remember Warren Buffet''s story about how he paid a lower tax rate than some of his employees?
Forgive me, but I think Hillary Clinton is the only Presidential contender who will try to fix this, and she ain''t gonna win because of America''s gross stupidity. - Reply to this comment
- The vanishing middle class better start screaming about the illegals in this country and put a stop to anchor babies, sanctuary cities, the hiring of illegals and the massive entitlements the arrogant political leaders so freely dole out. This has got to stop, but I guess until the wallet is hit, these middle class won''t get motivated to start speaking out to their congress people, council people, the Whitehouse and anyone in the chain. The illegals have to be deported and our borders to Mexico closed.
No more of this outrageous rape of the citizenry! - Reply to this comment
- American workers should not have to compete with people in third world countries making two dollars a day.
This new Columbian trade agreement that Bush wants to enact is representative of the problem. Columbia charges up to 35% tarrifs on American goods that are imported to that country.
We charge NO tarrifs on Columbian goods that are imported into the US.
Why don''t we charge tarrifs on goods imported into the US that will level the playing field. Then americans are competing fairly with the rest of the world.
Bush is so quick to threaten every country that is no threat to us, but the countries that represent a true threat, like China, he gives an nod and wink.
As long as americans are competing on a level playing field, we will do well. The deck is stacked against us and our politicians do absolutely NOTHING about it.
It''s time for a change.
Obama 08!! - Reply to this comment
- "More Middle-Class Americans Say They Aren''t Better Off Than They Were 5 Years Ago"
NO sh*t. I guess it would help if we had some, even a little, representation in D.C..
Impeach Bush/Cheney, and I mean put them in prison. - Reply to this comment
- The problem is stagnant wages for the middle class and the poor. Wages haven''t kept up with inflation.
Who is to blame? Big corporations and politicans. They both have conspired to rob the american people so they can line their own pockets.
With the loss of manufacturing jobs, a College degree has become worth much less than it used to be. In the past, high paying factory jobs kept upward pressure on salaries for people with degrees. Now that there are no high paying factory jobs, people with college degrees have seen their wages stagnate and even reverse in many cases.
We should have sent all those factory jobs to Mexico and maybe we wouldn''t have the illegal immigration problem we now have. But corporate fat cats had to send the jobs to China to ensure that we will have a steady supply of cheap labor in the form of illegal immigrants.
It''s a shame we have been sold out by our politicians.
It''s time for a change.
Obama 08!!!!! - Reply to this comment
- Securely loacked in the middle range of the "Middle Class" I have gone backwards. Our yearly review and merit increases don''t keep up with cost of living increases or my companies making me pay more for my share of benefits. For doing such a great job, my emplyers sure doesn''t show it.
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Author Thomas Friedman on Obama's Afghanistan plan and the war on terror.
