The rise and FALL of the american middle class,

Is it  me but are things getting more expensive? are we making the money we are worth? Is there even a middle class? I remember growing up in a middle class household.  We was not rich but we was not poor either. Can we say this today? Does middle class even exist any more? or is it just rich and poor?

The rise and FALL of the American middle-class, back to the bad old days

America is changing and most people know this but don’t know how it is changing and what it will become.

It took America decades to build a middle class.  In early rural America most people were poor and relied on their own actions to grow their own food and supply their own service; volunteer fire departments, police, schools, etc.

With the industrial revolution jobs were created in factories, mines, oil fields and the workers were mistreated, worked 60 to 80 hours per week, had no benefits and there were no regulations protecting worker safety.  Unions and political reformers fought for worker rights and for regulations that changed the face of America.

The Christian hypocrites and Republicans fought all the laws that protect workers and the environment as being against freedom; the freedom of the rich to oppress the poor.    

We now have a 40 hour work week; over-time pay, worker safety regulations, some have benefits, social security, Medicare, and a stable middle class. 

We have regulations protecting our environment and all this had to be fought for against the Republicans, the greed businesses and the rich, who wanted no such society.

What is a middle class?  A middle class person is a person making a living wage with some disposable income to spend or save.  Without this class the country is either rich or poor.  Without a middle class there is no middle class economy driving consumer products and services. 

Unless you make a middle class wage you can’t buy a home; a new car, appliances, go on vacation, own a vacation home, own a boat, you can’t afford to have healthcare and many other things that benefit both the individual and society.  All this came because of laws passed to protect the majority, those who work for a living.

Things changed with the advent of technology and worldwide transportation systems.  We created a worldwide economy.  This allowed multi-national companies in America to move most middle class manufacturing jobs toCommunist China where they can pay slave wages, avoid regulations that protect the worker, the environment and the consumer.  These companies moved all customer service jobs to India for similar reasons.

Estimates are that over 10 million middle class jobs were eliminated by corporations so they could maximize profits for the richest Americans and theirCEOs.  Republicans even provide huge tax benefits to corporations that moved American jobs to Communist China, a dictatorship with no freedom of speech, press or religion and no democracy.

These jobs took with them another 10 million jobs that relied on these jobs.  Most of these jobs provided benefits in the form of healthcare and retirement programs.  

The middle class jobs eliminated by greedy corporations were replaced with minimum wage jobs with no benefits at Wal-Mart and the Mall.  These jobs don’t provide a living wage and have no real disposable income to drive our economy.  These jobs don’t benefit America; they only benefit the corporation and their rich stockholders.  

Without a middle class we will go back to a society of a few very obscenely rich people, about 10% of Americans and 90% will be the working poor, with no benefits and no disposable income.

This didn’t just happen.  It was planned and executed by the rich and their Republican allies in their war on America.

Everybody's Business NY TIMES

Warren Buffett -In Class Warfare, Guess Which Class Is Winning

By BEN STEIN

Published: November 26, 2006

“There’s class warfare, all right,” Mr. Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Warren Buffett the second richest man in America, his net worth is over $40 billion has had the guts to tell the truth about what is happening to America – he even brags about his class, the rich, winning the class war.

The final act was played out during the 8 years of Republican control with Bush at the helm.  Low tax rates on the rich and big corporations and the elimination of all programs except those for the military.  No regulations on business to control fraud and mismanagement of banks and Wall Street, followed by a $2 trillion taxpayer bailout of the crooks.

The solutions; raise the personal income tax to 50% for all income over $150,000, limit lifetime capital gains tax at $5 million per person, tax all corporate revenues at 2% of gross revenues.  Enact universal healthcare immediately; give block grants to the poorest cities and school districts to save all their jobs and to create another 10 million middle class jobs for teachers, firemen, policemen, and social workers and maintenance workers.  

Am I right?  What do you think?