Our middle class is disappearing , ask why

[redmill]

and by whom ? .....comments please and keep it real. ......Is there a savior to this problem , if so who ?

[fedup]

24 minutes ago, redmill said:

and by whom ? .....comments please and keep it real. ......Is there a savior to this problem , if so who ?

The Liberals and their liberalism. 

We had the nearest thing to a savior but the Liberals lied to get rid of him. Now we are seeing the results of their actions in super sonic speed. 

[fedup]

The number of people actually in the middle class has dwindled. Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults were considered middle class in 1971, dropping to just 50% in 2021, according to an analysis from Pew Research Center. Fewer Americans consider themselves to be middle class than they did before the Great Recession.Nov 2, 2022

 

Middle-class U.S. families have been treading water for decades—weighed down by stalled income growth and rising prices—but the runaway inflation that has emerged from the pandemic is sending more than a ripple of frustration through their ranks. The pandemic seemed at first as if it might offer a chance to catch up; they kept their jobs as the service sector laid off millions, their wages started climbing at a faster rate as companies struggled to find workers, and they began saving more than they had for decades. About one-third of middle-income Americans felt that their financial situation had improved a year into the pandemic, according to Pew Research, as they quarantined at home while benefiting from stimulus checks, child tax credits, and the pause of federal student-­loan payments.

 

But 18 months later, they increasingly suspect that any sense of financial security was an illusion. They may have more money in the bank, but being middle class in America isn’t only about how much you make; it’s about what you can buy with that money. Some people measure that by whether a family has a second refrigerator in the basement or a tree in the yard, but Richard Reeves, director of the Future of the Middle Class Initiative at the Brookings Institution, says that what really matters is whether people feel that they can comfortably afford the “three H’s”—housing, health care, and higher education.

In the past year alone, home prices have leaped 20% and the cost of all goods is up 8.5%. Families are paying $3,500 more this year for the basic set of goods and services that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) follows than they did last year. Average hourly earnings, by contrast, are down 2.7% when adjusted for inflation. That squeeze has left many who identify as middle class reaching to afford the three H’s, especially housing. In March, U.S. consumer sentiment reached its lowest level since 2011, according to the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, and more households said they expected their finances to worsen than at any time since May 1980.

 

https://time.com/6171292/middle-class-falling-behind-economy/

 

But 18 months later,

In the past year alone

And just who has been running this country in the last 18 months plus??????

 

[redmill]

I always , for years , have thought America was a war minded economy . Now we are inching to that again .

 

 

 

 

[Petee]

The war is spiritual.  We as Americans have diluted the spirit of America to the point that showing it is a joke or a hate crime.  Of yes, we occasionally show a little of it, but without a picnic and some partying involved, no one cares to expend the energy.  

APATHY!

God gave us this land just as surely and He gave Palestine to the Hebrews.  Their prophecy came true.  Now, will we lose ours because we have done our best and worst to remove Yahweh from our society?  Getting Him back in strength is the entire key!

[fedup]

36 minutes ago, Petee said:

The war is spiritual.  We as Americans have diluted the spirit of America to the point that showing it is a joke or a hate crime.  Of yes, we occasionally show a little of it, but without a picnic and some partying involved, no one cares to expend the energy.  

APATHY!

God gave us this land just as surely and He gave Palestine to the Hebrews.  Their prophecy came true.  Now, will we lose ours because we have done our best and worst to remove Yahweh from our society?  Getting Him back in strength is the entire key!

The Vikings found this land and then the white man set about taking it from the natives.

[redmill]

Empty stores in malls and downtowns indicate the mid-class is soon to be history if an abrupt turn about is not put into play soon 

[fedup]

The Liberal dream. Make everyone and everything dependent on the government they provide for you.  

But understand they will not be controlled by that same government. 

They will live in the freedom that our Constitution provides while you become their money providing slaves.

 

 

[Petee]

4 hours ago, redmill said:

Empty stores in malls and downtowns indicate the mid-class is soon to be history if an abrupt turn about is not put into play soon 

I was in the back of the Mall at the Corner Restaurant yesterday for a late lunch.  There was almost no one in the Mall, and where they were open, it is sparse.  If you went there with a shopping list, I think you could spend the entire day and not find half of the list. Now there are a lot of offices.  

They are making their money on renting the outer buildings that the Mall owns.  Why mess with the inner stores that are the responsibility of the Mall?  No people, less security needed, less cleaning, less water usage, less electric, more tax breaks. 

 

[DLE1950]

As the old adage goes.******* the rich get richer and the poor get poorer ****

[pennstater]

22 hours ago, fedup said:

The Liberals and their liberalism. 

We had the nearest thing to a savior but the Liberals lied to get rid of him. Now we are seeing the results of their actions in super sonic speed. 

Yes;  The proof is in their liberal run cities and states  CA is the prime example.  They have been liberal for decades and look at the crap hole its become.  The average home is half a million.  Its virtually unlivable.  

[fedup]

29 minutes ago, pennstater said:

Yes;  The proof is in their liberal run cities and states  CA is the prime example.  They have been liberal for decades and look at the crap hole its become.  The average home is half a million.  Its virtually unlivable.  

Ain't it sumtin"? The proof of Liberalism is right there for all to see and yet how many millions of stupid people just voted for it. 

[Lizard]

21 hours ago, redmill said:

Empty stores in malls and downtowns indicate the mid-class is soon to be history if an abrupt turn about is not put into play soon 

Empty stores in malls doesn't indicate the history of the middle class, It just means people are making smarter choices when it comes to shopping.

[Petee]

10 hours ago, Lizard said:

Empty stores in malls doesn't indicate the history of the middle class, It just means people are making smarter choices when it comes to shopping.

I agree.  I am out shopping on most days for groceries and odds and ends.  I would never try to find those items at the Mall because it's inconvenient and I would have to go shop elsewhere to find what I need.   Now, I do go into the big stores at the ends of the Mall such as Big Lots and Ross because they have family and home stuff, and CARTS!!  I can put my coat and purse in the cart and have my hands free to shop.

[momtothree]

On 2/2/2023 at 11:50 AM, Lizard said:

Empty stores in malls doesn't indicate the history of the middle class, It just means peo ple are making smarter choices when it comes to shopping.

Agree, it doesn't indicate much, and also, everyone I know says amazon delivers to their house a few times a week.  We buy almost everything online and have deliveries almost daily.  

[Lizard]

If I was to guess the middle class could teach a lot of people how to stretch a dollar, pinch a penny or find the best deals available. 

[Petee]

You know that or we wouldn't be here!  We'd be collecting welfare like so many others.  Hubby spent 27 years in the military, he and I always worked, sometimes he had up to 4 jobs at one time, we've both retired and are still working.  We probably will till we can't anymore because we love paying our bills and having something in savings to pay for car and house repairs, and being able to sleep at night.   No more emergencies, scraping for money because we WORK and SAVE.

I garden, freeze, dry and can food, and help other who need food.  We are able to give some money to others and the church, finally!  To think we would waste it would mean that we didn't learn our lessons during the early years of our lives.   Smarter, not just older!

[redmill]

Let`s move this subject into towns/boros , for get your empty malls , never have so many houses been in need of repairs along the main streets into towns ( every last town ) . 60`s and 70`s never had the blight of homes , ST MARYS was immaculate then , Sykes- Reyn the same , middle class is losing you got to admit. Dollar stretching has become an art , new ideas should/could be shared for all to grasp. 

[DS58]

1 hour ago, redmill said:

Let`s move this subject into towns/boros , for get your empty malls , never have so many houses been in need of repairs along the main streets into towns ( every last town ) . 60`s and 70`s never had the blight of homes , ST MARYS was immaculate then , Sykes- Reyn the same , middle class is losing you got to admit. Dollar stretching has become an art , new ideas should/could be shared for all to grasp. 

Yes but how many of those "blighted"  homes have a satellite dish, cell phones, a fairly new Ford F-250 and eat fast food everyday?

Its "SOMETIMES", not always, how and what you decide to spend your money on.

I was in amazement as I sat in the Martins parking lot at how many Johnny and Janies travel to the middle school by private vehicle instead of the busses that are paid for by the taxes that we all pay.

[redmill]

2 hours ago, DS58 said:

Yes but how many of those "blighted"  homes have a satellite dish, cell phones, a fairly new Ford F-250 and eat fast food everyday?

Its "SOMETIMES", not always, how and what you decide to spend your money on.

I was in amazement as I sat in the Martins parking lot at how many Johnny and Janies travel to the middle school by private vehicle instead of the busses that are paid for by the taxes that we all pay.

paid with access card some , go to markets and see how many use govt. card , even for steak for the dog as dog food is not a covered item so we are told...over and over....even gas was to be a covered item awhile ago.

 For alot of renters , of our entrys into a boro , there is no pride thus the blight . I stop short of blaming the slum lord on this one .

[Petee]

Still, the waste in this country is unbelievable.

Overspending and credit card debt is sky high.

There are still those who have plenty of money for motorhomes and big expensive habits.  

Find those in serious need and get them help if they are not managing well.  

Older homes are often neglected because the residents weren't the ones who worked and fought for them when they were built. Someone inherited them or got them as a sale.  They aren't a dream, they're a cheap place to live and what they're worth financially is more important than maintaining them.  Remember, few people want to do physical labor any more and repairs done by other costs money that could be for "extras".  We're a spoiled whining society with little memory of truly hard times, and fewer skills to manage getting through them unassisted by government pay offs.

 

[redmill]

653

Record Number Of Americans Worse Off Financially Since Biden Took Office. 41% of the American public say they are now in worse shape financially since Joe Biden took office. Only 16% say they were better off. During Trump's first 2 years, only 13% said they were worse off. (summit.news) This is also the mid class demise amplified and extended plight.

[momtothree]

14 hours ago, redmill said:

Let`s move this subject into towns/boros , for get your empty malls , never have so many houses been in need of repairs along the main streets into towns ( every last town ) . 60`s and 70`s never had the blight of homes , ST MARYS was immaculate then , Sykes- Reyn the same , middle class is losing you got to admit. Dollar stretching has become an art , new ideas should/could be shared for all to grasp. 

I don't think middle class is losing. I don't believe those are homes of the middle class.  The middle class has moved onto bigger and newer homes and those are rentals, elderly on limited income that didn't prepare for retirement, people of all ages who don't have any pride and lower income families.  There are exceptions to each group though, for example, low income doesn't have to mean lazy slobs. 

New ideas: work hard, spend smart, save smart and have some pride. Have two jobs if you need to. Stop upgrading phones and electronics.  Cook at home more, shop store brands. You don't need granite countertops. You don't both need new cars, have one newer car with a payment and an older one.  Don't use credit cards. For the love of God start saving for retirement early, even a small amount grows in time. Don't rely on social security.  

[momtothree]

11 hours ago, redmill said:

653

Record Number Of Americans Worse Off Financially Since Biden Took Office. 41% of the American public say they are now in worse shape financially since Joe Biden took office. Only 16% say they were better off. During Trump's first 2 years, only 13% said they were worse off. (summit.news) This is also the mid class demise amplified and extended plight.

I find this hard to believe. Prices are higher at the store, yes. I give you that.  BUT, there are waiting lists for big ticket items. Restaurants are crowded. Hotels are crowded. Amusement parks, concerts, cruises are still sold out. People are paying big bucks for dance lessons, travel ball, sports camps, and little kids are still carrying new iphones.  I think people like to complain and blame whoever is in office.  Most people can adjust their spending with inflation, many choose not to.  Help wanted signs all over. Those in worse shape should apply. 

[redmill]

On 2/1/2023 at 7:09 AM, redmill said:

I always , for years , have thought America was a war minded economy . Now we are inching to that again .

 

 

 

 

WW3 has been going on in cyber space for months ,  now in the skies above the USA . Sit and watch , ( not on yer tv ) ..... Watch prices , availability and rampant fraud that goes along with those just mentioned .