Middle Class is being wiped out

[FKLBRLS]

I just read this article about how the US middle class is on a drastic downward spiral. While this is something I've known for awhile now, I'd never seen any actual numbers. Folks, the facts are in: the rich HAVE been getting richer and the poor HAVE been getting poorer. This doesn't mean that the rich are stealing from the poor, per se; rather, it means that economic gains in this country go primarily to the wealthy, who do not pass it down. "Trickle-down" economics doesn't work when there's nothing trickling down. The number of jobs created by an entrepreneur means nothing if they're all low-paying jobs. And that's just it: many of the "innovative" businesses founded in the last 15 or so years have made their mark by advertising "low prices," a quality usually achieved by paying as many people as close to minimum wage as possible.

Rather than actually doing something about this issue, people just throw blame and BS around. The Right tries to ignore the fact entirely, trying to redefine reality and make people believe they aren't actually becoming poorer. Or they blame the government. The Left, meanwhile, acknowledges the problem but does nothing to solve it, because their political machine relies on people being poor and begging for government handouts. The result is that we have one side trying to maintain the status quo and concentrate benefits towards the wealthy, while the other side wants to pander to the poor with government handouts, most of which come at the expense of the middle class.

[Master Chief]

I think, personally, this has a lot to do with outsourcing, both on the way of unions driving labor costs in the US through the roof, and the Government making taxes for manufacturing in the US so high, competing on price just isn't feasible. That, and, this is just my personal conjecture, but I think our economy is in a state of transition right now, where we were once focused on building things, now, since most things are built overseas, we're turning into more of a service type economy, where we need to focus job education more on, say, fixing cars instead of the machines that build cars.

[Blacksheep]

Originally Posted by FKLBRLS

Rather than actually doing something about this issue, people just throw blame and BS around. The Right tries to ignore the fact entirely, trying to redefine reality and make people believe they aren't actually becoming poorer. Or they blame the government. The Left, meanwhile, acknowledges the problem but does nothing to solve it, because their political machine relies on people being poor and begging for government handouts. The result is that we have one side trying to maintain the status quo and concentrate benefits towards the wealthy, while the other side wants to pander to the poor with government handouts, most of which come at the expense of the middle class.

I do blame the government and the followers that never question the people they elect.
You can add to your list that the middle class is (for a little while longer) also supporting the huge payrolls and benefit packages of all government employees and retirees. That's all federal, state, and local employees. Politicians, teachers, police, fireman etc. We pay the poor via welfare and now healfcare, and on top of that we bail out the rich when their companies fail. More and more government jobs, subsidies, and retarded programs are relying on less and less private sector tax payers. Do the fucking math, its not rocket science and one small group of citizens can't keep carrying the entire system on our backs. The people that are still barely making their house payments get no help, no benefits and certainly no handouts from any one else. Only if you are a government employee, poor, or fall flat on your face do you get any breaks.

[Master Chief]

Right now here in WI, we have a guy running for Governor named Scott Walker. Everything I have read about him makes me want to vote for him. He was elected to the Milwaukee County Executive office, and his record speaks volumes:

• Reduced the county workforce by more than 20%
• Lowered the county debt by 10%
• Introduced 8 consecutive budgets without an increase to the property tax levy from the previous year.
• Improved the county's bond rating
• Milwaukee County Parks won the prestigious 2009 National Gold Medal for Excellence in the Park and Recreation Management Program
• Eliminated the waiting list for long-term care for older adults through the Family Care program.
• Milwaukee County's Mitchell International Airport received the Transportation Safety Administration's Partnership Award.
• Invested over $199 million in renovations and improvements to General Mitchell International Airport without increasing the property tax levy
• Airport improvements helped attract nearly 1,000 jobs from Southwest, Air Tran and Republic airlines.
• Implemented a pension obligation plan to save Milwaukee County taxpayers $ 237 million

We need more like him.

[Dag]

Originally Posted by FKLBRLS

The Right tries to ignore the fact entirely, trying to redefine reality and make people believe they aren't actually becoming poorer. Or they blame the government.

I think the gov't is the major stakeholder in this...that isn't a 'Right' thing...it is reality. The leftist/ socialist majority of Congress (and the POTUS, along with much of the Judicial Branch) WANT there to be the elite (which only includes them) or the rest...which they want the 'rest' to be totally dependent upon the gov't.

[NonConformist]

Seems Obamessiahs plan is working spleniddly!

[FKLBRLS]

Originally Posted by Blacksheep

I do blame the government and the followers that never question the people they elect.
You can add to your list that the middle class is (for a little while longer) also supporting the huge payrolls and benefit packages of all government employees and retirees. That's all federal, state, and local employees. Politicians, teachers, police, fireman etc. We pay the poor via welfare and now healfcare, and on top of that we bail out the rich when their companies fail. More and more government jobs, subsidies, and retarded programs are relying on less and less private sector tax payers. Do the fucking math, its not rocket science and one small group of citizens can't keep carrying the entire system on our backs. The people that are still barely making their house payments get no help, no benefits and certainly no handouts from any one else. Only if you are a government employee, poor, or fall flat on your face do you get any breaks.

I'm beginning to believe more and more that government employees are not overpaid, but rather, that private sector employees are UNDERpaid. It's a class envy thing; private sector workers used to earn more than their government counterparts. But while the powers-that-be forced private sector pay downward, the government, with it's naive belief in an endless money supply, did not.

After having worked for the state, specifically, the California State University system, for 9 months, I've seen how bureaucracies work from the inside. You have the top executives in charge of entire departments on top, and the multitude of workers along the bottom. In between is a bloated, overstaffed layer of middle-managers, each of whom is on a political power trip. The root of government inefficiency is the office-politics and general jackassery that comes from having too many middle-managers. While most private sector workplaces eliminate unnecessary management positions, the government seems to be built on such overstaffing at the management level.

[Blacksheep]

Originally Posted by FKLBRLS

I'm beginning to believe more and more that government employees are not overpaid, but rather, that private sector employees are UNDERpaid.

I have many many friends and relatives that work for the government, their benefits are ridiculous, some of them even pointed that out to me. Sure there are underpaid private sector employees, but that's a very lame excuse, to compare the underpaid to the very OVERpaid (Beni's, retirements ect..) Besides, how is the private sector going to continue paying for the government sector if they also pay their private sector employees more? Thats sounds like magic Obama-nomics right there. Get the smoke and mirrors out folks.

Originally Posted by FKLBRLS

It's a class envy thing; private sector workers used to earn more than their government counterparts. But while the powers-that-be forced private sector pay downward, the government, with it's naive belief in an endless money supply, did not.

Envy thing? get real, its a common sense thing. you chose the easiest way to excuse the waste that we have in our system. I make as much (LOL, well, before taxes are stolen from me and handed out to everyone else) if not more than a good portion of state and federal employees, trust me, envy is not what has a lot of us pissed. What has us pissed is that we are expected to provide everything for ourselves, and provide for your retirements, and provide for anyone less fortunate than both of us. In many states, the State UNION employees pay very little IF ANY, towards their health care and retirements. How does that work? I guess if I was in the system I would think differently too. After all, I wouldn't have to worry about much. The everyday Joe will pick up the tab. Now with the new health care "reform" bill, I'm expected to still pay for the gov employee, the new health care costs, and by law pay for my own, out of pocket, or else.
Envy? No. Enraged, yes. Government employees better hope the economists are all wrong and the gravy train doesn't dry up and the checks disappear.

Originally Posted by FKLBRLS

After having worked for the state, specifically, the California State University system, for 9 months, I've seen how bureaucracies work from the inside. You have the top executives in charge of entire departments on top, and the multitude of workers along the bottom. In between is a bloated, overstaffed layer of middle-managers, each of whom is on a political power trip. The root of government inefficiency is the office-politics and general jackassery that comes from having too many middle-managers. While most private sector workplaces eliminate unnecessary management positions, the government seems to be built on such overstaffing at the management level.

But we agree here I guess.