The U.S. Middle Class Is Being Wiped Out

[Hacp]

The reality is that even college educated people in the US will need to face a lower standard of living. Even service jobs will be outsourced.

 

[Trianon]

The reality is that even college educated people in the US will need to face a lower standard of living. Even service jobs will be outsourced.

yeap, pretty much would have to settle on being roadwarrior willing to go anywhere and do anything, or be vulnerable to market demand changes that may leave one without income for quite some time.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

It's amazing how low they can get CPI when they don't use "housing, education, and healthcare costs" to calculate it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A#t=8m57s

 

[Mursilis]

I just find that hard to believe. I'm 29, don't make much money, and yet still have $14k in my 401k already. My wife has more than that.

You're not average - most Americans are WAY stupider, and think that by ignoring it, the problem will go away! I've got a relative in his mid-40's with essentially NOTHING saved for retirement, but enough money for non-essentials like football tickets and what not. Who knows what he'll do in 20 years, but I'm sure he'll get a gov't bailout.

 

[TheDoc9]

People are getting poorer due to inflation and globalization. I think it best described as a poor-middle class.

Eventually everyone will have to have masters degrees for 40k per year jobs. The rich billionaires of the world, many of which never completed college, think you're too stupid to know any better.

 

[StageLeft]

I just find that hard to believe. I'm 29, don't make much money, and yet still have $14k in my 401k already. My wife has more than that.

It's true. I saw an infomercial the other day for a new kind of face lift surgery. Obvious clientèle being middle-aged+ women. Says it can give payment plans. Do you realize what that means? Middle-aged women actually exist in the US who are getting face lifts but cannot afford them; they have no savings whatsoever and yet think that taking out a loan to lift their still-haggard face is a good decision.

Oh, believe it, a good half of America are financially retarded in every sense of the word.

 

[hal2kilo]

It's amazing how low they can get CPI when they don't use "housing, education, and healthcare costs" to calculate it.

Exactly!

 

[kalrith]

Who knows what he'll do in 20 years, but I'm sure he'll get a gov't bailout.

I think that's the problem. A lot of people think that someone else will take care of them once they get old, and therefore they can spend their money on football tickets and face lifts rather than stocking it away for retirement (and for car repair, job loss, etc.).

And it's not like I miss the money going into retirement. My wife and I have each been putting 10% of our salaries into our retirements and simply never see that money. We don't miss it, and should eventually have enough to retire on as long as we're smart with that money.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Exactly!

Have rises in healthcare costs not been outpacing inflation for years now?

 

[Munky]

I think that's the problem. A lot of people think that someone else will take care of them once they get old, and therefore they can spend their money on football tickets and face lifts rather than stocking it away for retirement (and for car repair, job loss, etc.).

And it's not like I miss the money going into retirement. My wife and I have each been putting 10% of our salaries into our retirements and simply never see that money. We don't miss it, and should eventually have enough to retire on as long as we're smart with that money.

How well are those retirement funds doing lately, as of about 2008?

 

[Mursilis]

I think that's the problem. A lot of people think that someone else will take care of them once they get old, and therefore they can spend their money on football tickets and face lifts rather than stocking it away for retirement (and for car repair, job loss, etc.).

And it's not like I miss the money going into retirement. My wife and I have each been putting 10% of our salaries into our retirements and simply never see that money. We don't miss it, and should eventually have enough to retire on as long as we're smart with that money.

Congratulations on being prudent. Now, if means testing is enacted for SS, you'll get reduced benefits at retirement despite years of paying into the system, because you were smart and saved for the future, and numerous idiots like several of my family members did not. This is why I can never vote for Democrats - I'm tired of the stupid being rewarded.

 

[Mursilis]

How well are those retirement funds doing lately, as of about 2008?

Probably better than not having one at all.

 

[kalrith]

How well are those retirement funds doing lately, as of about 2008?

Actually, because of an unnoticed problem converting from one 401k to another, my 401k was all in a money-market fund during 2007 and 2008. Then, after noticing the problem and investing aggressively, I had a 32% return in 2009 .

 

[hal2kilo]

Oh come on, you all know the tune by the Temptations

Well... It's just my imagination (running away with me...............

 

[simpletron]

It's amazing how low they can get CPI when they don't use "housing, education, and healthcare costs" to calculate it.

All items .................................... 100.000 217.965
Housing ....................................... 41.960 216.778
Medical care ................................... 6.513 388.199
Education 2 .................................... 3.035 197.284

first number - percentage of CPI
Second number - June 2010 raw data

note: 1982-84 = 100 for housing, medical care, and all items; 1997 = 100 for education. Therefore medical cost has quadruple in the last ~27 years and education cost has double in the last 13.

Those 3 items make up over 50% of CPI...

http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2html.php?url=http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpid1006.pdf&images=yes

 

[Moonbeam]

I am brilliant beyond all belief and the richest man in the world. I don't want anything. OK OK, I could use a few more pieces of frost armor.

 

[JSt0rm]

Actually, because of an unnoticed problem converting from one 401k to another, my 401k was all in a money-market fund during 2007 and 2008. Then, after noticing the problem and investing aggressively, I had a 32% return in 2009 .

you lucky fuck

 

[Corn]

you lucky fuck

Hardly, anyone who didn't panic and divested themselves from the market after it tanked in '08 should have made back most if not all their losses in '09. I certainly did. One of my funds (DFEVX) earned a whopping 92% return in 2009.

 

[MJinZ]

Hardly, anyone who didn't panic and divested themselves from the market after it tanked in '08 should have made back most if not all their losses in '09. I certainly did. One of my funds (DFEVX) earned a whopping 92% return in 2009.

LOL... that's because DFEVX lost like 75% in 2008. If you held DFEVX from 1/1/08 to today, you still massively massively in the red.

 

[JSt0rm]

LOL... that's because DFEVX lost like 75% in 2008. If you held DFEVX from 1/1/08 to today, you still massively massively in the red.

what can he say. He lives in detroit, where losing is still winning

 

[Narmer]

The thing I don't get about Japan is that they are a world power with many multinational/global companies with lots of manufacturing and exporting.
That appears to be a very healthy economy. I guess their 0 population growth is hurting them in some way?

Those same multinationals fled to China when Japan became overpriced, leaving the factory workers to fend for themselves. A corporation has no loyalty except to its own survival.

 

[Narmer]

It's amazing how low they can get CPI when they don't use "housing, education, and healthcare costs" to calculate it.

Too true. They take out the inconvenient bits.

 

[jackace]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A#t=8m57s

I love that video. This lady has done a lot of research and it doesn't look good for our future. It also shows why housing crashed so hard in these last few years. Housing costs had just become stupidly over priced and are still over priced.

 

[Craig234]

I love that video. This lady has done a lot of research and it doesn't look good for our future. It also shows why housing crashed so hard in these last few years. Housing costs had just become stupidly over priced and are still over priced.

She's great.

But remember there's more to it - for example, as people have poured a ton more into mortgage payments, that's a lot more of their money going out to the financial industry - an industry which has grown from 10%-15% in the 1960's to 40% of the economy today - and that extra money means extra power which has meant repealing regulation to allow greater freedom for speculation which has in large part led to the financial crash, the 'too big to fail' power of that industry to economically blackmail the society, and that 'too big to fail' security has itself led to greater relaxation of the restrictions on their taking big risk on the expectation there would be bailouts.

In short, IMO the country took a big wrong turn after the progressive era of FDR-LBJ - and to extent through Carter - at the time of Reagan. Unprecedented bad things have happened after that, from the increases in the money shifting from normal distributions into going almost all to the rich, to the massive increases in public and even larger in private debt, and so on. Part of that activity has been a great increase in the media propagandizing the public to buy into right-wing ideology to blame all this on 'liberals'.

 

[jackace]

She's great.

But remember there's more to it - for example, as people have poured a ton more into mortgage payments, that's a lot more of their money going out to the financial industry - an industry which has grown from 10%-15% in the 1960's to 40% of the economy today - and that extra money means extra power which has meant repealing regulation to allow greater freedom for speculation which has in large part led to the financial crash, the 'too big to fail' power of that industry to economically blackmail the society, and that 'too big to fail' security has itself led to greater relaxation of the restrictions on their taking big risk on the expectation there would be bailouts.

In short, IMO the country took a big wrong turn after the progressive era of FDR-LBJ - and to extent through Carter - at the time of Reagan. Unprecedented bad things have happened after that, from the increases in the money shifting from normal distributions into going almost all to the rich, to the massive increases in public and even larger in private debt, and so on. Part of that activity has been a great increase in the media propagandizing the public to buy into right-wing ideology to blame all this on 'liberals'.

Trickle Down Economic Policies FTL