What's going to happen to the middle class in 10-20 years?

[Mai72]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...a857f0-7a47-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html

I think this story says it all. It's a travesty when families are making $90k a year and they are having a difficult time paying bills. Where is the middle class headed?

In 10-20 years is the situation going to become dire? Is this the beginning of something big? What's going to happen to the middle class? What will life be like for the average person?

Does anyone see anything changing short of a revolution?

 

[Mai72]

Are we going to have to retire in Thailand, Vietnam, or Brazil because the cost of living is cheap?

When I was in the land of smiles I was surprised to see so many old (70+) retired foreign men in Pattaya, Thailand. There were two reasons. 1) The cost of living is cheap. 2) They were all dating 25 year old Thai women.

 

[Texashiker]

Change will only happen when people change the way they vote.

People are also afraid that if the jobs are brought back the price of their phones and other tech toys will go up.

Stagnated wages and low cost products go hand-in-hand. If the people "really" knew how bad our economy is, there would probably be riots in the streets.

Then again chances are not enough people care to bring about real social change.

 

[Mai72]

Change will only happen when people change the way they vote.

People are also afraid that if the jobs are brought back the price of their phones and other tech toys will go up.

Stagnated wages and low cost products go hand-in-hand. If the people "really" knew how bad our economy is, there would probably be riots in the streets.

Then again chances are not enough people care to bring about real social change.

I think most people care. It hasn't reached the breaking point yet. Also, most people have become complacent. They are currently satisfied with their lives now. I think we could see major changes when the baby boomers start to die off.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15348258/ns/politics/t/grayest-congress/

We need young people in charge who are going to have new ideas. It doesn't do us any good when the average age of a senator is 60 and the average age of a member of the House is 55. This is one of the reasons why we are in this mess. We have old people who have an old way of thinking. This is not 1980 anymore. We need people who have experience but yet are young enough to implement new ideas.

 

[Matt1970]

If they can't make it on 90K then they aren't doing it right. Washington doesn't have that much higher of a cost of living.

 

[Matt1970]

Does anyone see anything changing short of a revolution?

Nope, and 99% of the people out there realize how catastrophic a revolution in the US would be at this point.

 

[boomerang]

We need people who have experience but yet are young enough to implement new ideas.

There are no new ideas. They've all been tried before. What's the "golden age group" for these super humans?

 

[Mai72]

There are no new ideas. They've all been tried before. What's the "golden age group" for these super humans?

I think 40's.

They have the experience but yet young enough that they will be able to take on and implement new ideas.

 

[Mai72]

Has the middle class reached its zenith?

Is it all going to be downhill? At least in our lifetime.

 

[boomerang]

I think 40's.

They have the experience but yet young enough that they will be able to take on and implement new ideas.

What kind of new ideas do you anticipate? What are the core issues facing us that need to have new ideas applied?

 

[Texashiker]

Has the middle class reached its zenith?

Is it all going to be downhill? At least in our lifetime.

The middle class reached its peak in the 1970s, maybe the 1960s.

After Regan took office it was downhill for the middle class. Bush, clinton, bush and now obama have only compounded the issue.

The past 5 presidents have done nothing but screw over the middle class. The main issue was regan tax breaks to the rich and then free trade with bush and clinton.

 

[Mai72]

The middle class reached its peak in the 1970s, maybe the 1960s.

After Reagan took office it was all downhill for the middle class. Bush, clinton, bush and now obama have only compounded the issue.

I thought the middle class under Clinton did exceptionally well.

This is not true?

 

[MongGrel]

The middle class reached its peak in the 1970s, maybe the 1960s.

After Regan took office it was downhill for the middle class. Bush, clinton, bush and now obama have only compounded the issue.

The past 5 presidents have done nothing but screw over the middle class. The main issue was regan tax breaks to the rich and then free trade with bush and clinton.

+1, I've heard Costa Rica isn't bad.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

The middle class reached its peak in the 1970s, maybe the 1960s.

After Regan took office it was downhill for the middle class. Bush, clinton, bush and now obama have only compounded the issue.

The past 5 presidents have done nothing but screw over the middle class. The main issue was regan tax breaks to the rich and then free trade with bush and clinton.

I've done well under all 5 of them and continue to do well today. I just interviewed for a new job position this past week.

 

[Zaap]

+1, I've heard Costa Rica isn't bad.

It's not. But they've (wisely) become very picky about who they let in. (Unlike us). Legally immigrating there is tough- they don't want their country full of dipshits.

 

[Mai72]

What kind of new ideas do you anticipate? What are the core issues facing us that need to have new ideas applied?

Our country is facing obstacles that we've never faced before. I just think that we need people in office who are going to come up with new solutions.

I couldn't give you specifics.

I look at it like this. Why do businesses like to hire young people? Besides paying them a low wage, the other reason is because they aren't stuck in their ways yet. What they lack in experience they make it up in energy. They aren't afraid to try new ideas. They haven't been burned yet, so they are more willing to take on new adventures.

When you're old you are less willing to take on risks. We need more people to take on more risks for today's issues. The old way of doing things isn't working.

 

[Zaap]

Anyway, it's kind of sad watching the US devolve into exactly what so many have been begging for it to become. A whole lot of dumbshits were sold on the idea that it would be their neighbor getting their first world rockstar lifestyle thrown in the toilet, not them. But nope. It was YOU, not your neighbor or "that rich guy" you were jealous of all along. Congrats on falling for bullshit, and for playing right into the hands of "that rich guy" and his politician friends. Congrats. Now enjoy.

 

[Matt1970]

The middle class reached its peak in the 1970s, maybe the 1960s.

After Regan took office it was downhill for the middle class. Bush, clinton, bush and now obama have only compounded the issue.

The past 5 presidents have done nothing but screw over the middle class. The main issue was regan tax breaks to the rich and then free trade with bush and clinton.

The 60's was the peak in terms of monetary value. That was back when most of what we bought was made here. Note the second from top:

Now we don't even give a second thought to sending our money overseas every time we buy imported crap and try and make up for it with the printing press.

Then again you have to compare what was middle class had back them and what it has today. Yes you could buy a house and raise a family on a factory job, but odds are the family had one car. Other than the one time you ate out a week, if you were lucky, mom got all the groceries and you ate in. There was probably one TV, one phone and odds are you were wearing clothes your big brother owned. Now compare that with today. Fast food joint on every corner, TV in every room, every family member has their own phone, laptop, tablet, MP3 player and who kwows what else. The list goes on and on.

 

[Mai72]

The 60's was the peak in terms of monetary value. That was back when most of what we bought was made here. Note the second from top:

Now we don't even give a second thought to sending our money overseas every time we buy imported crap and try and make up for it with the printing press.

Then again you have to compare what was middle class had back them and what it has today. Yes you could buy a house and raise a family on a factory job, but odds are the family had one car. Other than the one time you ate out a week, if you were lucky, mom got all the groceries and you ate in. There was probably one TV, one phone and odds are you were wearing clothes your big brother owned. Now compare that with today. Fast food joint on every corner, TV in every room, every family member has their own phone, laptop, tablet, MP3 player and who kwows what else. The list goes on and on.

Our spending habits have increased but our wages have become stagnant or have even diminished.

When I was working in South Korea I didn't have a car. Public transportation is amazing. $2 for a cab ride. I didn't even have to pay for rent. I just had to pay for electricity which was only $30 a month. High speed internet was only $20 a month. Haircuts were $6

I come back to New Jersey. I have to pay $700 in state taxes although I worked in Korea. Internet is $60. I don't have a car yet so I took a cab ride last week. I paid $25 plus tip. My haircut was $20 plus tip. I was looking at apartments and the cheapest one I was able to find was $1,500 a month.

I can see why people are having a difficult time saving money for retirement. Add children into the mix and it's nearly impossible to have anything saved unless you make a high income.

 

[MongGrel]

The 60's was the peak in terms of monetary value. That was back when most of what we bought was made here. Note the second from top:

Now we don't even give a second thought to sending our money overseas every time we buy imported crap and try and make up for it with the printing press.

Then again you have to compare what was middle class had back them and what it has today. Yes you could buy a house and raise a family on a factory job, but odds are the family had one car. Other than the one time you ate out a week, if you were lucky, mom got all the groceries and you ate in. There was probably one TV, one phone and odds are you were wearing clothes your big brother owned. Now compare that with today. Fast food joint on every corner, TV in every room, every family member has their own phone, laptop, tablet, MP3 player and who kwows what else. The list goes on and on.

Well, people like Walmart did start out buy touting everything sold was American made, got people into the habit of buying there when they were building up.

Made a ton of money that way.

Then the old bait and switch thing, not many only American made products once they were established all over the world now.

Just one example, I'll leave it alone for now.

PO's me a bit really.

 

[Matt1970]

Well, people like Walmart did start out buy touting everything sold was American made, got people into the habit of buying there when they were building up.

Made a ton of money that way.

Then the old bait and switch thing, not many only American made products once they were established all over the world now.

Just one example, I'll leave it alone for now.

PO's me a bit really.

Sure Walmart played a part, but ultimately the purchasing dollar has the last word and people had a choice of what to buy. And a lot of those wheels were set in motion before Walmart even showed it's face. Just remember we were warned of the consequences of buying that crap.

 

[Zaap]

Then again you have to compare what was middle class had back them and what it has today. Yes you could buy a house and raise a family on a factory job, but odds are the family had one car. Other than the one time you ate out a week, if you were lucky, mom got all the groceries and you ate in. There was probably one TV, one phone and odds are you were wearing clothes your big brother owned. Now compare that with today. Fast food joint on every corner, TV in every room, every family member has their own phone, laptop, tablet, MP3 player and who kwows what else. The list goes on and on.

That's the funny thing about the bullshit today of wasting so much time pissing and whining about "the rich". Talk to anyone who grew up a long time in the past.

It used to be the rich guy was the one who had a car, while you had nothing but your own two feet. Now the rich guy drives a Tesla or something, and the "poor" person drives a late model Toyota. But he's busy pissing and whining at the rich guy because how dare he have a better car. Other "poor" people spent more money on their rims than the rich guy spent on servicing his car in a year.

Back in the day, only the richest of the rich had ready access to information that could make them a shit-ton more money. Today, even the "poorest" slob walks around with a 24/7 connected smartphone with instant access to the entire world's information and ability to access it faster than kings and queens ever could back in the day- but what does he do with it? Plays Angry Birds and tweets to the world about how bad he has it, and how much he hates those evil rich people.

In my grandparents day, poor and lacking funding for schools was walking barefoot (because you literally couldn't afford shoes) to a one-room schoolhouse where you had to share schoolbooks with someone else because you couldn't have your own. But somehow you got a great education and went on to be pretty well off. Today, poor is whining that your school isn't funded because the 1000 bureaucrats making 100k each that run it can't get their hands on more taxpayer dollars every time they overspend. You eventually graduate with a masters degree in "Whining About Rich People" but can't do jack shit for yourself.

 

[Mai72]

That's the funny thing about the bullshit today of wasting so much time pissing and whining about "the rich". Talk to anyone who grew up a long time in the past.

It used to be the rich guy was the one who had a car, while you had nothing but your own two feet. Now the rich guy drives a Tesla or something, and the "poor" person drives a late model Toyota. But he's busy pissing and whining at the rich guy because how dare he have a better car. Other "poor" people spent more money on their rims than the rich guy spent on servicing his car in a year.

Back in the day, only the richest of the rich had ready access to information that could make them a shit-ton more money. Today, even the "poorest" slob walks around with a 24/7 connected smartphone with instant access to the entire world's information and ability to access it faster than kings and queens ever could back in the day- but what does he do with it? Plays Angry Birds and tweets to the world about how bad he has it, and how much he hates those evil rich people.

In my grandparents day, poor and lacking funding for schools was walking barefoot (because you literally couldn't afford shoes) to a one-room schoolhouse where you had to share schoolbooks with someone else because you couldn't have your own. But somehow you got a great education and went on to be pretty well off. Today, poor is whining that your school isn't funded because the 1000 bureaucrats making 100k each that run it can't get their hands on more taxpayer dollars every time they overspend. You eventually graduate with a masters degree in "Whining About Rich People" but can't do jack shit for yourself.

True. Whining is easy. Getting your life in order and taking responsibility for your shitty existence is much harder.

My father was poor. He told me the time he couldn't afford new sneakers so he had to wear $1 cheap knock offs. I even read that Charles Bronson had to wear his sister's dress to school because he didn't have clean clothes.

Our grandparents/parents had good intentions. They wanted our lives to be better and easier. In the process they had created a generation of children who feel entitled. They feel like they're owed something.

There is a reason why 2nd generation immigrants are the most wealthiest in America. They haven't been "Americanized" yet. They will easily work 80 hour weeks, and the end result is normally success.

Check out the Millionaire Next Door.
http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Thomas

 

[unokitty]

... You eventually graduate with a masters degree in "Whining About Rich People" but can't do jack shit for yourself.

Please, the more accurate title would be a graduate degree in "American Studies" or ethnic studies or anything with studies in the title.

Other than that, well done!
Uno

 

[JManInPhoenix]

In 20 years I will either be still working or dead. :hmm: