what can be done to save middle class america?

[mad-mommy]

Just read this article.

http://www.harvardmagazine.com/on-line/010682.html

And, just wondering what you think can be done, and is it even possible, to save the middle class? You don't need to read the article to answer.

[napi21]

1. FIRST we have to vote the neocons OUT!

Shrub has managed to implement many of the lifelong dreams of the Capitalist Pigs. They really believe America will only be great if a select few have all the money and the power! (That's why all the damn tax cuts for the rich!) The things that havent been done yet is getting rid of SS, Medicare, and welfare, but Shrub is sure working on it!

If they remain in power, I don't think we'll see a middle class in America for another 50-100 years!

[lyonn]

4. Agree, and the reduction of aid to college students,

the dollars that Clinton put into law enforcement, and other people oriented laws. The lack of a govt. that understands the need for the middle class which has made this country strong in the first place are areas that eventually will hurt this country. Cutting the help for higher education to me is a sleeping giant, keep the middle class down, we the super rich know what is best for this country, don't need any interference from those lower echelon peons. They perfected this mentality with the new bkcy. law, as was described in article. Talk about keeping the family together, this ruling crowd haven't a clue. Money problems cause most divorces (in my opinion).

Yesterday and today our media has burst my Lamont bubble, there I was thinking the Dems. had a real chance at beating this bunch, but the media is falling right in line with the latest talking points from the repubs. Truly scary. They act like the bushies kept us safe from the latest attack threat without even saying it, like how they convinced the people Saddam & Osama were buddies. Oh how gullible the home folks are!

[demosincebirth]

12. Make it easier for worker to organize

I remember when one income supported a family of four and made a mortgage payment. Thats when unionized workers represented 38% of the workforce.

[Union Thug]

2. Start by ignoring the conservative economic mantras that have been..

taken at face value. You know, those economic theories that tell working people that they are better off when they make less money. Turn the tables on Repuke thought and communicate the fact that the economy is OURS and works for US. We do NOT work for the economy. In fact, if the economy isn't working for the majority of the country, it must be fixed - not left alone to the benefit of the elite.

Second, rebuild the labor movement so that there is a viable, vocal and motivated opposition to corporate/business class rule over the country.

Third, accept the fact that a consumer economy based on credit debt is doomed to failure and start communicating the hard facts that we are not all going to be millionaires, and that pretending to be millionaires using our credit cards doesn't make it so. Once people have accepted that fact, maybe they will be more willing to abandon the CEO worship that came out of the 80's and start fighting for something that credit cards cannot buy - a society where all have equal opportunity and who are supported by the strength of the commons, especially in terms of education and healthcare. Once everyone has free access to healthcare and education, the worries that underscore so many working class peoples' lives are vaporized and they will feel much more freedom to explore the possibilities in life, rather than spending so much of their time fretting over the potential distaster that will befall themselves and their families in the case of illness or accident.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Great article. I'm constantly baffled how the Middle Class gets by.

My wife and I are both retired. Good pensions, relatively inexpensive health insurance, two old but good running cars, a nice houce in the country. We made about $57k from our pensions, SS, and IRA's last year. If we buy anything, we pay cash. We're comfortable and debt free - except for the mortgage.

But, we don't have kids, aging parents, or anyone else we have to help.

Yesterday I ventured down from the hills where we live, to pick up a few things. At the supermarket, I was surrounded by young mothers with 2-4 kids. When I left I saw some of these same moms loading their kids into SUVs or vans. The thought struck me, "How the hell do they do it?"

My wife and I devoted ourselves to saving for retirement for the last 15 years of work. The last 5 years about 1/3 of our $75k income was going towards retirement. So, we now have more "spendable" income than when we were working.

What I can't imagine is how young couples can afford to raise their kids, drive 2 cars, buy a house, and save a nickel for retirement.

The guy next door to me makes upwards of $200K a year, 3 kids, a house and mortgage like ours, 7 cars, and every toy imaginable. A few days ago, I was chatting with him (a rare occurance cuz he's an asshole and a Republican) and he was lamenting that he's now 57 and is condemned to working forever just to "get by". I refrained from pointing out to him that he's an idiot for the sake of neighborly relations.

What I see is a lot of people teetering on the edge of catastrophe and hoping a miracle will occur.

[mad-mommy]

8. country too...

I'm a newbie, and started another thread few days ago about middle class people like us, struggling, it has 93 replies, some are mine replying back, all people in the same shoes. For the safety of our children and decent schools, we bought a home, technically not out of our price range, we used our heads, and we also put 20% down. However, for around here, IMHO our home, and the rest, are overpriced. We did well with this one, it got appraised higher for what we paid for it. It's a modest home. We have one car payment, family car, and a modest car. Then we have the junker that gets him to work. We are managing, tight line though, all due to gas prices. He has to travel to make decent money, as do others around here, what once gave us some extra money, is eaten up. Can't relocate there, that's higher than here, can't find a job here without losing more even if we'd save on gas.

I think at even at 200K a year he is a FOOL. The cars, the toys. If things continue as they are, that 200K won't even mean much. We drove by lots of places looking for a home, we know what people make around here, not much, and we see people our age with huge homes and cars, and the rest, and wonder the same thing...how are they doing it. If we are living on several hundred dollars less a month, in just one yrs. time due to the gas prices, then other people have to be living on less too. I don't get it. credit?

Anyway, we live in the country too. This home is sort of a sacrifice, but the kids safety was a priority. And we worked hard to get it. Just hope we'll be able to manage it.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. We had to travel 70 miles a day to work & back.

Even in our relatively high mileage, bottom-of-line, Toyotas, it was very expensive before the prices shot up. Now that we have very few places to go and compress them to cover several things at once, the gas is not a problem. But, if we were still working it would cost at least $200 a month more that we were paying.

As the article says, it seems that many people are next door to poverty. A lost job, divorce, a long illness, and it's good-bye to the "middle-class".

Our house went up more than $100,000 in value in the last year - we just got the assessment yesterday. Out of curiousity, I've been tracking it on Zillow.com which is pretty reliable. It's more than doubled in value since we bought it 13 years ago. For the last two weeks, it's dropped in value by $3000. It's of no concern to us because we don't have any plans to sell. But, the owners of the new McMansions around us must be sweating as their newly bought showplaces are now worth less than they paid for them and heading south.

I have to believe that many people are digging themselves a very deep hole of debt just to "get by" and keep up with their neighbors. We had the illusion that we could retire to Europe and live cheaply. A couple of trips to Europe quickly brought us to our senses. We took out a loan, paid off all of our interest bearing debt, then paid off the loan as quickly as possible. Then, everything we had been paying in interest and principle on the credit cards, furniture, and what not, went towards retirement.

We have learned, the hard way, to pay cash for everything. If we don't the money for what we want, we save until we do. It's been amazing to discover how many of those "must have", "50% off", "one time only", gizmos, gadgets, and chrome plated tomato-crushers, we can survive without. And, that emptying an ice tray isn't nearly as arduous as the frig makers want us to believe. And, that all the interesting "extras" on cars, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners, VCR/DVD players, etc, have a tendency to break and require repairs or replacement.

Oddly enough, we aren't penny pinchers, we give quite a bit to charities (Oxfam, Medicins sans Frontiers, Planned Parenthood, etc), but we keep in mind what our garage used to look like when decorated with unused, dust covered, things that we were supposed "need" to have a happy life.

I hesitate to give advice, but I will. Stay out of debt, pay cash, become frugal and utilitarian. i.e. What's a car for? Transportation. Everything else is extra and costly.

[Jim Warren]

5. eventually, it will come to

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. More likely it will come to

[Jim Warren]

11. the fire next time

[dkofos]

7. The majority of people in the country need to wake up

[mad-mommy]

9. yes, i have awaken...

now I need to know what to do, where to write, who supports middle class people, I know Hilary does...why can't she be a senator here?

[dkofos]

10. If you were truly awake, I wouldn't have to tell you