Gone with the Globalization, that is the US Middle Class

[briansd1]

[quote=Arraya]It’s not the demise of the middle class, it’s the creation of the American underclass. Which stated in the 70s with a slow decay and has accelerated the past few years with the debt collapse. [/quote]

Good post Arraya.

[quote=patb][quote=joec]

The middle class in America arose after WWII with the baby boomers and peace time after the war. The boom from early technology, cars, electronics, appliances, etc…helped put a lot of folks get decent middle class jobs.

.[/quote]

FDR created the middle class
reagan wrecked it[/quote]

If you look back to the time before FDR, middle-class families had live-in servants from the lower-class. That was perfectly common.

After FDR, we had a much more egalitarian society where increasingly everyone could get an education. Executives did not make hundreds of times more than the line employees.

As Temecula Guy pointed out, we are a much wealthier society but we now we have greater class disparity and an under-class emerging again.

Do we really want to go back to the 1920s?

[patb]

[quote=temeculaguy]Yet despite all of the various hand wringing I’ve read throughout my life, the middle class in the U.S. today is as well off as it has ever been in history. With the exception of the lack of concubines and servants, most of us live as well as royalty did a few hundred years ago. Most of us live better than a Doctor or a lawyer did in the 1940’s or 1950’s, at least those of us who aren’t doctors and lawyers.

Be realistic, what was the middle class 30, 40 or 50 years ago? There’s a lot of complaining nowadays that a college degree doesn’t allow you to live worry free about money, but today, a college degree is not that exceptional, it’s kinda middle class. .[/quote]

TG makes a fine argument for hedonics.

the thing he misses is your grandad paid off his mortgage in 15 years.

you talk about the toys people have but not what they don’t have.

in 1970 a 30″ Color tube was expensive but college was cheap. in 1970 a hair stylist drove a POS chevy but could send a kid to State College.

now a Flat screen LCD is cheap and that stylist is blowing men in the back to pay for her loans on beauty school.

Sure TG has a great house and he pays 4X family income while his gtandad paid 2.5X.

Sure there are more calories. but there is less food. people have Type 2 diabetes like mad.
in the third world people are thin, here they re fat and diabetic.

the middle class is dying TG. open your eyes

[patb]

[quote=temeculaguy]Yet despite all of the various hand wringing I’ve read throughout my life, the middle class in the U.S. today is as well off as it has ever been in history. With the exception of the lack of concubines and servants, most of us live as well as royalty did a few hundred years ago. Most of us live better than a Doctor or a lawyer did in the 1940’s or 1950’s, at least those of us who aren’t doctors and lawyers.

Be realistic, what was the middle class 30, 40 or 50 years ago? There’s a lot of complaining nowadays that a college degree doesn’t allow you to live worry free about money, but today, a college degree is not that exceptional, it’s kinda middle class. .[/quote]

TG makes a fine argument for hedonics.

the thing he misses is your grandad paid off his mortgage in 15 years.

you talk about the toys people have but not what they don’t have.

in 1970 a 30″ Color tube was expensive but college was cheap. in 1970 a hair stylist drove a POS chevy but could send a kid to State College.

now a Flat screen LCD is cheap and that stylist is blowing men in the back to pay for her loans on beauty school.

Sure TG has a great house and he pays 4X family income while his gtandad paid 2.5X.

Sure there are more calories. but there is less food. people have Type 2 diabetes like mad.
in the third world people are thin, here they re fat and diabetic.

the middle class is dying TG. open your eyes

[patb]

[quote=temeculaguy]Yet despite all of the various hand wringing I’ve read throughout my life, the middle class in the U.S. today is as well off as it has ever been in history. With the exception of the lack of concubines and servants, most of us live as well as royalty did a few hundred years ago. Most of us live better than a Doctor or a lawyer did in the 1940’s or 1950’s, at least those of us who aren’t doctors and lawyers.

Be realistic, what was the middle class 30, 40 or 50 years ago? There’s a lot of complaining nowadays that a college degree doesn’t allow you to live worry free about money, but today, a college degree is not that exceptional, it’s kinda middle class. .[/quote]

TG makes a fine argument for hedonics.

the thing he misses is your grandad paid off his mortgage in 15 years.

you talk about the toys people have but not what they don’t have.

in 1970 a 30″ Color tube was expensive but college was cheap. in 1970 a hair stylist drove a POS chevy but could send a kid to State College.

now a Flat screen LCD is cheap and that stylist is blowing men in the back to pay for her loans on beauty school.

Sure TG has a great house and he pays 4X family income while his gtandad paid 2.5X.

Sure there are more calories. but there is less food. people have Type 2 diabetes like mad.
in the third world people are thin, here they re fat and diabetic.

the middle class is dying TG. open your eyes

[patb]

[quote=temeculaguy]Yet despite all of the various hand wringing I’ve read throughout my life, the middle class in the U.S. today is as well off as it has ever been in history. With the exception of the lack of concubines and servants, most of us live as well as royalty did a few hundred years ago. Most of us live better than a Doctor or a lawyer did in the 1940’s or 1950’s, at least those of us who aren’t doctors and lawyers.

Be realistic, what was the middle class 30, 40 or 50 years ago? There’s a lot of complaining nowadays that a college degree doesn’t allow you to live worry free about money, but today, a college degree is not that exceptional, it’s kinda middle class. .[/quote]

TG makes a fine argument for hedonics.

the thing he misses is your grandad paid off his mortgage in 15 years.

you talk about the toys people have but not what they don’t have.

in 1970 a 30″ Color tube was expensive but college was cheap. in 1970 a hair stylist drove a POS chevy but could send a kid to State College.

now a Flat screen LCD is cheap and that stylist is blowing men in the back to pay for her loans on beauty school.

Sure TG has a great house and he pays 4X family income while his gtandad paid 2.5X.

Sure there are more calories. but there is less food. people have Type 2 diabetes like mad.
in the third world people are thin, here they re fat and diabetic.

the middle class is dying TG. open your eyes

[patb]

[quote=temeculaguy]Yet despite all of the various hand wringing I’ve read throughout my life, the middle class in the U.S. today is as well off as it has ever been in history. With the exception of the lack of concubines and servants, most of us live as well as royalty did a few hundred years ago. Most of us live better than a Doctor or a lawyer did in the 1940’s or 1950’s, at least those of us who aren’t doctors and lawyers.

Be realistic, what was the middle class 30, 40 or 50 years ago? There’s a lot of complaining nowadays that a college degree doesn’t allow you to live worry free about money, but today, a college degree is not that exceptional, it’s kinda middle class. .[/quote]

TG makes a fine argument for hedonics.

the thing he misses is your grandad paid off his mortgage in 15 years.

you talk about the toys people have but not what they don’t have.

in 1970 a 30″ Color tube was expensive but college was cheap. in 1970 a hair stylist drove a POS chevy but could send a kid to State College.

now a Flat screen LCD is cheap and that stylist is blowing men in the back to pay for her loans on beauty school.

Sure TG has a great house and he pays 4X family income while his gtandad paid 2.5X.

Sure there are more calories. but there is less food. people have Type 2 diabetes like mad.
in the third world people are thin, here they re fat and diabetic.

the middle class is dying TG. open your eyes

[sdrealtor]

If we were willing to live in 1100 sq ft homes with one TV and drive our cars until the wheel fell off like grandad we could pay the mortgage off in 15 years also. The world has changed and that includes consumption patterns. From where I stand the middle class is expanding. Adults raised by college educated parents have continued to suceed where their parents did. Adults raised by parents with HS educations are now college graduates and are suceeding where their parents never did.

I ask the last 3 posters (Araya, patb & SK in CV) are you more successful, more educated and living a fuller life than your grand dad or are you the new underclass?

[sdrealtor]

If we were willing to live in 1100 sq ft homes with one TV and drive our cars until the wheel fell off like grandad we could pay the mortgage off in 15 years also. The world has changed and that includes consumption patterns. From where I stand the middle class is expanding. Adults raised by college educated parents have continued to suceed where their parents did. Adults raised by parents with HS educations are now college graduates and are suceeding where their parents never did.

I ask the last 3 posters (Araya, patb & SK in CV) are you more successful, more educated and living a fuller life than your grand dad or are you the new underclass?

[sdrealtor]

If we were willing to live in 1100 sq ft homes with one TV and drive our cars until the wheel fell off like grandad we could pay the mortgage off in 15 years also. The world has changed and that includes consumption patterns. From where I stand the middle class is expanding. Adults raised by college educated parents have continued to suceed where their parents did. Adults raised by parents with HS educations are now college graduates and are suceeding where their parents never did.

I ask the last 3 posters (Araya, patb & SK in CV) are you more successful, more educated and living a fuller life than your grand dad or are you the new underclass?

[sdrealtor]

If we were willing to live in 1100 sq ft homes with one TV and drive our cars until the wheel fell off like grandad we could pay the mortgage off in 15 years also. The world has changed and that includes consumption patterns. From where I stand the middle class is expanding. Adults raised by college educated parents have continued to suceed where their parents did. Adults raised by parents with HS educations are now college graduates and are suceeding where their parents never did.

I ask the last 3 posters (Araya, patb & SK in CV) are you more successful, more educated and living a fuller life than your grand dad or are you the new underclass?

[sdrealtor]

If we were willing to live in 1100 sq ft homes with one TV and drive our cars until the wheel fell off like grandad we could pay the mortgage off in 15 years also. The world has changed and that includes consumption patterns. From where I stand the middle class is expanding. Adults raised by college educated parents have continued to suceed where their parents did. Adults raised by parents with HS educations are now college graduates and are suceeding where their parents never did.

I ask the last 3 posters (Araya, patb & SK in CV) are you more successful, more educated and living a fuller life than your grand dad or are you the new underclass?

[scaredyclassic]

Gosh I feel torn. I agree with arrays but I also agree with temekuguy. Can they both be right in som way? Does it come down to how you view the proper measure of happiness societally?

[scaredyclassic]

Gosh I feel torn. I agree with arrays but I also agree with temekuguy. Can they both be right in som way? Does it come down to how you view the proper measure of happiness societally?

[scaredyclassic]

Gosh I feel torn. I agree with arrays but I also agree with temekuguy. Can they both be right in som way? Does it come down to how you view the proper measure of happiness societally?

[scaredyclassic]

Gosh I feel torn. I agree with arrays but I also agree with temekuguy. Can they both be right in som way? Does it come down to how you view the proper measure of happiness societally?

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