The Middle Class in America Is Radically Shrinking.

[Hunter44]

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/the-u.s.-middle-class-is-being-wiped-out-here's-the-stats-to-prove-it-520657.html

The 22 statistics detailed here prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the middle class is being systematically wiped out of existence in America.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer at a staggering rate. Once upon a time, the United States had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now that is changing at a blinding pace.

So why are we witnessing such fundamental changes? Well, the globalism and "free trade" that our politicians and business leaders insisted would be so good for us have had some rather nasty side effects. It turns out that they didn't tell us that the "global economy" would mean that middle class American workers would eventually have to directly compete for jobs with people on the other side of the world where there is no minimum wage and very few regulations. The big global corporations have greatly benefited by exploiting third world labor pools over the last several decades, but middle class American workers have increasingly found things to be very tough.

Here are the statistics to prove it:

• 83 percent of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1 percent of the people.

• 61 percent of Americans "always or usually" live paycheck to paycheck, which was up from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007.

• 66 percent of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans.

• 36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything to retirement savings.

• A staggering 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement.

• 24 percent of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year.

• Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32 percent increase over 2008.

• Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.

• For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together.

• In 1950, the ratio of the average executive's paycheck to the average worker's paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has exploded to between 300 to 500 to one.

• As of 2007, the bottom 80 percent of American households held about 7% of the liquid financial assets.

• The bottom 50 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.

• Average Wall Street bonuses for 2009 were up 17 percent when compared with 2008.

• In the United States, the average federal worker now earns 60% MORE than the average worker in the private sector.

• The top 1 percent of U.S. households own nearly twice as much of America's corporate wealth as they did just 15 years ago.

• In America today, the average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks.

• More than 40 percent of Americans who actually are employed are now working in service jobs, which are often very low paying.

• or the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.

• This is what American workers now must compete against: in China a garment worker makes approximately 86 cents an hour and in Cambodia a garment worker makes approximately 22 cents an hour.

• Approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 - the highest rate in 20 years.

• Despite the financial crisis, the number of millionaires in the United States rose a whopping 16 percent to 7.8 million in 2009.

• The top 10 percent of Americans now earn around 50 percent of our national income.

How about that trickle down economics....

[Destino]

And yet the major issues being championed by a certain party are:

- estate tax

- lowering capital gains taxes

- extending certain tax cuts

Isn't it amazing? We've also become convinced that taxing the top of the pyramid is against traditional values.... despite the fact that America existed just fine and in fact rose to power prior to Reagan defining "traditional" values in the 80's. We've been told that government is incapable of anything and have an entire political part dead set on making sure that is the case.

The conservative revolution has been nothing but a cash grab that has forced a massive transfer of wealth in this country for the last 30 years. Wealth redistribution on a massive scale from what really was traditional values. Each year what is "liberal" is redefined more towards the right. A republican written health care plan is passed and written off as rampant socialism. A republican written "free market" pollution solution is expanded and it is labeled communist. Tax rates prior to ONE FRIGGIN PRESIDENT are labeled as the biggest sign of socialism ever. Regulation attempts following the raping of not just American but Western economies as a whole is stamped as a heavy handed power grab.

Everything that doesn't allow the wealthy and powerful to further concentrate more in the hands of less is now the definition of communism. Yesterday's republican is today's liberal. I think Raegan himself if he was brought back to life and shuffled out before congress would be slammed as a liberal.

[deejaydana]

so 'trickle down' economics are the cause of this? Weak sauce I say. I hate it when people try to sell 'envy economics' to me.

[Hunter44]

Apparently it should have been called "trickle up" economics.

[Destino]

Apparently it should have been called "trickle up" economics.

trickle? I think it looks more like this:

[Burgold]

They're noticing this now? This has been happening and getting worse for a while now.

[Sticksboi05]

Isn't this old news?

[SkinsHokieFan]

I would be more inclined to agree if the middle class didn't have two 46 inch plasma tv's in their house, 3 cars, 4 cell phones, 4 laptops, FIOS triple play packages, 40 dollar a month gym memberships, central AC, still for the most part quite a bit of equity in their homes, and have so much food that America has an obesity problem

Look around us. Despite the economic calamity of 2008, we are living better then ever

The rich have certainly gotten far richer, and corporations have taken over both parties quite a bit. However to say the middle class is worse off today then 30 years ago is absurd in my opinion considering how much "stuff" the middle class has.

30 years ago the middle class had a far higher savings rate because there were no computers, cell phones, HD tv's, 3 car families, and the middle class was living in homes under 2,000 sq ft

[Hunter44]

so 'trickle down' economics are the cause of this? Weak sauce I say. I hate it when people try to sell 'envy economics' to me.

I'm not selling anything, I didn't invent the term, just trying to understand how the Republican idea of redistribution of wealth works.

So what do you say "caused" this?

[Riggo-toni]

I would be more inclined to agree if the middle class didn't have two 46 inch plasma tv's in their house, 3 cars, 4 cell phones, 4 laptops, FIOS triple play packages, 40 dollar a month gym memberships, central AC, still for the most part quite a bit of equity in their homes, and have so much food that America has an obesity problem

Look around us. Despite the economic calamity of 2008, we are living better then ever

No kidding. I had to hear this same crap ad nauseam 18 years ago when Clinton was running against GH Bush, and this claim goes all the way back to |Karl Marx, the original "Capitalism destroys the middle class" dickwad.

[SkinsHokieFan]

So what do you say "caused" this?

There is more stuff to buy.

Healthcare for example costs more because of how many advances, more medications, more treatments/technologies there are.

Middle class Americans can quite easily afford a 1970s health care system.

Middle class Americans can quite easily live in 1500 sq ft homes

Middle class Americans, before the explosive rise in student loans, which led to college costs going up, could afford to pay for college.

Go to any university in America, look how much construction, how many buildings are being built.

Imagine how much money you would have without the FIOS and cell phone bill, and if you only had 1 car payment instead of 3

[Destino]

Consumer electronics now defines living better than ever? That is absolutely hilarious! How long ago was it that families were commonly supported by a single working member? What does that dynamic look like now? Are salaries rising or falling?

Consumer goods are a poor indicator because their prices fall to a level where they are affordable. Everyone has a car now too... someone uncork the champagne because clearly that indicates we've made it.

[SkinsHokieFan]

Consumer electronics now defines living better than ever? That is absolutely hilarious! How long ago was it that families were commonly supported by a single working member? What does that dynamic look like now? Are salaries rising or falling?

Consumer goods are a poor indicator because their prices fall to a level where they are affordable. Everyone has a car now too... someone uncork the champagne because clearly that indicates we've made it.

30 years ago that wasn't the case. My household for example didn't have 2 cars until the mid 1990s.

Again, I would be much more inclined to believe the middle class was falling so far behind if the middle class wasn't consuming more then ever. Thats not the case though at all

[Burgundy Burner]

Destino blaming conservatives.

SHF - no need to add to what you have said. It is 100% true.

[Hunter44]

There is more stuff to buy.

I think you totally missed the point of the article. It's not about people buying more, it's about them not having the income.

EDIT:I'm not saying that people don't spend their money on stupid crap, everyone does, some more than others.

[SkinsHokieFan]

I think you totally missed the point of the article. It's not about people buying more, it's about them not having the income, period.

But that sure as hell has quite a bit to do with it.

There is quite a bit more "stuff" now which defines middle class America. No longer is it just the toaster and microwave.

Yes, corporate America and the top 1 percent have quite a bit more, in part because it is so much larger today then say 30 years ago. The pie itself is also quite a bit bigger. Despite the economic calamity we just suffered, middle class America is still eating up and consuming everything and anything it can get its hands on

[Hunter44]

And the world needs consumers or we're effed. But the income disparity from the richest to the poorest can't be ignored.

[SkinsHokieFan]

The rest of the article by the way

Giant Sucking Sound

The reality is that no matter how smart, how strong, how educated or how hard working American workers are, they just cannot compete with people who are desperate to put in 10 to 12 hour days at less than a dollar an hour on the other side of the world. After all, what corporation in their right mind is going to pay an American worker 10 times more (plus benefits) to do the same job? The world is fundamentally changing. Wealth and power are rapidly becoming concentrated at the top and the big global corporations are making massive amounts of money. Meanwhile, the American middle class is being systematically wiped out of existence as U.S. workers are slowly being merged into the new "global" labor pool.

What do most Americans have to offer in the marketplace other than their labor? Not much. The truth is that most Americans are absolutely dependent on someone else giving them a job. But today, U.S. workers are "less attractive" than ever. Compared to the rest of the world, American workers are extremely expensive, and the government keeps passing more rules and regulations seemingly on a monthly basis that makes it even more difficult to conduct business in the United States.

So corporations are moving operations out of the U.S. at breathtaking speed. Since the U.S. government does not penalize them for doing so, there really is no incentive for them to stay.

What has developed is a situation where the people at the top are doing quite well, while most Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to make it. There are now about six unemployed Americans for every new job opening in the United States, and the number of "chronically unemployed" is absolutely soaring. There simply are not nearly enough jobs for everyone.

Many of those who are able to get jobs are finding that they are making less money than they used to. In fact, an increasingly large percentage of Americans are working at low wage retail and service jobs.

But you can't raise a family on what you make flipping burgers at McDonald's or on what you bring in from greeting customers down at the local Wal-Mart.

The truth is that the middle class in America is dying -- and once it is gone it will be incredibly difficult to rebuild.

[Destino]

30 years ago that wasn't the case. My household for example didn't have 2 cars until the mid 1990s.

Again, I would be much more inclined to believe the middle class was falling so far behind if the middle class wasn't consuming more then ever. Thats not the case though at all

30 years ago you didn't need a high speed internet connection to work from home. You didn't need a cell phone for work. My parents added a second car shortly after my mother started working because the grind of sharing a car was becoming unsustainable. I wonder how much of this massive consumption being written off as luxury is a combination of affordability and social pressure.

Go take a job where you need to be in contact and announce that you refuse to have a cell phone. Good luck with that.

[SkinsHokieFan]

30 years ago you didn't need a high speed internet connection to work from home. You didn't need a cell phone for work. My parents added a second car shortly after my mother started working because the grind of sharing a car was becoming unsustainable. I wonder how much of this massive consumption being written off as luxury is a combination of affordability and social pressure.

Go take a job where you need to be in contact and announce that you refuse to have a cell phone. Good luck with that.

30 years ago you didn't work from home

30 years ago your office didn't give you a blackberry for work (I wish those days would come back!)

[DjTj]

30 years ago that wasn't the case. My household for example didn't have 2 cars until the mid 1990s.

Again, I would be much more inclined to believe the middle class was falling so far behind if the middle class wasn't consuming more then ever. Thats not the case though at all

But isn't this a little bit of a catch-22?

If Americans weren't buying more than ever, would any of us have jobs?

Everything Americans owned in the 50's can be made in China today for pennies on the dollar. It is only the luxury items that are designed, marketed, and sold in America: iPhones, high-speed internet, Viagra, video games, 3D movies, frappuccinos, adjustable-rate mortgages ... that's where America is making it's money these days, and we are also selling those things to rest of the world. If Americans stopped buying these extra luxuries, then that's the day the middle class really would disappear.

You can't say that we should just live like we did the 50's. People in China are living that simpler life a lot better and a lot cheaper than we can. We have been forced to advance because of competition, not because we are just lazy or greedy. Seriously, build a textile factory in middle America and tell the workers to work the same hours for the same pay living in the same dorms as Chinese workers. How competitive do you think America would be in that situation? We can't go back to that. We have found new and better things to do (with higher profit margins), and we will have to keep making more things and buying more things to stay ahead.

[Burgundy Burner]

30 years ago, you would work three jobs just to put yourself through college (that's how I did it).

Today, students take out student loans and try to live off of them too - with no job(s). After graduation, some wonder why they have so much debt and hope it will magically disappear.

[maxiumone]

I think SHF has a great point 30 years ago (might be more like 40) we looked at a one income family that if the wanted something they needed they SAVED for it and did not go into massive amounts of debt. You may have had a house payment and MAYBE a car payment.

Flash forward to today. Hey SHF I see you just moved into the 4000 Sq ft house yesterday and man those two new cars are sure nice. What is that you just bought one of those 3d TVs. Wow. The American family 40 years ago would never (almost never) done that in a year let alone in a month like many Americans do today.

You want to know what the greatest downfall of the American Middle class is that they want it now and damn be the results. Credit (easy credit) has had more effect on us as middle class. You take away the stuff that you don't need cable ($75 extra) the smart phone with data (get just a cell save $50) the new car (buy used you could save $100+) Don't buy on credit (there is $100's a month people waste) Don't go out to dinner every night (again $100 a month) I think many would feel better with an extra $600 to $700 a month in our pocket.

There are tons and tons of things the American Middle class does that the middle class of the 50, 60 and 70 just did not do. If they had disposable income they saved it we leverage it for credit that costs us $1000's of dollars a year in interest. That is why we have less money.

[maxiumone]

But isn't this a little bit of a catch-22?

If Americans weren't buying more than ever, would any of us have jobs?

Something I was going to add to my post. Very good point. But we had jobs in the 50's and 60's. Just they were typical 1 income families.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I'd like to see a stat showing what percentage of incomes were spent on non-vital goods in the 70's vs today. I mean, I don't see how you can say "we have two 46 inch plasma's now so we're better off." Of course they didn't have them back then. So is our standard of living better off today vs then when, taking into account what was available back then?

Not sure if I worded that right.