In the early 80's, I was making $10/hr for UNSKILLED labor while still in HIGH SCHOOL. The 1500 sq ft house my parents and I lived in went for around $30,000. A nice used car could easily be found for $400. Gas and milk was around $1 per gallon, and a pack of cigs was less than $1.

Today, that same house will cost you at least $150,000. That nice used car is about $2000, gas is $4/gal along with milk, and cigs are $4 a pack. The problem is trying to find that $40/hr job to balance out the cost of living increases.

I used to have a great job/life before THE U.S. GOV'T perpetrated the many hoaxes of 9/11, which DIRECTLY resulted in my company folding. I drive for a living now and I'm being bitchslapped hard at the pump. My wife is a damn good beautician and her business dwindles more every passing week as people prioritize. We CANNOT afford college for our 3.8 GPA 17 year old daughter.

The utter lack of compassion for our fellow citizens that some have shown in this thread is simply appalling. To say that times were tougher during the Carter administration is just insane.

Some people have it in their heads that we are living in prosperous times. IMHO, these people need their collective heads examined.

Originally posted by Blaine91555[/]

I think some of you are under the impression that middle class refers to low income earners and unskilled people. It does not and never has in my lifetime. Middle class traditionally starts at the level where you own your home and can drive a newer car with that being lower middle class. Below that is low income and only includes those without a specific skill or a good education.

Blaine, you keep saying people with lower incomes than yours are unskilled and uneducated. I have a Ph.D. and 20+ years college teaching experience. I don't own my own home, although I do have a car that's only a few years old. I can't complain I'm struggling, though according to some of the estimates I've seen on this thread I'm lower middle class or working class at 40k per year. I know many Ph.D.'s who are working as adjunct professors at $25 per classroom hour, class preparation and grading time not included--they make about $18k a year. That's a direct consequence of the "WalMartization" of university teaching--hiring people only part time so the salaries are low and you don't need to pay benefits. The teachers do it because they love teaching. A few people on here apparently look down their noses at teachers because their earnings are often not high

As soon as people get money they seem to feel superior to others and that's just the thing that the privileged class wants, to get people fighting over who's what class and who deserves more or less, and ignoring the real problems.

We live at a time and in a country where the profits are privatized but the risks are socialized--i.e. the rich get richer but the government (the taxpayers)pays when the society fails. The current bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the government is a prime example .

I'm a liberal, not a socialist, but some of the things Marx said about class warfare are true.



[edit on 23-7-2008 by Sestias]

John McCain and many other conservatives say they would solve our current economic problems by expanding George Bush's tax cuts for the rich. For example, McCain has called for making the Bush cuts permanent and for cutting the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. This is a recipe for economic disaster. Tax cuts for the rich have not and will not help middle-income Americans.

Bush promised that his tax cuts would create jobs, but they didn't. A conservative-dominated Congress enacted two sets of Bush tax cuts, in 2001 and 2003. Job creation was a major Bush selling point, especially in 2003, when the administration asserted that the tax cuts would create 5.5 million jobs from July 2003 through the end of 2004. Instead, only 2.4 million jobs were added during that period—1.7 million fewer jobs than the economy was expected to produce without any tax cuts. [Center for American Progress] Today, the impact of the Bush tax program is clear: 8.5 million Americans are unemployed—2.5 million more than when Bush took office. REREAD THAT LAST SENTENCE AND VOTE REPUBLICAN NEXT TIME - YOU DESERVE WHAT YOU GET THEN.

Bush promised that his tax cuts would pay for themselves, but they didn't. Conservatives persistently repeat the myth that, as Bush put it, "You cut taxes, and the tax revenues increase," or as John McCain declared in March, "tax cuts…as we all know, increase revenues." But as Time magazine reported, "Virtually every economics Ph.D. who has worked in a prominent role in the Bush Administration acknowledges that the tax cuts enacted during the past six years have not paid for themselves—and were never intended to." In fact, Bush took office with a $236 billion surplus and will leave with a 2008 deficit of more than $400 billion. [The New York Times] The Bush tax cuts, which cost $300 billion last year alone, are primarily responsible for that deficit. [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities]

Bush promised that his tax cuts would help the middle class, but they didn't. During the 2000 campaign, Bush said his tax cuts focus "on low- and moderate-income families," and would provide the "greatest help for those most in need." [The New York Times] But in fact, the Bush tax cuts gave an average tax break of $118,000 to those who make over $1 million per year and only $740 per year to middle-income households. The bottom 20 percent of households received an average tax break of only $20. [CBPP]

The current tax system is unfair. Middle-class families pay too much while the very richest individuals and corporations pay too little. Now, McCain and other conservatives are pushing proposals that would make taxes even more unfair.

Conservative tax cuts for the rich hurt America's economy. The Bush program, which McCain has vowed to continue, caused our economy to be more sluggish than during any comparable period over the past 60 years. Unemployment has increased, basic costs have skyrocketed, incomes have stagnated, poverty has risen, the number of uninsured has increased and mortgage foreclosures are at record levels. Bush's conservative economics has been a spectacular failure, so why would anyone want more of the same?

By getting rid of giveaways and loopholes for the rich, we can lower taxes and increase benefits for the middle class. It's time to adjust our tax system so that everyone pays their fair share. At the same time, we urgently need to divert some of those wasted revenues toward projects that will make America stronger and more secure.

Balance the tax code. We need to shut down loopholes and roll back tax breaks for the rich. The Bush tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations should be eliminated.

Reward companies that create jobs in America. Our current tax system gives incentives for companies to move jobs offshore. We need a tax code that rewards companies for investing in American workers.

Reinvest tax cuts into the economy. After rolling back the top-end tax cuts and closing tax shelters, we need to invest in areas vital to our future—fixing bridges and roads, becoming energy independent, developing new "green" technologies, and providing every child with a high quality education. That way, we will create more jobs, incur less debt and build a stronger future for our nation.

Let's pretend, for the sake of discussion, that the average American spends 90% of his income on his expenses (housing, food, utilities, groceries, transportation, etc.) and has 10% disposable income. Now let's also guesstimate that the average American's weekly fuel costs have gone from $20 a week to $40 a week. $20 increase x 4 = $80 a month increase.

For a person whose monthly income is $1,600 a month, that's 5% of monthly income - half of their 10% disposable income. Food costs and utilities have also gone up significantly, and the low-income American is getting perilously close to breaking even, having zero disposable income, and/or going "in the hole." If, on the other hand, a person makes $8,000 a month, that same $80 is only 1% of their income. In other words, they'll hardly notice the difference. Most of us probably fall somewhere in between and are being affected, although not all to the same degree.

We are all seeing higher prices, but the less money one makes, the more they are being hurt. This non-recession is hitting the lower 'classes' a lot harder than it's hitting the upper classes. That's simple math, and a simple truth. If you're lucky enough to have the higher income and not be feeling the pinch so much, be grateful. But please don't minimize the impact of this on people who aren't so lucky. Even if they don't complain and say that they're doing fine, they aren't doing nearly as fine as they were a few months ago.

But really, the point is, why is this happening at all? Why are we having to pay so much more for fuel, food, and utilities? Who is getting the money?

Is the US government withholding a source of clean, FREE energy from the public?
Are the powerful elite and large corporations artificially raising fuel costs through speculation?
Is this a plot by oil-producing nations to 'break the back' of America?
There are many more questions we could ask, and some of them might even lead to a course of action or a solution if we pursue them far enough.

But our fellow working Americans, whether they wear blue collars or white, are not the enemy here. We are all victims of the sharply rising cost of living to a greater or lesser degree. I think we should be concerned not about who's whining or isn't, who's worried and who isn't, or who's feeling the pinch already and who's not, but about the fact that, overall, Americans are being affected negatively and it needs to stop.

Every job needs to be done or it wouldn't be a job. If you happen to have an upper management position or be a professional, don't forget that you depend on the working stiffs to pick up your garbage, provide your utilities, raise, prepare and distribute the food you eat, make your clothes, repair and maintain your car, etc. We are all connected and if this problem affects some of us, it should be of concern to all of us.

I'm not the problem. You're not the problem. I venture to guess that not one person reading or posting to this thread is the problem. But there is a problem, and we need to be thinking about possible solutions - or at the very least, how we can help each other to survive until the problem is solved.

You ain't see nothing yet. The police state is there for a reason. To rape you and beat you up so you can't say a goddamn thing after.

It will be quite easy to install if you:

- Hire felons (already doing it)
- Hire foreigners (already doing it)
- Pay them well even in fiat money (doing it)
- Send them oversee and make them crazy with PTSD (already doing it)
- Do a false-flag and blame it on terrorists/militias/911 truthers...
- The economy collapse will be blame on the terrorist attack... of course it was already going to collapse.
- Put a charimatic goon in office and blame everything on the last president (in plan to do it)

Yep, the american people are gonna be raped. You better leave, fight or enjoy it.

To say that times were tougher during the Carter administration is just insane.

Agreed. The high inflation of the '70s was the result of the government printing money to pay for the debts of the Vietnam War, not Jimmy Carter. Anyway you didn't see homeless people back then, and most everybody had a car.

Originally posted by ALightinDarkness
...Food prices have not sky rocketed if you substitute other foods - only certain foods have gone up. ...

I take it you don't do your own shopping?

Praytell, please inform the people here what foods HAVEN'T skyrocketed in the last 1 or 2 years. Milk has gone up about 40%. Steaks have doubled. Chicken approximately 30%-50%, and pork about 25%-40%.

Two years ago, a shopping cart of what we usually bought cost anywhere from $275-$350. The last time I bought the same stuff, it cost $500. But food costs haven't gone up?

The only thing that HASN'T gone up is junk food. So, are you suggesting I exchange meat, eggs, cheese, and fresh vegetables for junk food?

[edit on 23-7-2008 by sir_chancealot]