Oprah does show on former middle class now in tent cities

www.youtube.com...

Don't give me crap about Oprah, I know. It was the only thing on the DVR at 3am last night and I watched it (wife recorded). Oprah did the whole show on middle class that have lost everything and are now coming together in tent cities. These things are popping up all over the place. We are continuing to get desensitized to these situations. It was an eye openning show about how quickly things can get out of control.

For those in the thread "have you told your family yet" make them watch this show.

I have not seen it but I'm sure that there will be many, many more people in this situation.

Though to be fair many of them probably had it coming, with taking out huge lones and bying everying the could on credit.

Existence is so cyclical...

Just 1 year ago, we were all reading about how the lowest class in the emerging markets (esp Brazil, South Africa and India) were slowly but surely moving out of the slums and into middle class housing.

Its strange to see that just one year later, the reverse is going on in America.

Clearly there isn't much fault in the overall system if both are going on at the same time. Its just that people tried to shove too much fuel into the engine, and now the entire car has ground to a halt.

I think itll improve over time.

Did Oprah focus on anything interesting or did she just soft peddle the usual "human interest" hypocritical junk?

So many people hate successiful businessmen for no reason other than the fact that they are rich... I wonder how many people hate celebrities like Oprah in turn. To some, its bewildering that a businessman can make a million bucks a year from a business venture. To me, its bewildering that Oprah is a billionaire. Absolutely bewildering...

I know i's wrong to think this is funny but meh did they care about the rest of the world while they were on top? haha fat chance, the world wouldn't be in the state its in if they had.

What will be hillarious is when Oprah is in a tent city too

Most of these people borrowed against their house or brought houses they couldn't afford because they thought prices would go u[ for ever - thus they are stupid and deserve to lose all impact on the economy and probably to die.

haha ok so i'm not really supply-side capitalist - however these people mostly are so it's only fair they're judged by their own rules. These middle-class fools thought they deserved to be richer and more powerful than the rest of the world then it turned out they didn't and now they moan.

I think that we should have pragmatic solutions to the world; homeless should get free land, hungry free food, big business shouldn't have advantages over small business and government should make sure people don't lie and cheat the masses,,.. These middle-class drop-outs would have voted down any of these things because it might have ruined their affluence, well now they get to see the REAL results of their system - the results which have been all to obvious to the rest of the world for a long time, for a few to have much others can only have a little.

Some of your replies are shallow and piss me off. Not all of these people were in a house they couldn't afford. Some of them had medical bills they couldn't afford, som got laid off after having been in their homes for 20 years. Even if the adults were stupid and bought a house they couldn't afford, how about some compassion for the children who had nothing to do with this decision and now are having to suffer the consequences. Have some freakin compassion or if it happens to you and I see you on te street I will only point and laugh. I do not feel sorry for the ones who did it to themselves,but that is not all of them and certainly not the kids.

reply to post by elston


I presume my post is included, although as i point out i am actually compassionate to their plight - as i am to the plight of ALL suffering people on the world, those that stitch footballs for $1 a day and those kicked out of their homes by colonial forces - however the 'aspiring middle classes' who had to buy the best SUV and the biggest house in the nicest area in general don't - in fact they certainly don't because their very success in the first place is because of others suffering. That new football shirt brought for timmy for his birthday? it was made by a hungry child. That gold ring you got for christmas? A whole nation was turned into a living hell just so the right people could profit from it. That banana on your cornflakes? a huge swath of islands were taken over and brutalized by oppressive dictators just so United Fruit could sell them to you. The list continues.

These people let all this happen in the world because they believed in THE MARKET and CAPITALISM because it was THE AMERICAN WAY - isn't it funny that these people are now saying 'it isn't fair, we need to be bailed out, a little socialism is ok... as long as we're the ones getting the payout...' HAHA Well these greedy pigs have the dream they wanted, maybe now they'll start to see that the only fair world is a fair world,

You yourself say you have no compassion for the compassionless, these are the ones who didn't care about the world - these are the ones that made it like this, these are the ones that let these pshcho business ventures take over and turn money into a god - these are the ones who deserve no compassion.

/Oh and i actually think they should be given free land, etc but only if we cut down the power of big business -end copyright, patents,huge costs for operating licences, etc, etc and all the other things which ruined the chance of small business and cottage industry as well, end the god like power of money and make sure everyone is ok,

[edit on 27-2-2009 by NatureBoy]

reply to post by 44soulslayer


This is the process of globalisation.

The poor in the third world countries have a rise in living standards, while the rich (comparitively at least) in the first world countries have a drop in living standards.

In the end the entire labour market of the world is on the same level, in one homogenous economy. The global economy.

The so called "middle class" will be a remnant of the past in the same way as the artisan and guilds are part of history nowdays. There will be nothing apart from Capital vs Labour and you will be competing with people half the world away in the same market. Those people half a world away are accustomed to working for much less pay and expecting much less in life than the westerners currently are. It will be a true eye opener for a westerner to begin living in the new world.

The consumerist complex of the past few years has been really shocking, a climax of the GREED/ME ME 80s. The current young generation 16-30 have no idea what austerity really is and they will have to learn and QUICK!

I remember reading in the newspapers how USA was upset about developing countries that they are too protective about their market. Free market, captalism etc. Those countries suffered hell for opening their market and now they are in the game too. Now USA don't want to play the game anymore

Originally posted by asmeone2

Though to be fair many of them probably had it coming, with taking out huge loans and buying everything the could on credit.

Got that right. And then there's dummies like me who have never bought anything on credit in their life and i'm gonna have bail out these greedy morons. Govt is now talking about taking over our 401ks and IRAs to pay for the bailouts!!!