the past as service and related jobs are either shrinking or being outsourced to overseas countries? The American middle class is slowing become a phenomena of the past. Service and lower white collar jobs are increasing shrinking due to such jobs being phased out due to increasing computerization or related white collar jobs are being outsourced to overseas countries in order to cut costs. Job and/or career generalists are being phased out in favor of those with job and/or career specialists. Those who are job/career specialists are the upper middle class and because of their often advanced level of education and skills, will probably be absorbed in the lower upper classes. Those who were once solidly middle class and lower middle class will join the ranks of the lower classes. Do YOU believe the American middle class as we know it will become history or will they metamorph into something else entirely?
Eventually something will give. Many middle class have fallen behind in many ways to the gains made during the post war era. The dollar is being exchanged for oil and the area that it has its new basis is under constant attack. Inflation in the short term is rising slowly but it is still overtaking the rise in wages. Globalization is making us trade our standard of living with those who live at a far lower standard. I know many who have credit card and second mortgage trouble due to trying to maintain, send their kids to college and keep up with the rising costs. Will the middle class become a thing of the past you ask? I think the bar that determines it will be lowered to disguise it.
Over the past half century, many manual labor jobs were eliminated by automation. Other blue collar jobs were outsourced to countries with cheap labor. Now, even high tech white collar jobs are being outsourced. Those of us who work in Information Technology are seeing much of the work taken to India where they can easily do the same work remotely that we do locally.
The root of all this is the desire to maximize corporate profits. It’s not enough anymore to be satisfied with decent profits. You have to maximize profits and one of the ways to do that is to keep wages and benefits as low as possible for employees.
They strive to pay the workers as little as possible while giving the corporate CEOs and high ranking administrators the highest possible salaries and bonuses.
30 years ago the president of a company made 30 or 40 times as much as the average factory worker in that company. Now the president makes 300 to 400 times as much money as the average worker.
Whenever the economy expands and new wealth is created, almost all of that new wealth goes to the top 1%. The rest of the people see almost no wage increases at all adjusting for inflation.
We may have to adapt to living more primitively/simply.
We may have to show others how to live off the land, how to live off the grid... and who knows we may live outdoors, eat healthier food and enjoy the sun, the blue sky \ riding bikes instead of cars. Working in our own neighborhoods and helping as needed to maintain healthy communities... home schools may thrive, maybe town meetings will return...
You never know what the youth and their grandparents could bring forth.
And when that or if that happens, globalization will have achieved its purpose. To standardize the world on an equal basis. Instead of moving towards a future we will revisit a past. Are fiefdoms and serfs something that might show its face again?
It may-as the American class divide becomes more chasmic , those with the most advanced educations (Master's Degrees and Ph.Ds) and with the most advanced, specialized skill sets will be the ruling, elite class. They will have even more socioeconomic, sociopolitical, and even sociocultural influence than at the present time. They will have inordinate power to set the societal rules as they see fit.
There may be even a more entrenched caste system. The middle class will be absorbed. The more advanced educated, skilled, and specialist middle classes will be absorbed into the lower periphery of the upper classes while the moderately and lowly educated, skilled, and generalist middle classes will disappear, becoming part of the ever growing lower classes.
Jobs will be more tightly structured and they will require an advanced level of education, skills, and specialization. That will become the rule of the game. Those without such education, skills, and specialization will be the new unemployed. However, there will be forced jobs for the poor; social programs and/or reformation will be becoming a thing of the past as the rich will now be taxed in order to support such social programs and/or reforms as a result of the disappearance of the middle class who assumed the taxes. The rich will now be taxed regarding such programs and they will rebel, looking at the ever increasing lower class. They will exhort their elected officials to institute, even implement forced work program which will even be more draconian than the present workfare system.
The rich "ruling elite" are going to have to hide in walled neighborhoods, because the growing unwashed masses won't tolerate their greed when things become really bad.
Yes but the affluent classes with their immense power would be capable of severely punishing the leaders of such revolts. Harsher penalties will be enforced, even punishing entire populations for the actions of a few. If there will be a revolution, the revolution will be short-lived and squashed. The remaining lower class will even face more penalties in terms in harsher prisons, even concentration camps. There will be even more police surveillance in such poorer environs. The rich elite will simply not tolerate any form of rebellion and revolution as their power is even more entrenched in the American social fabric than ever.
Not at all, just presenting a logical premise. Many Americans are becoming increasingly sick of the poor. They contend that the poor are the way they are because they simply want to and have a negative mindset and perspective. They furthermore contend that the social welfare and other reformative programs simply aren't working. They are sick of their tax dollars going towards such programs. There are some among them who are starting to view the lower classes as expenditures and excess baggage. Historically, we know what happens to a group of people when they are considered to be excesses.........
You are the only one who contends the poor WANT to be poor.
No one else says that. It's your personal view.
The only people who want to be poor are religious ascetics, and perhaps some idealistic hippy-types. And these are few and far between. And not welfare recipients.
She is just saying they don't necessarily think they can rise above their poverty. Unless they rise above poverty consciousness, they will be stuck in poverty.
They must believe they can find a career. They must believe in education and the free market system. They must somehow believe in themselves and I believe this is what she is advocating.
To stand up and take what they can still get from this nation… what little is left.
I hope there is more than meets the eye at this point. Many are waiting until 2016… they think things will go back to NORMAL after the next election.
I hope so too.
I disagree, because she has said it repeatedly here on the forum. I think it's EXACTLY what she means.
+1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!!!!!!!!
If you don't mean it, then don't say it. Say that people CHOOSE to be poor, which is something completely different than DESIRE to be poor.
Bossy.
She said, They (*those who are tired of the poors' attitudes,*) contend that the poor are the way they are because they simply (seem) to want to be poor...
and (do) have negative mindsets and perspectives.
I would say they do not wish to be poor, but really do not have the direction to not be. Not inner or outer. I believe she is trying to be a positive outer push. As is Feenix.
These two are pushing against a system which gives blacks a negative message.. namely, you need help by way of special programs and assistance.
Harlem, back in the day was kicking you know what… then something happened…
not sure what… ?
I love your sarcasm But with sarcasm comes an inane truth.
"They will have inordinate power to set the societal rules as they see fit." If you don't see this happening now than the conservative wool has been pulled over your eyes.
I wasn't being sarcastic at all. I was just surmising the American future scenario. If things go the current way they are, the middle class will all but disappear with the more educated upper middle classes being absorbed into the lower periphery of the upper classes while the rest of the middle class will become part of the ever growing lower class. The rich will become very more powerful than they are because of increasing socioeconomic clout. With such power become increasing control over the less powerful classes.
The less powerful classes i.e. the lower classes will feel the brunt of the more affluent classes' more forceful, even brutal exercise of power through cuts in social programs and reformations. Since the middle class has completely disappeared, it is NOW the wealthy who will be taxed in order to keep such social programs afloat, THEY know this and will elect politicians who will do away with all such social and welfare programs. Such politicians will institute harsher workfare programs for the poor. More and more prisons will be built for this purpose in addition to housing an increasing number of poor people. I majored in sociology and history in college. Also I have extensively read and studied social class in its historical and sociological context. I read sociology books like other people read magazines. I am also an astute social observer. The current societal atmosphere is not becoming better for the middle class, it is however becoming immensely better for the wealthy and will become more so in the future. There is a rise in the lower classes. Let us say that based upon the scenario is it is, it will get......UGLY.....QUITE UGLY........
You don't think the huge, growing poor class will outvote the tiny elite?
They may but economic rules and the poor are not powerful enough to exercise any type of socioeconomic or sociopolitical clout. The few wealthy will have the money and other means to control, even oppress the growing poor through their rules and edicts which politicians will enforce on the behalf of the wealthy. Money rules America and more so in the future. The poor may "outvote" but the wealthy with their economic influence will exercise their power through voting for politicians who will act in their interests. The poor will not have a chance to have their voices heard or respected because money is the influence and the power. Besides, politicians listen to money and influence-that is why the wealthier communities are safer, more secure, and have more improvement because such classes influence their politicians through monetary donations. The poor do not have that so politicians are not going to listen to the poor so poorer communities and poor people will be underserved, if not at all. That is the name of the game in America. Money TALKS.........
That's not what reality shows. Reality shows the underclasses voting in socialists, like Obama. That's due to numbers. It will be even more so as the lower class grows.
The politicians crave power more than money, in my opinion. They want votes. They pander to who gives them the votes.
This will keep going on until the system is unable to support itself,and THEN it won't matter who is voted in, there just won't be the money to support it.
The welfare system will collapse,and then the elite will be forced to hide. Like what happened in Brazil. They have to live in secured neighborhoods.
Good perspective analysis, Jane, continue the discussion.
That is a stomach turner, Obama received a broad range of support. Unless the majority of America is 'underclass' how did he win in 2012, by a comfortable margin? I wouldn't a touch a rightwinger with a 10 foot pole. The only majority the GOP clearly enjoys is among old white men, and we know what the demographics says about them.
If Obama is a socialist, then so was Clinton, LBJ, FDR all proposing major social programs, Would you prefer a pre 1932 America?
You must also read Marx as a lot of what you describe is a precursor to his predictions of communism stepping in to overcome the bourgeois class you so aptly outline. I think we may come to our collective senses eventually as people will wake up to the gluttony and greed that is now in charge. Your worst nightmare may instead be more socialism with a sprinkling of capitalism.
I did a cursory study of Karl Marx in college.
Yes, indeed, prepare for the reintroduction of feudalism. Losing ground on wages, benefits and advocacy, what was once a worker now becomes a slave. The invisible hand on the free marketThere is now no pretense that what was once the rule of the many will now become the rule of the few and your very livelihood will depend upon your giving your lord or master due deference in more and more aspects of your personal life. Since they all will operate in the same way and hold all the cards.
The more money a person needs to survive, the poorer they become.the day a person can live without a dime.is the day they become rich. Aquire skill sets. Currency is fictitious. If we all try to cash out tomorrow. We will find the funds dont exist
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