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That's exactly what all of Obama's redistributionist (that's how he's described himself in the past) policies are meant to do, too.
It's always the middle class that disappears. And it happens by design.
I would like to see some evidence of that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PullMyFinger
When real inflation hits and credit card interest goes up to 50%, then Americans will feel the brunt of the federal debt.
And after the laws have been changed to prevent people from getting out from under through bankruptcy. A new form of slavery is coming to America.
Our "real inflation" is flirting with negative values these days (deflation). I'm curious to when this 50% interest rate happens. I'm inclined to think most of you that are paranoid about inflation have no idea what the hell you are talking about.
I disagree. Finances have everything to do with the downfall of the current middle class.
If you can generalize about the Utopian life of the past "middle class", I will do the same about the sad state of the current middle class. The current "middle class" bought houses they couldn't afford (the avg size of houses doubled from the size I grew up in) with negative amortization or balloon mortgages, 5 big screen TVs (one for almost every room), cell phones for every family member, two expensive family vacations a year, financed expensive cars, while failing to save anything for a rainy day (like a job loss), much less for retirement.
The "middle class" leveraged themselves into poverty and now are suffering the consequences for those decisions while blaming everyone (mortgage companies, banks, Credit Card companies, "the rich", etc) but themselves.
Endless lousy choices......
Seems an increasing portion of people's self esteem is tied to their stuff, regardless of the debt incurred to acquire that stuff.
Average price of a new car is 32K. Median household income in 2013 was about $51K. Why would someone choose to pay 63% of their annual household income ( excluding interest) on a depreciating asset, designed to transport them from point A to B?
How is this "news". She is six years too late. Listening to Suze Orman/cnn on the economy is like watching Oprah for psychological advice. Useless fodder.
There is one chart that everyone should see that is part of Reuters' must read special series: The Unequal State of America: Redistributing Up - it is the chart we have said over the past 4 years is the only one that matters for America - that showing the flattening of America's wealth distributon Gaussian curve, aka the plunder and accelerating destruction of America's middle class, at the expense of the poorest and the wealthiest. This is nothing but the inevitable outcome of a co-opted, conflicted and controlled marionette government, which does the bidding of the wealthiest lobby powers (read corporate shareholders and Wall Street), partitioning the bulk of the wealth to the richest, while sending the scraps to the poorest in order to keep itself in power due to the power of the ever poorer, democratic majority. Alas, since there is never a free lunch, and since the Fed does not create wealth but through its currency debasement merely accelerates the transfer of wealth, someone ends up footing the bill? Who? None other than that part of the US population which made the United States of America the greatest country in the world, and is now watching it implode first slowly, then fast.
Our "real inflation" is flirting with negative values these days (deflation). I'm curious to when this 50% interest rate happens. I'm inclined to think most of you that are paranoid about inflation have no idea what the hell you are talking about.
I'll admit I'm not finance expert, I'm just using old farm common sense. Look at the debt the country is holding? We are barely making the interest payments from what I understand and we are actually raising the debt to do that. Like taking out a new credit card to pay the minimum balance on another.
Something has to give eventually I would think, and the first thing that will happen is the dollar will be devalued drastically so CC companies will have to raise their interest to make up for their revenue shortfalls.
Hate to be a pest, but I am curious as to the source that we are paying 59% of our income in taxes.
Actually it is higher than that... but to understand that you need to understand the effect of indirect taxes.
Indirect taxes are taxes, fees and licences paid by business, and increased prices by vendors servicing business which must then add those taxes back into the price of consumables.
For a new vehicle it can be as much as $10,000 of the price.
They include the following taxes, payroll, property, sales, utility's, fuel, permits, licences, excise, environmental, and several others, and must be accounted for by each and every step in the retail chain.
How is this "news". She is six years too late. Listening to Suze Orman/cnn on the economy is like watching Oprah for psychological advice. Useless fodder.
We agree on this point. Her comments should help her sell more books though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamofmonterey
There is one chart that everyone should see that is part of Reuters' must read special series: The Unequal State of America: Redistributing Up - it is the chart we have said over the past 4 years is the only one that matters for America - that showing the flattening of America's wealth distributon Gaussian curve, aka the plunder and accelerating destruction of America's middle class, at the expense of the poorest and the wealthiest. This is nothing but the inevitable outcome of a co-opted, conflicted and controlled marionette government, which does the bidding of the wealthiest lobby powers (read corporate shareholders and Wall Street), partitioning the bulk of the wealth to the richest, while sending the scraps to the poorest in order to keep itself in power due to the power of the ever poorer, democratic majority. Alas, since there is never a free lunch, and since the Fed does not create wealth but through its currency debasement merely accelerates the transfer of wealth, someone ends up footing the bill? Who? None other than that part of the US population which made the United States of America the greatest country in the world, and is now watching it implode first slowly, then fast.
This bit is worthless claptrap. Over 50% of American households are "corporate shareholders" as you put it, and countless more are virtual corporate shareholders through their employers pension plans. So does this amount to over half of Americans colluding to deal themselves in on the "bulk of the wealth?"
I disagree. Finances have everything to do with the downfall of the current middle class.
If you can generalize about the Utopian life of the past "middle class", I will do the same about the sad state of the current middle class. The current "middle class" bought houses they couldn't afford (the avg size of houses doubled from the size I grew up in) with negative amortization or balloon mortgages, 5 big screen TVs (one for almost every room), cell phones for every family member, two expensive family vacations a year, financed expensive cars, while failing to save anything for a rainy day (like a job loss), much less for retirement.
The "middle class" leveraged themselves into poverty and now are suffering the consequences for those decisions while blaming everyone (mortgage companies, banks, Credit Card companies, "the rich", etc) but themselves.
The real issue of the collapse of the middle class is more than anything else education.
The entire educational system today is monopolized by corporate power through the bribes known as PAC's.
Those corporate powers have an agenda that includes keeping the American public doing the things that benefit corporate America.
Corporate America want the American people out buying the things they sell, and they want them doing that on credit. They want them spending 105% of their income so not only are they optimum consumers, but their indebtedness makes them weak and compliant employees.
The average American spends 2 decades being brainwashed by public schools to expect to spend their lives doing mind numbing repetitive tasks for little reward and to accept the religion of materialism in which true happiness lies in the material things which lie just beyond their reach.
Corporations write the text books and set the educational curriculum by way of the corruption in Washington and the power Washington wields over school districts by way of funding.
For those who want some real data to back up the idea that the rich are getting richer while everyone else treads water read "Capital in the twenty-first century" by Thomas piketenny. Its a large book, but its surprisingly readable, and backed up by actual data.
The TLDR version of it is this-Capitalism is not working as we hoped. The .01%'s incomes are growing rapidly, and the rest of us are hosed under the current system.
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