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the middle class is shrinking because Congress passed laws that made it profitable for companies to leave the United States and doesn't use it power of tariffs to keep US produced items competitively priced with foreign made ones.
Excessive taxation of the remaining middle class is also a problem. As more people become dependent upon the government (a situation which politicians LOVE) the more they need to bleed dry those who remain employed...........
Where did you get that idea that the middle class is doing a lot better in "other western countries." Maybe Norway, where the country is rolling in oil money but certainly not Greece, Spain, Italy, France or Germany. For a huge part of the Eurozone unemployment is a very, very serious issue. Things are not so good for even the countries doing the best, France and Germany.
Certainly there are plenty of Americans who seem to feel entitled to an easy life. Others of us work hard just to get by and sometimes hopefully slowly advance our careers. One this forum there seems to be plenty of people who like to complain and blame the world for failing to meet their expectations. It is amazing how few people talk about their plans to advance or ask questions or look for advice on developing a career.
We tend to have more money then other countries....however theres a severe difference in lifestyles. Germans have 24K of disposable income at the median level for a family, while the US has 30K. BUT.....
The Germans have 20 days paid vacation,and 10 paid holidays. Last year half of all American workers took no time off.
we work an average of 1,788 hours a year...the Germans work 1,388. 400 hours difference in hours worked....10 weeks.
And dont even get me started on medical bills, opportunity, etc.
We tend to have more money then other countries....however theres a severe difference in lifestyles. Germans have 24K of disposable income at the median level for a family, while the US has 30K. BUT.....
The Germans have 20 days paid vacation,and 10 paid holidays. Last year half of all American workers took no time off.
we work an average of 1,788 hours a year...the Germans work 1,388. 400 hours difference in hours worked....10 weeks.
And dont even get me started on medical bills, opportunity, etc.
We're doing it wrong.
We also have some of the most amazing innovations. These innovations have helped improve medicine, quality of life, etc. people just take it for granted. We aren't Germany and never will be. We are doing it not their way. Whether we are wrong or not is an entirely different issue.
The really awesome thing is if you want to make less money, have more disposable income, and work fewer hours... it's really not that hard to do. Start with your house. The average house in Germany? About 70% percent of the size of the average house in America. Medical care we're pretty much screwed on. I mean, you can go on welfare now but your income has to be pretty low to qualify for welfare medical insurance.
We also have some of the most amazing innovations. These innovations have helped improve medicine, quality of life, etc. people just take it for granted. We aren't Germany and never will be. We are doing it not their way. Whether we are wrong or not is an entirely different issue.
Hey great news for the Germans! They TOO have access to those innovations!
And...GASP...germans are also coming up with things!
So you are saying that thats why we are working harder then other countries....while becoming more and more unequal. UH huh. Wether we are doing it wrong or right is the entire point of this thread.....and you say "no no thats not the issue"
The really awesome thing is if you want to make less money, have more disposable income, and work fewer hours... it's really not that hard to do. Start with your house. The average house in Germany? About 70% percent of the size of the average house in America. Medical care we're pretty much screwed on. I mean, you can go on welfare now but your income has to be pretty low to qualify for welfare medical insurance.
Average house size in austrailia is larger then the US. That kind of surprised me.
Anyways a lot of the reason for smaller homes in Germany deal with the war, and the following regulation. The majority of Germans rent as a result. This pushes down home size a lot. And we've started making larger homes...over 2K is the average!
That blows me away, I live in a 2K foot house, and its huge, we've discussed finding something smaller.
But then I realized something....we have a ton of people in trailers-ie mobile homes....Are those included? Noe...those arent houses.
I suspect that would drop our average house size a lot. 6.6% of us live in mobile homes.
the middle class is shrinking because Congress passed laws that made it profitable for companies to leave the United States and doesn't use it power of tariffs to keep US produced items competitively priced with foreign made ones.
Excessive taxation of the remaining middle class is also a problem. As more people become dependent upon the government (a situation which politicians LOVE) the more they need to bleed dry those who remain employed...........
The best route out of poverty is a job.
Best for whom?
And what kind of job are we talking? In some cases it doesn't actually work - if work-related expenses exceed wages, then a job doesn't get you out of poverty. Fortunately, such cases are only common when child care enters the picture.
And ideally, no one would have kids they can't afford.
The really awesome thing is if you want to make less money, have more disposable income, and work fewer hours... it's really not that hard to do. Start with your house. The average house in Germany? About 70% percent of the size of the average house in America. Medical care we're pretty much screwed on. I mean, you can go on welfare now but your income has to be pretty low to qualify for welfare medical insurance.
I rent a single room in a claustrphobic 8-person house. How do you propose I implement your solution?
If that person can not pay enough to live on and other people have to pay for them then yeah it is.
Not quite.
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