Capitalism . . . working as intended.

[ksen]

http://gawker.com/the-middle-class-is-now-a-minority-1747290888

The latest Pew Research Center figures, released yesterday, show that at long last the middle class is not the American majority any longer. Now, the middle class constitutes a statistical minority compared to the aggregate of the rich and poor. “ In early 2015, 120.8 million adults were in middle-income households, compared with 121.3 million in lower- and upper-income households combined, a demographic shift that could signal a tipping point.”

Furthermore, the share of America’s income going to the middle class has fallen from 62% in 1970 to 43% now. Today, the majority of our national income goes to the upper class, which reaps a 49% share. (Lest you think that is normal, the share of income going to the upper class in 1970 was just 29%). The median wealth of middle class households has fallen by more than one-fourth since the beginning of this century.

Pop the corks everyone!

 

[untermensche]

http://gawker.com/the-middle-class-is-now-a-minority-1747290888

The latest Pew Research Center figures, released yesterday, show that at long last the middle class is not the American majority any longer. Now, the middle class constitutes a statistical minority compared to the aggregate of the rich and poor. “ In early 2015, 120.8 million adults were in middle-income households, compared with 121.3 million in lower- and upper-income households combined, a demographic shift that could signal a tipping point.”

Furthermore, the share of America’s income going to the middle class has fallen from 62% in 1970 to 43% now. Today, the majority of our national income goes to the upper class, which reaps a 49% share. (Lest you think that is normal, the share of income going to the upper class in 1970 was just 29%). The median wealth of middle class households has fallen by more than one-fourth since the beginning of this century.

Pop the corks everyone!

This is the end result of "the Reagan revolution".

We have been plagued by these destructive ideas from the right for 35 years.

Destructive for most that is.

Some, a few, make a lot of money because of them.

 

[Horatio Parker]

http://gawker.com/the-middle-class-is-now-a-minority-1747290888



Pop the corks everyone!

This is the end result of "the Reagan revolution".

We have been plagued by these destructive ideas from the right for 35 years.

Destructive for most that is.

Some, a few, make a lot of money because of them.

Reagan was a symptom, not a cause.

The cause was the end of labor's rising real wages, due to technical and sociological changes. Ie primarily the rise of computer technology, but also new participants in the labor economy, namely women and minorities. The profits from increases in productivity went to management, who used them to buy political influence. Nothing new really, but a change from 100 years of real rising wages in the US.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZU3wfjtIJY

Sorry about posting a link to a two hour video, but it was a quickee search. "Capitalism hits the fan" by Richard Wolff.

 

[Barbarian]

http://gawker.com/the-middle-class-is-now-a-minority-1747290888

The latest Pew Research Center figures, released yesterday, show that at long last the middle class is not the American majority any longer. Now, the middle class constitutes a statistical minority compared to the aggregate of the rich and poor. “ In early 2015, 120.8 million adults were in middle-income households, compared with 121.3 million in lower- and upper-income households combined, a demographic shift that could signal a tipping point.”

Furthermore, the share of America’s income going to the middle class has fallen from 62% in 1970 to 43% now. Today, the majority of our national income goes to the upper class, which reaps a 49% share. (Lest you think that is normal, the share of income going to the upper class in 1970 was just 29%). The median wealth of middle class households has fallen by more than one-fourth since the beginning of this century.

Pop the corks everyone!

I don't see what's the big deal. Just adjust the definitional income brackets and everything will be well. It's what our government did to combat poverty and reduce the number of children living under the minimum living standard.

 

[prideandfall]

Reagan was a symptom, not a cause.

The cause was the end of labor's rising real wages, due to technical and sociological changes. Ie primarily the rise of computer technology, but also new participants in the labor economy, namely women and minorities. The profits from increases in productivity went to management, who used them to buy political influence. Nothing new really, but a change from 100 years of real rising wages in the US.

Sorry about posting a link to a two hour video, but it was a quickee search. "Capitalism hits the fan" by Richard Wolff.

reagan was AIDS to the pneumonia of crony capitalism - sure, maybe not the first event, but he was the thing that broke the last vestiges of our country's defenses against it and let it take hold and kill us.

 

[ksen]

It warms my heart to know that the righteous are finally starting to get the financial rewards they dearly deserve.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Reagan was a symptom, not a cause.

The cause was the end of labor's rising real wages, due to technical and sociological changes. Ie primarily the rise of computer technology, but also new participants in the labor economy, namely women and minorities. The profits from increases in productivity went to management, who used them to buy political influence. Nothing new really, but a change from 100 years of real rising wages in the US.

Sorry about posting a link to a two hour video, but it was a quickee search. "Capitalism hits the fan" by Richard Wolff.

reagan was AIDS to the pneumonia of crony capitalism - sure, maybe not the first event, but he was the thing that broke the last vestiges of our country's defenses against it and let it take hold and kill us.

I think he was just a good salesman. To equate societal problems with morality can turn either way; it's only that the Reagan way was the more effective for the times. JFK utilized the opposite approach. From a purely political perspective, the important thing is how effective it is. Reagan was effective.

I just finished Robert Caro's series on Lyndon Johnson, so now I'm an expert on politics.

 

[untermensche]

This is the end result of "the Reagan revolution".

We have been plagued by these destructive ideas from the right for 35 years.

Destructive for most that is.

Some, a few, make a lot of money because of them.

Reagan was a symptom, not a cause.

The cause was the end of labor's rising real wages, due to technical and sociological changes. Ie primarily the rise of computer technology, but also new participants in the labor economy, namely women and minorities. The profits from increases in productivity went to management, who used them to buy political influence. Nothing new really, but a change from 100 years of real rising wages in the US.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZU3wfjtIJY

Sorry about posting a link to a two hour video, but it was a quickee search. "Capitalism hits the fan" by Richard Wolff.

It had nothing to do with "technical and sociological changes" and everything to do with the illegal crushing of unions as the government turned a blind eye, and even helped.

The middle class will always rise and fall according to the power of unions.

They are the only known tool that raises the wages and benefits of the working class. Without them individuals are crushed.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Reagan was a symptom, not a cause.

The cause was the end of labor's rising real wages, due to technical and sociological changes. Ie primarily the rise of computer technology, but also new participants in the labor economy, namely women and minorities. The profits from increases in productivity went to management, who used them to buy political influence. Nothing new really, but a change from 100 years of real rising wages in the US.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZU3wfjtIJY

Sorry about posting a link to a two hour video, but it was a quickee search. "Capitalism hits the fan" by Richard Wolff.

It had nothing to do with "technical and sociological changes" and everything to do with the illegal crushing of unions as the government turned a blind eye, and even helped.

The middle class will always rise and fall according to the power of unions.

They are the only known tool that raises the wages and benefits of the working class. Without them individuals are crushed.

Crushing unions is resource intensive. The same union crushing powers existed in the 30's, yet they were unable to prevent unions growing influence. FDR didn't invent anything; he brokered deals to prevent insurrection.

By the 70's, the shoe was on the other foot. Labors influence has been waning ever since.

 

[untermensche]

It had nothing to do with "technical and sociological changes" and everything to do with the illegal crushing of unions as the government turned a blind eye, and even helped.

The middle class will always rise and fall according to the power of unions.

They are the only known tool that raises the wages and benefits of the working class. Without them individuals are crushed.

Crushing unions is resource intensive. The same union crushing powers existed in the 30's, yet they were unable to prevent unions growing influence. FDR didn't invent anything; he brokered deals to prevent insurrection.

By the 70's, the shoe was on the other foot. Labors influence has been waning ever since.

The power of unions has waxed and waned.

And so have the fortunes of the middle class.

In parallel.

The middle class only ever existed because of unions.

Capitalists only know one thing. Exploit it as much as you can until you can exploit it no more. Then find something else to exploit.

 

[funinspace]

W/o going into too much detail, I'll have you know my parents are doing fine in retirement. Their total income is roughly $50k, with about $22k from the SSA. They only paid roughly 2.5% in Federal taxes (obviously not owing FICA taxes). And damn I wish I had their Medicare/health benefits. If my wife and I were taking all the drugs they have, our monthly bill would probably approach $1000. I had to get them into assisted living this year, and they are comfortably affording it (well at least for the next 15-18 years). My wife's mother is in roughly the same boat. Somehow I am guessing that the very nice workers in their assisted living are paying much more in taxes than my parent for probably no better, or even less income. There are lots of reasons the Federal budget/economy is @#$ up...

 

[arkirk]

It warms my heart to know that the righteous are finally starting to get the financial rewards they dearly deserve.

They finally got the money situation solved. Now just to clear those pesky blacks and Muslims and rapist Mexicans off our streets and it will be paradise...kind of a shiny white city on the hill!

 

[prideandfall]

W/o going into too much detail, I'll have you know my parents are doing fine in retirement. Their total income is roughly $50k, with about $22k from the SSA. They only paid roughly 2.5% in Federal taxes (obviously not owing FICA taxes). And damn I wish I had their Medicare/health benefits. If my wife and I were taking all the drugs they have, our monthly bill would probably approach $1000. I had to get them into assisted living this year, and they are comfortably affording it (well at least for the next 15-18 years). My wife's mother is in roughly the same boat. Somehow I am guessing that the very nice workers in their assisted living are paying much more in taxes than my parent for probably no better, or even less income. There are lots of reasons the Federal budget/economy is @#$ up...

much like global warming, as long as you can come up with a conceivable exception within your personal visual radius, economic realities don't exist anywhere else in the country or the world.

 

[Horatio Parker]

The power of unions has waxed and waned.

And so have the fortunes of the middle class.

In parallel.

The middle class only ever existed because of unions.

Capitalists only know one thing. Exploit it as much as you can until you can exploit it no more. Then find something else to exploit.

Waxing and waning has causes. The current waning is largely technological, with some exacerbation from sociological changes. Without computers, telecommunications, jet travel etc, the current global economy is impossible. Widespread use of these things started in the 70's.

 

[untermensche]

W/o going into too much detail, I'll have you know my parents are doing fine in retirement. Their total income is roughly $50k, with about $22k from the SSA. They only paid roughly 2.5% in Federal taxes (obviously not owing FICA taxes). And damn I wish I had their Medicare/health benefits. If my wife and I were taking all the drugs they have, our monthly bill would probably approach $1000. I had to get them into assisted living this year, and they are comfortably affording it (well at least for the next 15-18 years). My wife's mother is in roughly the same boat. Somehow I am guessing that the very nice workers in their assisted living are paying much more in taxes than my parent for probably no better, or even less income. There are lots of reasons the Federal budget/economy is @#$ up...

When Social Security began it began with this crazy idea that as the wealth of businesses rose so would the wages of working people.

But that hasn't happened and that is why SS seems measly.

And also because Ronny Reagan had the great working man idea to tax SS.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

http://gawker.com/the-middle-class-is-now-a-minority-1747290888

Hm, so this is what capitalism is supposed to do? Learn something new every day.

 

[untermensche]

The power of unions has waxed and waned.

And so have the fortunes of the middle class.

In parallel.

The middle class only ever existed because of unions.

Capitalists only know one thing. Exploit it as much as you can until you can exploit it no more. Then find something else to exploit.

Waxing and waning has causes. The current waning is largely technological, with some exacerbation from sociological changes. Without computers, telecommunications, jet travel etc, the current global economy is impossible. Widespread use of these things started in the 70's.

No.

The only thing waning is the working man. Profits are up.

The reason the working man, the middle class, women too, is waning is because the power of unions is waning.

 

[ksen]

http://gawker.com/the-middle-class-is-now-a-minority-1747290888

Hm, so this is what capitalism is supposed to do?

Well, it's apparently what some powerful people want it to do and it's working like a charm. Too bad they've convinced the rubes to keep their politicians in charge.

Learn something new every day.

 

[ksen]

Waxing and waning has causes. The current waning is largely technological, with some exacerbation from sociological changes. Without computers, telecommunications, jet travel etc, the current global economy is impossible. Widespread use of these things started in the 70's.

No.

The only thing waning is the working man. Profits are up.

The reason the working man, the middle class, women too, is waning is because the power of unions is waning.

The rulers of the universe changed their slogan from "Might makes right" to "Might makes 'market wages'" around the 70s.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Waxing and waning has causes. The current waning is largely technological, with some exacerbation from sociological changes. Without computers, telecommunications, jet travel etc, the current global economy is impossible. Widespread use of these things started in the 70's.

No.

The only thing waning is the working man. Profits are up.

The reason the working man, the middle class, women too, is waning is because the power of unions is waning.

Any why are unions waning? Because of Ronnie Raygun? That's a laugh...