Is America losing her Middle Class?
442159
Yes and no.  What is more happening is the middle class is changing, more people are falling into the lower middle class realm with fewer moving to upper middle class or higher or staying in the 'true' middle class.  It is a defitnate threat that the middle class could end up falling, but it is happening slow enough that most people dont really notice it but also slow enough that the problem can be fixed.
1059640
Before the baby boomers came along, "Middle Class Values" principally revolved around the idea that if you were the head of a household you would work your tail off, save money, and give your kids every chance at success so that THEY could have better lives than you did.\n\nThe baby boom generation turned this on its head - they've worshipped the god of instant self-gratification above all else for so long that they can't even see that their efforts to get Hunter and Madison into the best possible school (on any scholarship they can cheat their way into, so they don't have to borrow too much more against their McMansion) are all about using their children to prove to their friends and neighbors how superior THEY are.  \n\nThis is the generation that has engaged in the greatest transfer of wealth from future generations (seen the Federal debt lately?  Who's gonna pay interest on THAT, I wonder?) in order to have everything for themselves, never caring a rat's a*s*s about anyone else.\n\nThat's middle class values today, folks: "I, me, mine."
886680
Mine is illegal aliens causing a division for Middle America.. I am opposed to the idea of having a rich and poor division here.. The rich will be rich, the poor will be poor.. how boring America will be without us Middle class citizens..
289760
I think his policies have weakened the middle class. It is the middle class that is backbone of this country. Without a strong middle class we would be another third world country like Honduras. The only stable country(historically speaking) in Centra America is Costa Rica. It doesn't even have an army. It doesn't need one. And not by accident it has a thriving middle class. Bush's tax breaks for the rich have not helped. My children and yours will be paying for the deficits for years to come.
1107026
Record Number of Americans are leaving the USA , Tired of the way we live and the never ending crimes our government  is responsible world wide.\nI read a few days ago that China is a new hot spot for many young Americans ,According to the reports cost of living is very low ,Job opportunity and income very high for English speaking people with skills.
33634
i dont know that I see it as the next third world.  But I do see it slumping close to it.  We are as a nation losing power, wealth, reputation.  I have been abroad and I can tell you the picture that Europeans paint of us is not always nice.  Economically we are losing our footing.  Banking, cars, products in general.  People in america and abroad are buying European products, Jananese proiducts.  It doesnt do our economy any good and yet as far as I can tell they have done nothing to change this.  We are busy fixing the lives of others however we havent taken the time to take care of our own citizens lives.  And you have other countries offering us help becase we are unable to do so because of the mess we have created else where.  I truly believe we are losing our super power status and becoming just another country that exists on the planet.  Living abroad I dont like telling people i am from america because it starts up alot of contoversy.  Alot of arguments as to what it means to be an american and what we have become.  I agree with you when you wake up and smell the coffee. you arent smelling folgers any more.  Its just the reality we are forced to swallow as americans and it isnt easy for us I think.
459286
Capitalism. America will either move towards Socialism or die under the weight of the insane amount of materialism we've created. Rich people want more and more and don't want to share, poor people want what the rich people have, and the middle class are only slaves to materialism. It's been proven the divide between upper and lower classes is quickly increasing. I can walk down any street in my city and see the dirt poor wiping the asses of the wealthy, it's sickening. It can't last much longer though. Just a matter of time before it crumbles.
378680
No I think the US ignores it's 'lower class' people...richness has far more than money to it
1163086
History shows when you destroy the middle class the economy and state will fall as well.  This is why the roman empire fell.  There can not be black and white meaning poor and rich.  Look at the depression.
345295
Didn't you mean "What do you think of celebrity baby names?" Just kidding.  Actually, this is something that I think about often.  I believe that my generation will begin to witness the demise of the middle class (by which I mean the lower and middle middle classes, not the upper middle class).  The reasons for this breakdown are, I imagine, extremely complex, and I doubt very much that I am qualified to render a competent analysis.  I will speculate that the most fundamental cause of this phenomenon is complacency.  This generation of people seems genuinely unconcerned with any kind of political education, which need not be formal at all.  As long as people really are more interested in what goes on in the tabloids than the political and social forces that are eroding our society as we know it, social and governmental elites will continue to protect their own interests at the expense of those from whom, theoretically at least, they derive their power.  Change requires recognition, and as long as we bury our collective heads in the sand, nothing will be done.  This nation seems to be following the path of all fallen empires.  We are so incredibly overextended that taking care of the needs of the bulk of our own population is simply no longer a primary concern.  The number of people in this country living without access to health care bears this out, and this is by no means the only issue faced by the lower and middle classes.  We will either wise up, or experience the kind of unrest and violence that such social divides inevitably bring.  I hope for the former, but expect the latter.
13705
Not for the country.\n\nIt can, in the few years to come, become like Russia where the income gap between the rich and poor widens drastically.\n\nChina is slated to be the next economic power and is not gonna help slow down US economy slide.\n\nEven US companies are moving out of US into other countries like India.\n\nMost citizens will suffer and the rich will simply venture out to invest.
768979
After they took to our streets, May 1, they created a backlash which they will never see the end of.\n\nThis ripple has become a storm and soon will be a tsunami of unequal proportions.\n\nThe middle class is the power class and as we unite through joining pro-American organizations and spending our money saving our heritage, we will be a force not to be reckoned with!\n\nTo quote a Patriot....."be afraid....be very afraid"
904768
Yes neocons seem to think America is for them only to enjoy. Not for working class people. Let's see if the Dems can turn it around. I don't believe the rest of us were put here to only serve the rich and powerful.
29978
When you find it, let us all know... seriously, it takes money to make it.  Good luck.  As the middle class gets squeezed...
399100
The middle class is shrinking in the US, and this is not good. Also, in places like florida there is more of an abundance of cheap labor. Immigrants who will work for a cheaper labor. The median income in the US is about 41k a year, which is well within middle class. Also, it may have been a factor of where you were. In a city you may only see those two aspects highlighted. And you may have to travel the suburbs to find the true middle class.
592866
Rich, Middle Class, Poor.
541862
much truth... \n\nwoman entering the work force has driven (kept) wages down while the standard of living has increased dramatically. working and middle class people need two incomes to keep afloat. \nand children are suffering. no one's there to watch them and the people who are aren't allowed to discipline them. \n\ni think we should regain control of public schools and respect the idea of one parent working full-time at home... mom or dad.