Over the past decade, an unprecedented stock market boom has created thousands upon thousands of new millionaires, and yet the middle class in America has continued to shrink.
How is that even possible?
At one time the United States had the largest and most vibrant middle class in the history of the planet, but now the gap between the wealthy and the poor is the largest that it has been since the 1920s. Our economy has been creating lots of new millionaires, but at the exact same time we have seen homelessness spiral out of control in our major cities.
Today, being part of the middle class is like playing a really bizarre game of musical chairs. Each month when the music stops playing, those of us still in the middle class desperately hope that we are not among the ones that slip out of the middle class and into poverty. Well over 100 million Americans receive money or benefits from the federal government each month, and that includes approximately 40 percent of all families with children. We are losing our ability to take care of ourselves, and that has frightening implications for the future of our society.
One of the primary reasons why our system doesn’t work for everyone is because virtually everything has been financialized. In other words, from the cradle to the grave the entire system has been designed to get you into debt so that the fruits of your labor can be funneled to the top of the pyramid and make somebody else wealthier. The following comes from an excellent Marketwatch article entitled “The American Dream is getting smaller”…
More worrying, perhaps: 33% of those surveyed said they think that dream is disappearing. Why? They have too much debt. “Americans believe financial security is at the core of the American Dream, but it is alarming that so many think it is beyond their reach,” said Mike Fanning, head of MassMutual U.S.
Almost everyone that will read this article will have debt. In America today, we are trained to go into debt for just about everything.
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Everything is happening exactly as planned by those who wish to be our Masters. The bankers / financiers have brought about a tremendous amount of uncertainty and misery for regular human beings.
ReplyDeleteLast time I checked, going into debt is still voluntary. The issue is people with a higher perceived need for immediate gratification and no sense of self control. Dont blame the game. The player has choices.
ReplyDeletethe only debt i have is medical bills, everybody gets sick so that shouldn`t be a reason to saddle people with debt. the constitution says we have the god given right to life, it doesn`t say anything about you have the god given right to life if you can afford huge man made insurance premiums every month and huge man made co-pays every time you get sick.i guess in america you only have the constitutional god given right to life IF you never get sick. what other constitutional right requires you to pay for i or be in debt to exercise that right?
ReplyDeletePlease refer me to the section of the U.S. constitution that entitles you to free medical services? Your argument is a absolutely ridiculous.
Delete