Article: Middle-class families, pillar of the American dream, no longer the majority

[Ultralight]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fi-middle-class-erosion-20151209-story.html

Paging williamsmith... Thoughts?

Anyone else have thoughts on this too?

[creaker]

Is it me - or have they shifted what is considered middle class? $125k for a family of 3 is not what I would consider "upper class".

[Ultralight]

Is it me - or have they shifted what is considered middle class? $125k for a family of 3 is not what I would consider "upper class".

But creaker, what about all the working class and working poor people living paycheck to paycheck who need the psychological compensation that can only be delivered via the delusion that they are indeed "middle class?"

[Rogar]

I can see what the study is getting at, but it would make more sense to me to focus on lifestyle quality rather than income if they are to compare middle class historically. I've always thought of middle class as a group that can live in a decent house or apartment, buy wholesome food, send a child or two to college without a huge financial burden, cover health care costs, or what ever. Without running down the figures, I suspect all of these as a percent of income have changed or are changing over time. There have probably been changes in what is considered a necessity for middle class, like cell phone subscriptions and other electronics, maybe larger houses, or fancier cars. And going from 1971 to now there's probably been a big shift from a one income family to a two income family. Interesting study, but it doesn't paint the whole picture as far as I can figure.

[JaneV2.0]

Middle class is defined using a formula of education, occupation, income, and values, with a wide range of incomes represented. It falls between working class and upper class. This article seems to be talking about middle-income families.

[Chicken lady]

How do they figure "middle class income"? I doubt it's as simple as plotting the two end points on a line (zero to Trump or whatever) and drawing lines at literally 1/3 and 2/3 of the line length.

[Williamsmith]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fi-middle-class-erosion-20151209-story.html

Paging williamsmith... Thoughts?

Anyone else have thoughts on this too?

I have been known to mention the vanishing middleclass of which I barely cling onto. Judging from the numbers published in this article I will soon be shed from the quixotic middle class in the near future. I have a plan.

Having predicted the demise of the American middleclass, I dumped all my unnecessary belongings, sold my American Dream money pit four bedroom three bathroom ranch with two acres for half of what I spent in repairs and upgrades over the 25 years I lived there, not to mention the $75,000 in taxes just for the privilege of ownership.

I slapped down what was left over after paying the attorney's fees and realtor commissions on a condo in a proven development in a rural area with access to interstate transportation to big city resources. I upgraded interior finishes and made a comfortable nest for myself.

Soon however, the cost of living catches up to me and I will sell. By this point I will be moving into a less comfortable apartment and driving one compact car. I expect to supplement my kitchen pantry by shoplifting Dinty Moore beef stew cans and shoving steaks down my baggy pants. I will have a good reputation visiting friends in the nursing home but my real reason will be to steal diapers from their stash. I'll stay long enough to finish what they don't eat of their dinners.

By that time healthcare will be single payer but that will at least be better than the moronic half breed mongrel of a healthcare system I currently participate in. Or should I say get raped by. Also by then I will have accepted as fact that of all the developed countries in the world, mine has the worst healthcare and costs the most to administer. This is really all the more ironic since good healthcare is particularly needed here because of all the unhealthy Food we eat.

I will take a vacation once a year to my sister in laws broken down lake cottage 20 miles away because I cannot afford a European vacation like the Germans or the Russians do. But it wouldn't matter anyway because WalMart will not give me more than a long weekend off from greeting people at their door. Actually, I am really not a greeter so much as an early warning system for terrorism. I get shot and the managers run out the back door.

This late in life it will be too late to change anything but it still won't stop me from wondering......why did I stay in this country to begin with? Well the obvious answer is ...."this is the land of the free and the home of the brave."

Well ....definitely home of the brave.

[Williamsmith]

http://youtu.be/vHk_Emakefg