Is the middle class in America shrinking? What role should government play in creating a strong middle class?

Answer 1

The middle class is not shrinking, it has already shrunk.
Anyone who buy groceries to eat, pays property taxes, needs medical care, drives a car, sends kids to school, and so on already knows this though I think they live in denial.
A gallon of milk in New York ranges from $4.59 to $6.05. Last year it was 3.39 - 4.29. Got kids? Got milk?
This is also true for ALL dairy products. Thanks for the Ethanol.
Wages, earnings, whatever you call them, do not buy what they did 30 years ago when adjusted for inflation.
The dollar is zip. If you think that doesn't affect the "middle class" you should study economics.
As people who sell goods to the US, or lend us money, or invest in US financial instruments, are dissatisfied with the revenues received, or the interest rates they get, or the returns on investments, they raise prices, demand higher interest rates on their loans to us, or decide to invest their monies in other places where they get value for their investments, we, Americans, all pay more and get less.
Consider this:
If the value of the dollar has declined 20% over the past few years then $82. a barrel oil prices are the same as they were when oil was $67.
But the middle class has not received a 20% pay raise in that same period of time.
So, what's true for gasoline, heating oil, is becoming true for almost all of what we consider necessities.
OH! I almost forgot. Anyone ever hear of the Alternative Minimum Tax? This was created more than 20 years ago to guarantee that the rich did not get away with paying too little in taxes. Well, that plan plan went out the window because the stupid Congress "forgot" to index the AMT for inflation. Now, more and more of the so-called middle class is being sucked into this financial sinkhole. That means that, in high tax states, or for people who have 3 kids, or have high deductions, they are paying this TAX ON THE RICH while the really rich have hire some more tax lawyers to shelter their incomes and assets. Nice, isn't it?

Answer 2

As banks and financial institutions have sucked most of the middle class into investing, when the market crumbles, the dollar will be lost and it will be used as the push to go to a N. American currency to compete with the Euro. The middle class, that has tied all of it's money up in credit debt and the market, will cease to be. There will be elites and serfs.....The libs don't understand they are in the same boat and that their policies will bring about their own demise.... :)

Answer 3

Our lawmakers have been undermining the middle class for fifty years. Our lawmakers are the wealthy. If they aren't wealthy when they first come into office, they are when they leave. The lawmakers have sold middle class Americans out to Big Oil and corporations by showing favor to them in return for special interest money. American workers did not ship jobs overseas. The lawmakers and the corporations did.

Answer 4

Having good credit is killing the middle class ,,,...Used to the best investment was your child's future , so let me explain ...people are so concerned that having great credit is good , why ? because the banks said so , they have spend billions on preaching good credit saves you money , they even go to high schools ,and colleges giving away free pizza to get kids age 18 and up to fill out a credit application ..kids toys have plastic cards with card companies logo on them , and when the kid swipes the card the toy register says "Credit approved" you know used to the toy registers dealt with play cash ...there is something to that ....

To achieve good credit you have to keep borrowing ,and keep paying back more than you borrow ....and the ones falling for this are the middle class ,poor people get very few cards , and very small few hundred dollar limits .and the rich do not need them , they just get paid to endorse them ....these middle class who do this have college degrees in finance , business management etc.......they all have new houses , new boats , new cars ,and SUV's , vacation homes , and a trampoline in the back yard of the new home in which some one else maintains the lawn....

Here I come , when the interest rate dropped after Clinton I took advantage , I refinanced my existing home that was built in the mid 90's , I re financed due to the high interest I got when Bill was running things (10.5%) ....I use the lower rate to pay off my mortgage in full ...having less personal debt allowed me to put more in my painting business , I doubled ,almost tripled my work force and more than tripled my gross income from 150 grand per year to over 500 grand per year (with no illegals hired) ...I was later able to provide 100% employer paid health insurance , I saved instead of spent .....I was able to buy the property around me , to total 10 acres , I paid cash because it was cheaper than credit ...I have bought my kids a home , paid for so when they turn 18 they will not have the burden of a mortgage ...I have made ,and saved enough to retire at 48 years old when my kids get the company , my present workers make enough to have IRA's and a good rate of take home pay they ....I do not use credit for nothing ....I do not buy brand new cars because they are the worst investments ..I have made a few great investments with stocks ,and mutual funds .....

How can a Guy like me with nothing but a GED manage money , take care of his kids , and secure them a future ,and get out of a trailer and being flat broke , move up to a 4500sq ft home , land , and substantial savings accounts to secure my families future ,,,, while most middle class with business degrees drown deep in debt caused by good credit ......and their kids have no health care , no secured future , but they have a nice boat , and summer home .....

Personal Greed is what the thing killing the middle class , that is how I see it anyway ..

Answer 5

The government can't create a middle class. The government produces almost nothing...it is why they tax us.

The best way to foster an environment for a middle class is to get government out of the way (reduce taxes, regulation, etc) so people can run profitable businesses and hire employees.

Answer 6

No the middle class is not shrinking. Asking for the government to help them is like praying to God for a new car. It is unnecessary and I believe that the middle class is self sufficient enough to deal with their own problems.

Answer 7

American business leaders and stock holders are about to get a bad dose of their own medicine. It will affect all Americans in the end, but they will have a major shake-up in the corporate world. Most of the businesses that have abandoned the American job market for cheaper markets in foreign countries are about to get their wings clipped and will have to make some difficult changes. The workers in these cheaper markets are now demanding higher wages to match the American market. That means the companies will not only have to pay those higher wages but import tariffs, taxes and fees. There goes that high profit margin.

Our government needs to make more things tax deductible instead of less things. City, County, State and Federal government needs to down-size like most American companies have done over the past ten years or so. Sorry, the party is over!

Answer 8

Ensure our constitutional rights remain intact. Shrink government back more towards the original intent (eliminate entitlements, ridiculous government funded studies on cow farts or whatever), and have economic policies that keep the free market economy strong so that people who put forth the effort to better themselves and the situations for their families have every chance of moving up the success ladder

Answer 9

Read your owe question.. What role should the government play? The government should have no play. Most of the regulations should be abolished. Trash the code. Companies are leaving with our jobs because of over regulation and over taxing.

Answer 10

Its not the govts role to create a middle class. Any con will agree with that. BUT, the govt shouldn't be purposely hurting the middle class either. Neocon double speak wants you to think anything that actually helps its citizens is socialism when in fact its not.