This is more of a general thought on economic issues and it's something that's been on my mind even before big time inflation hit with high gas and food prices. This is not intended to be a political debate but I find it interesting that unless you're fortunate enough to work for the government or have a very strong union (ie. teamsters or longshore union) more and more of the burden of a decent living and or retirement is being pushed onto the employee. It seems in the 70's 80's and even 90's even, a lot of private companies offered pensions and other great benefits. There's no question that the costs of providing those have increased for businesses, but it's concerning that it seems like the middle class in this country is being erased before our very eyes. Anyway, just a thought. Criticize away or offer words of support. That's what forums are for.

The squeeze on the middle class is no figment of your imagination.

Largely, but not completely caused by a Republican dominated Congress in '94 through '06. Republican's are by and for the wealthiest Americans. When they whine about tax and spend liberals they are talking to their base, which is largely in the upper echelon's of income. Reagan was the turning point. Busting the air traffic controllers union was just the beginning. Any President can only do so much without the endorsement of Congress. That is why the last 8 years of George Bush has been such a monumental disaster economically for all but the wealthiest Americans, shareholders of Halliburton, KB&R, and the energy/oil industry. General disregard for the middle class by Republican leadership is well documented. The GOP are experts in twisting their agenda to make the uneducated poor and middle class think that their policies will help them, yet they are historically against bills that support any program for the masses screaming it's not prudent financially. Yet they just ran up the biggest deficit in the nations history pursuing a war policy based on lies, executed with no foresight (long term strategy), and now seem to think they can maintain the White House by offering largely the same platform. Fuck the GOP. I hate them, their lies, their shameless deceit, and their underhanded bullshit.

"The GOP are experts in twisting their agenda to make the uneducated poor and middle class think that their policies will help them, yet they are historically against bills that support any program for the masses screaming it's not prudent financially."

Truer words have never been spoken here.

And they do it on social issues and scaring them about higher taxes when they hardly pay anything anyway.

Busting the air traffic controllers union was just the beginning.

The Scabs controllers later organized giving the GOP a kick in the balls. Gotta laugh how the GOP think we don't need unions. Its BECAUSE of the GOP unions still exist today.

Can't argue with any thing said so far.

I think I'll take the support deal.

I hear people talk about the stocks. We brought their influence all the way down to Joe Blow thinks he's an investor, but really is just a glorified and legalized gambler doing the day trades, hoping for the same results he sees the big players getting.

The stocks really only tell us how the very wealthy are doing. They tell us absolutely nothing about how the middle class (what's left of it) are doing.

The framing of that, in terms of it being an indicator as to what's good for us, is really doing a lot of harm. Before the day trader deal, I rarely heard ordinary people talk about the stocks.

They talked about their wages, risk, expenses, etc...

Now they talk about the markets!

And that means they are not talking about how much worse their wages are, higher their risk is, and rapidly rising expenses!

Another thing too. It's hard to focus on the fundamental elements that impact us. Take wages and the price of things.

People are focused on who did it. Well, that's Republicans and we all know what happens when too many of us vote for Republicans.

What they are not focused on so much is HOW, and that's important.

So for some, wages are going up. Not many, but some. Most of us are flat, or declining in terms of the number we get each month. Pressure is high, because buying power per hour worked is rapidly declining. Call it dollars, call it cookies, call it whatever you want.

We just can obtain less for the work we do period.

So then people feel that pressure and complain about taxes being too high. Most I know complain because they can't use their money to do what they need to do, and they see that tax amount and think it would be enough to fix things, so they vote for the "tax cut", screwing themselves with that vote.

Really, that vote is to relieve the pressure. That's human, and the right reason for the vote, but the token solution dangled in front of them just isn't the right one. It is an easy one though. Everybody hates taxes, so it gets the focus.

Nobody wants to talk about the dollar dropping in value and what that means for us being "the greatest consumer economy there ever was". Nobody wants to talk about the risks and the general workload pushed off onto them.

Self serve this, self serve that. Hell, nobody seems to do much of anything for that dollar, and we still have to wait, still stuff costs a lot, etc...

So that eats into free time.

Many people, who do what I do, work nearly all the time! They carry a crackberry, with it's big ass "im really important" blinking red light, and they do it, not for a significant gain in buying power per hour worked, but to just keep the buying power they have!

(that's nuts)

Professionally, I see everybody everywhere fighting over every dollar. Every deal has the highest expectations and the lowest revenue attached to them. Spending on things that would usually be pretty easy deals, has just dried up.

It's tight, and I can't help but think of the huge pull Iraq is. That's a LOT of money just evaporating, never to return.

We are using our homes as ATM's, working more hours for less, taking huge risks, surrendering benefits, and not actually building anything and that's really bothering me.

The money has got to come from somewhere. Where is that somewhere?

This nation used to lead in everything. We made stuff. We made good stuff that others wanted really badly, that others never even thought was possible.

Now we are last in a lot of things, or at the best, not leaders at all, yet we spend as if nothing has changed.

I see the commercials on TV for credit this and spend for that, entitlement this "you deserve it", etc...

Deserve it for what? Being fool enough to work our asses off for less so that that extra wealth goes to a war, and or gets gambled off in what appears to be corrupt financial markets?

My big worry is for the kids.

As of right now, we are not leaving the kids a better scene than we had, and that's wrong.

One big frustration is also media in general. Not talking about the conservative -vs- liberal battle. That's just a distraction. Big one, but that's all it is.

We don't get solid coverage of the core things that matter. IMHO, that not getting coverage means a ton of people think it isn't happening! They don't see it on the TV, so maybe they are just whiners.

Wouldn't they put it on the TV, if we were getting hosed? Sure they would right?

Well, now I know they won't. Why?

Because the media is big corporate and they like it that way. They will continue that way, because the market they serve likes it that way.

If anything, media has a corporate bias and that bias is keeping the simple cost and risk matters off the airwaves. Those are what hurt, along with failure to make stuff and build wealth we can exchange with other nations at parity instead of at deficit rates.

Deep down I fear the day when that all comes to a head. If we continue, what are all those people gonna buy with their dollars?

We don't make anything, compared to what we used to do, so buying that makes no sense as it's not available. So that's out.

They can buy our land, infrastructure, buildings, sports teams, companies and such.

But like the houses, they only sell once, then we don't have them to sell any more. Contrast that with real goods, sold on a regular basis.

I think we are in real trouble over that.

I try to buy local. I grow some of my food, don't waste, live small, support small business, avoid big corporate lock in, and try to live save to avoid risk.

Doing all of that, and the pressure to squeeze down, or carry debt and payments on every last thing grows...

When that tide ebbs, I'll believe we are on track to doing better, not before, not when the stocks improve, not when the TV says so, but only when I see the monthly nut increases go away and maybe recede.

BTW: That's about 1 percent gain in terms of my costs per month right now. That's every freaking month.

Won't be long before everybody is hosed at this rate.

And that's your middle class evaporating right there. It's fading as that steady 1 percent rise, puts them either into serious debt, or under, one family at a time.

I see the commercials on TV for credit this and spend for that, entitlement this "you deserve it", etc...
Actually I think the biggest problem is the "I have the right" mentality that you alluded to with the entitlement comment.

I think the problem with taxes being too high isn't the amount, it's that people don't see the amount they pay returned in the form of services to them. Call the police, they don't show. Call the fire department when the house burns down, they don't show until it's down to the foundation. Get told that we have to accept additional "fees" for road repair when the street in front of your house is a dirt mudpuddle mess while fancy crosswalks are put down the middle of industrial streets, etc.

The other issue is I think the last 8 years are the best that "pure capitalism" has to offer us. What you have are wealthy people saying they don't want to pay any taxes, they don't want their businesses to be taxed, and in fact they want handouts and tax credits for said businesses. The result is a bunch of dumbbells thinking the money will come from "someone else."

The worse thing about all of this is I don't think it will get any better. I have a feeling that McCain is being set up to win the Presidential Election, and the dumbest people aren't going to be only those who voted for him... it will also be those who vote Democratic thinking they're going to make a difference. Problem is, the Democrats have been paid off, too. The last 8 years have given us nothing but treason and fraud.

"it will also be those who vote Democratic thinking they're going to make a difference."

Oh, I think we'll see Democrats turning out like never before. Kerry and Gore (then) didn't have what Obama has.

Another thing nobody ever talks about and let me go on record of being the first to note this, a LOT of McCain voters are going to DIE between now and election day.