The Middle Class is Dying

Thirty years of failed economic policies have decimated the middle class. We are seeing a historic re-distribution of wealth upward that is basically creating a serf class and an aristocratic class with nothing in between. Billionaires do not create jobs, the middle class DOES by demand for goods and services. The economy grows from the middle outward, not the top downward. Even Henry Ford knew that when he paid his workers enough to afford to buy the cars that they were making on the assembly lines. Otherwise, he would have had a surplus of cars sitting there doing nothing, going nowhere and he would have lost his shirt if nobody could afford to buy his cars.

The same principle holds true now: Sure, you built that factory that churns out the goods, but if you don't pay your workers enough to buy them, then you're going to end up with a warehouse full of stuff going nowhere. A rising tide lifts all boats. If the middle class can buy goods, it can create the demand that will create the jobs that will create affluence for everybody. The Greatest Generation were the largest and most affluent middle class to ever be created. Why? Because the government invested in them via the GI Bill. They gave up four long years of their lives to fight a grueling World War, and in return, the government rewarded them with money to attend college, which they did in the largest numbers ever seen. Colleges and universities experienced HUGE expansion and growth, churned out the best educated workforce in history and as a result, created the most affluent middle class that also led to record low unemployment because they created a huge demand for goods and services.

It does not take a rocket scientist to see the relation here. My generation experienced flat wages during our entire working years and now we face an uncertain and scary retirement with no savings to speak of and health insurance companies forcing us to pay most of our own medical bills ourselves. The social safety net is gone. We are left holding the bag and wondering how we got here and we are asking ourselves, how do we fix this. CAN we fix this? Or are we past the tipping point of no return? Yes, the middle class is drowning, has been for decades now due to failed economic policies of the past 30 or so years. We can no longer afford complacency. All we have to counter Big Money is our voices and our votes. So what's it going to be, a return to the Mediaeval world of serfs and aristocracy or are we going to fight to claw our way back to something resembling the America our parents had?

It's up to all of us to decide and act accordingly.