The Middle Class Are Missing The Point
Hey Jessieconomists
I speak a lot about the economy and how the current economic system has failed us. The divide between the rich and poor continues to grow, and it feels like everyone is asleep at the wheel. This trickle-up system is slowly starting to eat itself from the inside and the middle class, which is the members of the economy who keep it sustainable are eroding.
The middle class are the largest consumers of goods and services, drive GDP and give fiat money the value it has today by being the ones who work to be rewarded with this value by decree. As the system continues to push the middle class further into debt to keep the Ponzi going those most vulnerable have been stripped of their possessions, homes, jobs and have been effectively rendered destitute.
While there are even more on the brink with the working poor and retired without enough resources, all previous members of the middle class. The reliance on the state to help these people only puts further pressure on the middle class as taxes are increased to fit the bill for all these social payments.
Image source: - economist.com
It won't happen to me
The reason why we do not see a mass uproar and movement apart from cities like San Fan, Hong Kong and Paris is that the middle class are sedated and still living in a fantasy world. They are so focused on the rat race, consumerism, acquiring whatever they can, holidays, watching tv shows, sport, their work, their kids and all this is funded by their job.
The fact remains that most of the middle class or only a few paycheques away from being broke and most don't have enough wealth to last for a year or two without a job. These people firmly believe the world will continue as it always has and has no clue how on the brink things are at this moment in time.
They are not protecting themselves against any economic downturn and worst of all, honestly think this cannot happen to them. They see the poor and vulnerable in their positions and think its the fault of bad luck or people making poor decisions or not working as hard as they do. They believe their tax and various savings contributions are all they need to save them should anything happen.
Image souce: - archive.boston.com
As long as it doesn't affect me I'm fine
This sort of attitude is why markets get blindsided when corrections happen, and people end up losing everything as their perceptions were based on a false reality. Unless we start waking up and the middle class take back ownership of their finances, their labour, their data and their freedom, then we're on a race to the bottom.
The 1% will continue to open up wider gaps on everyone else; the middle class will continue to transition to working poor and poor until there is change or civil unrest. As we now have an interconnected global economy, it only takes a few nations to belly up, and it will take the entire world economy with it.
Unless the middle-class stop entrusting their money to corporations and banks until they say no to theft via taxes until they say no to debt burdens from mortgages, car loans and student loans nothing is going to change. Either way correcting this mess is going to be painful and no one wants to rip the morphine drip out of their arm and face up the pain.
Let's connect
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Found you on Daily @qurator congrats on being selected. Firstly I do agree, we don't work with "money" correctly, we are never taught "money" should work for you.
Most coexist, either looking after elderly parents, or grand parents raising the young! There was a debate awhile back how in European countries youth are working to pay for parents to be looked after in care facilities. While here in SA most grandparents are feeding and housing grand children.
Being taught to work with money needs to be done at a young age, allowing a child to run a lemonade table or similar allows them to learn entrepreneurial skills, public speaking, ROI, hopefully leading to savings. Later in life put the "money" into financial assets where they are able to grow, live off interest after paying taxes. Something just not being taught!
I use "money" as an example it could be crypto, land, buildings. Sadly we are taught to work to earn an honest living, most do just that... they work and work then next thing they are dead with little or nothing to show, yes you are taxed at death too.
Teach your children well, or they follow the same demise, I call it 'walking square circles' the majority fall into the same trap.
My vent for the week, I hope @chekohler something that should be discussed.
Oh 100% I think it's done on purpose to keep us ignorant so we do not realise it and rise up the way we should. We do not have economic freedom that is for sure, that's what's driving the classism and class warfare. We've created a world where we're hard-wired to be dependant on the system of government money for everything and even if we can take back a little bit of that at a time, it can make all the difference as we move to a future where people can freely trade with one another and not have these various economies many of us are excluded from
It has always been hard-wired to depend on others, once you obtain a footing, the door will be shut somewhere along the way. Unless people learn to stand on their own two feet, take responsibility for their actions not much will change.
Keeping people uneducated means you can control the masses.
Just making a surface level observation here. In my experience here in SE Asia I see a very blinded by all that glitters is gold consumerism. The keeping up with the Joneses mentality is a relatively new concept here, comparatively speaking to its western counterparts that have long been entrenched in this crab in the bucket existence. And yet, even in the majority of western countries this practice is so intrinsically bound to the fabric of society, it shows no signs of losing its control.
Here middle class parents are clamoring to do what their parents could not, that is to provide a high level education to their kids. I see this as a dated mindset that offers no hope as there's just not enough room at the top. 2030 will be the age of engineers and doctors leaving their fields to run a food stall on the side of the road. That is if no new approaches are taken..
It's the same in Africa as you mention in SE Asia, we never had access to education so everyone's goal is to give their child a false sense of value through an overpriced piece of paper called a traditional education. It has to be something like less than 10% of jobs require degrees to be done and everyone fights for these positions making the price of education go up in these fields and your reward is being in the highest tax bracket when you're fully qualified.
The rich don't pay wealthy, but the working rich do! I echo your sentiments, we're already seeing 80-year-olds going back to work at Walmart part-time, we're seeing college graduates keep their coffee shop job they had during college, we're seeing debt being passed on through generations with grandmothers having to give up their pension to cover grandkids or kids college fees for what? It's a lie!
The middle class need a wake-up call and as much as I hate to say it, being ripped from your idyllic decadent reality and aspirations to be an even larger consumer with doing the least amount of thinking and work is something the world can do without.
Do I feel for people who will lose it all and have their dreams shattered? Absolutely? Will I try to educate those who will listen, sure! The rest, I don't know man!
Hmmm... I believe I fall into the middle class and I have zero debt. Other than my utility bills and credit card which are 100% paid every month, I own nothing to no one.
Yeah, but that's due to their own bad decisions and bad habits and not because they don't earn enough. At least among my friends, that seems to be the reality.
Nice article, thanks for sharing!
Well, you are in the minority my friend, the middle-class love debt and consumerism and those two things go hand in hand. There's always another gadget, car, home or something to buy and you can get it now with it being financed over the years.
Yes it is bad financial education I fully agree and people should educate themselves about money but some of these practices are predatory and has gotten out of hand. I do agree it's up to the consumer to say no, not the provider. We need to get the middle class off this addictive drug called debt and its not going to be easy
Very cogent points
Thank you, I'm glad you found my post insightful. I only hope it reaches more people and encourages them to think about whats going on around them
World's financials are looking very shaky and could destroy a lot of people unfortunately.
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You can't bring about change without breaking a few rules, hearts and ideals in the process. The greater the change the greater the pain and resistance that's going to be involved. Empires have always risen and fallen throughout history, this is just the one in our lifetime
There is SO much truth in this post it is actually scary! A great read though!
PS. Don't forget to use the steemsa tag so I can show your content some love from that side too :)
Thank you so much, lol I find steem is the only social media platform where I am able to rave about ideas on the economy and not get labelled a doomdayer or raving lunatic. I think that putting out the message is important and those who are looking for it will find it, the rest can ignore it, until they have to face up to it eventually
I didn't know the steemsa tag could be used for non SA content, I've updated my post to include it now
oh, and they will!
Re. the tag.. oh yes, it is not limited to content categories, only SA people :)
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