RE: In the U.S. what is happening to the middle class?
I actually have lived through a few of these. I remember when the minimum wage got bumped to $3.50/hr and I worked at an A&W restaurant. It pissed me off. It was like $3.35/hr or something like that before that.
I was pissed because I had gotten a raise to $3.50/hr for hard work. Then the minimum wage kicked in and suddenly I was training and supervising people that made the same as me. My raise suddenly no longer mattered. It didn't matter that I had to work hard and consistently to get it.
Yet I saw it other times and I do remember times when for a VERY short period of time I could buy more stuff. It was really short. Yet apparently that is enough for the masses to buy up this bullshit and keep repeating the same mistake over and over.
So I agree with you. I have been aware of this for a long time. What I don't hear people really discussing is the fact that all of those increase impact everyone. So the middle class actually shrinks. Every time it is done in the long run it creates more people that can't get by. The amount of people needing the wage increase perpetually increase and the middle class begins to erode away.
well.... the middle class shrinks, and is more noticeable today because of the megachain multinationals who have an excessive buying power from companies to get better rates and discounts....and my favorite... the rebate for exceeding sales targets... the old mom and pop businesses simply cannot compete with that kind of system that rewards the big companies while continuing to put pressure on the little guys to sell for cost or below cost to compete... a lot of people think it's just happening in reatail. It's everywhere though... dental chains, funeral home chains, homebuilders who have grown so massive that their CPF(cost per Sq. ft.) to build a home is around 1/10th that of local builders...etc.... i could name close to probably 100 professions that used to be the backbone of the middle class that has come under fire from mega corporations... one of the first to go by the wayside was the local butcher shops back in the early 70's...supermarkets all but done them in...