How the bubble destroyed the middle class

[marmar]

How the bubble destroyed the middle class
Commentary: Sluggish growth is no mystery: No one has any money

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A lot of people say they are deeply puzzled by the slow recovery in the U.S. economy. They look at the 9+% unemployment rate and the mediocre growth in national output, and they scratch their heads and wonder: Where is the boom that inevitably follows a deep bust, such as we experienced in 2008 and 2009?

But there is no mystery. What other result would you expect from the financial ruin of the once-great American middle class?

And make no mistake, the middle class has been ruined: Its wealth has been decimated, its income isn’t even keeping pace with inflation, and its faith in the American economy has been shattered. Once, the middle class grew richer each year, grew more comfortable, enjoyed a higher living standard. It was real progress in material terms.

But that progress has been halted and even reversed. In some respects, the middle class has made no progress in a generation, or two. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-the-bubble-destroyed-the-middle-class-2011-07-08?link=home_carousel

[Xipe Totec]

1. Middle class has made no progress since Regan nt

[orwell]

2. With the reality of stagnant wages...

...it was inevitable that middle class consumption had to contract.

You can not endlessly expand personal debt to drive consumption.

The chickens came home to roost...

[NNN0LHI]

3. I agree

[ixion]

4. Indeed... and it was by design

in my opinion. Remember the whole 'Ownership Society' bit? This was the Trojan Horse used to lure the middle class into making a career out of their home.

People who buy the whole "didn't see it coming" lie need to wake up. Banksters and the Wall St. crowd devote their lives to understanding the system so they can game it. They knew very well what would happen if you created a bubble around people's homes: In the end, most people would wind up losing their home to the bank, who could the sell it off at a song to a billionaire waiting in the wings, who in turn now rents the house to someone else.

The monied class is hell-bent on invoking a Neo-Feudal Age, and the destruction of the 'uppity' middle class is simply part of the execution of that plan, as are the destruction of the unions, the decimation of public education, the deprecation of civil liberties (Except if you have money) -- there is a pattern here: Destroy the so-called idea of the 'American Dream'.

It seems pretty clear to me. Hell, they don't even bother trying to re-brand their behavior these days. They just move forward. This means the 'fix' is in.

[locahungaria]

7. Oh, excellent reply! n/t

[moondust]

10. +2

[Faryn Balyncd]

5. K and R.......Thanks.

[theophilus]

6. I think this is a good article and I was surprised to see it on Yahoo. It is succinct

and to the point. It shows who got hurt and it shows the megarich have recovered. I will draw the conclusion that the megas must help the rest of us, especially since the banks, et al caused this mess. Wars are bad and also Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Let's do away with both. This country is going to FAIL if we keep listening to RW corporate shills. FAIL. Is that what Joe Redneck wants? Of course he'll blame us libruls.

[slackmaster]

8. I managed to pull my act together between the last two bubbles, even with a divorce in the middle

It hasn't been easy.

[xchrom]

9. Recommend