Will the American middle class keep sliding into the abyss

Question

as more jobs move to Asia and manufacturing becomes absolutely extinct, so that only a small amount of service jobs are available to perhaps serve the upper class while everyone else eeks out an existence living in squalor and poverty.

Answer 1

Probably...  

Answer 2

As long as we keep importing cheap "slave" labor in the form of illegal aliens, YES!

Yes, I said slave labor. Think about the history of slavery in the USA. The slave trade was failing and slavery was becoming unpopular even in the south until Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.

Cotton, a good cash crop, was very labor intensive. Removing the cotton seeds was so difficult and labor intensive, a cotton plantation owner couldn't afford the cost of keeping his slaves due to lack of productivity and low profits.

Once the cotton gin was invented, slavery suddenly became profitable.

Why do I bring up this bit of history?

Consider the fact that NOW, the "slave owner" that hires the illegal alien at below a "livable"  wage  now no longer needs to maintain that slave's food supply, his medical care, or shelter. Nor does he have to supply his clothes.

Hiring Illegals IS slavery and WORSE! It also lowers the wages  and job opportunities for all of us. Our standard of living will collapse unless we go after those who violate the law and hire illegals.

Answer 3

what middle class

Answer 4

no

Answer 5

The Middle class has been moving up the past 7 years.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexcha...

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-o...

I figured they would thumbs down. Look at the facts. Even poor people have homes, SUV's nice TV's, cell phones and cable. The Democrats are full of it. They ignore quality of life and availability of goods and services. The economy takes care of itself. Falling home prices mean opportunity for the poor. Wake up. The Democrats want to just take as much as they can. They're never going to give it back.

Edit:  BILL CLINTON SIGNED THE FREE TRADE DEAL WITH CHINA. IT AMAZES ME HOW THE LIBERALS ONLY BLAME REPUBLICANS FOR A BIPARTISAN DEAL THAT EVEN DEMOCRATS SUPPORT.

Answer 6

Getting a bit melodramic aren't we? The middle class will remain and grow, it is the backbone of democracy. There will be no free lunchs, you acquire the skills and pursue your objectives. Blue collar jobs will continue to diminish, that is a function of globalism. When America was the low cost provider of goods and services, she attracted good paying jobs. America is no longer the low cost provider, the pacific rim is.

Manufacturing remains strong in the US and actually growing at the moment as the week dollar makes US products competitive globally.

Answer 7

If John McShame and the brain-washed Repug idiots on these threads who have been silver spoon fed BS all of their lives have anything to do with it.

P.S.Great avatar!

Answer 8

As John Cleese once said about flying sheep, 'they don't so much fly as plummet,' Drop will, replace sliding w. plummeting in your question and make it a statement...

Answer 9

This notion of middle class is a slippery one - how do you define it?  In every economy, there is a very skewed distribution of wealth.  A tiny percentage at the top control most of it - always have and always will.  In fact the percentage has shrunk over the years.  From that perspective, the middle class is not getting any larger or smaller share of wealth.

However, your question is more about jobs.  I do not accept its premise that people are victims in this process and some larger body (the government?) is supposed to make sure everyone has a job.  Markets are efficient.  There are more people in Asia than there are in the US and capital has been invested to provide them tools and factories to become really effective at making things.  So, it's more efficient for some of those jobs to move.  It's up to people to educate themselves and re-tool.  It is possible for someone of average means to penetrate that upper tier of wealth - the answer is simple - think about industries and products that overseas workers will never do better than us - entertainment and usable technology come to mind.

Answer 10

Yes, the U.S. Congress has approved war funding, corporate bailouts and now the shift of trillions of dollars of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which will either just default or be yet another corporate bailout. The war spending, the mortgage meltdown plus the existing national debt could totat up to $30 trillion in a hurry. That would collapse the dollar and we are a banana republic overnight. Thanks speaker Pelosi and the rest of the ruling elite. If there is no bread, shall we just eat cake?.

Answer 11

Actually the American middle class is growing tremendously. There are 960 million Americans of those over 700 million now are middle class.

It is possible that you meant to say the "United Statesian middle class" if that is the case, you should know that America does not end at the United Statesian borders.

Answer 12

Speak for yourself.  Maybe you should go nack to school and improve your earning potential........

Answer 13

Unless the brakes are applied, a lot of people are doomed to taste poverty that never knew it before!

Answer 14

kill all mexicans