Americans Getting Poorer

[KonstantinosM]

Factoring in differences in food prices and rent prices the American Middle class doesn't really have it all that greatly.


Living in a country in Europe with better and cheaper food, smaller but better built and cheaper housing and better mass transit really cancels out any difference in monetary wealth.


Money isn't everything. We have to improve other facets of our lives first. We need to get back to having fresh produce that is not wastefully mass produced, tasteless, disgusting and bland.

We need to build proper houses were people have privacy in them. (In the US it's shocking how a lot of houses have no sound proofing at all).

As long as we make life impossible to live we shouldn't be surprised that it is.

If we don't push for the things we believe in we'll just keep getting screwed by a couple of companies who claim everything as their own.



Those statistics are really interesting. The real question now is, what are we going to do about it? Aren't we obligated as a nation to stop working at jobs that offer nothing to us but slavery? To form better societies for ourselves in which we determine our own future?

It's ridiculous how companies expect people to be competing with each other for jobs that can barely pay the rent. And it's sad that people can not find an alternative way of life.

[hologram]

1.Factoring in differences in food prices and rent prices the American Middle class doesn't really have it all that greatly.

2.Living in a country in Europe with better and cheaper food, smaller but better built and cheaper housing and better mass transit really cancels out any difference in monetary wealth.

3.Money isn't everything. We have to improve other facets of our lives first. We need to get back to having fresh produce that is not wastefully mass produced, tasteless, disgusting and bland.

4.We need to build proper houses were people have privacy in them. (In the US it's shocking how a lot of houses have no sound proofing at all).

5.And it's sad that people can not find an alternative way of life.

1.It is, in the developed world a lot of productivity gain are lost with food and housing price increase cause of regulation.

2.Are you sure for food and housing ? Is mass transit subsided ?

3.I want to be able to decide for myself, i don't want you decide for me what i want.

4.Alternative to cronyism is freedom, not totalitarian socialism like you want.

[shogdite]

American wages have been stagnating in America for decades now, partly thanks to freemarket globalization, the erosion of workers rights and the lack of union membership.

[hologram]

American wages have been stagnating in America for decades now, partly thanks to freemarket globalization, the erosion of workers rights and the lack of union membership.

Have you even go somewhere else in the world ?

[TaunSew]

Carlos Slim runs the largest telecommunication monopoly in Mexico and his workers are all unionized and get to retire with full benefits at age 50 and those workers live well in retirement.

Even the US military, which for a long time had early retirement, is now jacking up their retirement age.  Blame unions as much as you want - I don't see any workers in the US taking the initiative to protect their own rights. 

[GangkisKhan]

Carlos Slim runs the largest telecommunication monopoly in Mexico and his workers are all unionized and get to retire with full benefits at age 50 and those workers live well in retirement.

Even the US military, which for a long time had early retirement, is now jacking up their retirement age.  Blame unions as much as you want - I don't see any workers in the US taking the initiative to protect their own rights.  

Union has been long destroyed during the 80's.

[Korlic]

Problem is, poor people in the US still are way better than middle class elsewhere.

Middle class in US is not always better off than elsewhere. Consider Dubai and Qatar.

Elsewhere here means everywhere beyond the US, so you should take an average income across the world to make comparison valid.

If you take the average it may give other results and indicate that, but living standards in Qatar or Dubai are very different than say India.

Their population is small and they had the luck to be born literally in oil. When the oil reservoirs are finally depleted, they will return to where they started from, that is to nomadism and camel breeding (the richest will obviously emigrate to Europe or America). And their ultra-modern high-scrapers cities of today will be slowly but surely devoured by sand and desert.

Good point, once they run out of oil they'll go back to primitive states. How many years would that take?

I take it you haven't seen their man-made islands?

[tee-rex]

Problem is, poor people in the US still are way better than middle class elsewhere.

Middle class in US is not always better off than elsewhere. Consider Dubai and Qatar.

Elsewhere here means everywhere beyond the US, so you should take an average income across the world to make comparison valid.

If you take the average it may give other results and indicate that, but living standards in Qatar or Dubai are very different than say India.

Their population is small and they had the luck to be born literally in oil. When the oil reservoirs are finally depleted, they will return to where they started from, that is to nomadism and camel breeding (the richest will obviously emigrate to Europe or America). And their ultra-modern high-scrapers cities of today will be slowly but surely devoured by sand and desert.

Good point, once they run out of oil they'll go back to primitive states. How many years would that take?

I take it you haven't seen their man-made islands?

Will be washed away by the sea in a matter of a few years if abandoned or left unattended. And what's so intriguing about these artificial islands?

[TaunSew]

Carlos Slim runs the largest telecommunication monopoly in Mexico and his workers are all unionized and get to retire with full benefits at age 50 and those workers live well in retirement.

Even the US military, which for a long time had early retirement, is now jacking up their retirement age.  Blame unions as much as you want - I don't see any workers in the US taking the initiative to protect their own rights.  

Union has been long destroyed during the 80's.

How so?  I still see unions all over the place.  It's the fact that unions simply don't do their job anymore.  When was the last time the union ever stepped in to stop an employer from firing a young worker for no reason?

[Korlic]

Problem is, poor people in the US still are way better than middle class elsewhere.

Middle class in US is not always better off than elsewhere. Consider Dubai and Qatar.

Elsewhere here means everywhere beyond the US, so you should take an average income across the world to make comparison valid.

If you take the average it may give other results and indicate that, but living standards in Qatar or Dubai are very different than say India.

Their population is small and they had the luck to be born literally in oil. When the oil reservoirs are finally depleted, they will return to where they started from, that is to nomadism and camel breeding (the richest will obviously emigrate to Europe or America). And their ultra-modern high-scrapers cities of today will be slowly but surely devoured by sand and desert.

Good point, once they run out of oil they'll go back to primitive states. How many years would that take?

I take it you haven't seen their man-made islands?

Will be washed away by the sea in a matter of a few years if abandoned or left unattended. And what's so intriguing about these artificial islands?

After the production costs, I highly doubt they'll be left unattended. The photos and videos make them seem really cool, and there are a lot of top investors buying property on them.

[chogath]

I see the growth inside the system, which is brought by their industries, by finance infrastructure of the government that has made a lot of pull since last 2 decades.

[leex1528]

There is a huge reason Americans are getting more poor.


We keep giving jobs to illegal immigrants who do the job for less than min. wage and are happy to do it. 

The min. wage is a joke compared to what inflation says it should be, and thus all wages are slightly lowered due to this.  College education is literally raping us, it costs so much to go to school that people need a full time job just in order to pay for school. 

So many things need to change or America will go down the drain...

[tee-rex]

Problem is, poor people in the US still are way better than middle class elsewhere.

Middle class in US is not always better off than elsewhere. Consider Dubai and Qatar.

Elsewhere here means everywhere beyond the US, so you should take an average income across the world to make comparison valid.

If you take the average it may give other results and indicate that, but living standards in Qatar or Dubai are very different than say India.

Their population is small and they had the luck to be born literally in oil. When the oil reservoirs are finally depleted, they will return to where they started from, that is to nomadism and camel breeding (the richest will obviously emigrate to Europe or America). And their ultra-modern high-scrapers cities of today will be slowly but surely devoured by sand and desert.

Good point, once they run out of oil they'll go back to primitive states. How many years would that take?

I take it you haven't seen their man-made islands?

Will be washed away by the sea in a matter of a few years if abandoned or left unattended. And what's so intriguing about these artificial islands?

After the production costs, I highly doubt they'll be left unattended. The photos and videos make them seem really cool, and there are a lot of top investors buying property on them.

The cost of maintenance of these islands should be huge. And I have doubts about rational reasoning of these investors (whoever they are). Sandstorms would make living there simply unbearable. I've seen photos of sandstorms raving both in the cities and over the sea in those quarters, this is surely not what would you like to live with or in.

In short, absolutely not the right place to choose as your residence.

[spazzdla]

WELP, I guess you guys should come up here to the great white north, full of less economic troubles then its southern counterpart! and 100% more Moose!

... We are in the largest housing bubble in Canadian history..  People are talking a slow down..  I hate to be the bearer of truth.. 2016 the BRICs will pop all of the bubbles the FED has created.. be ready. 

[ShibaWow]

Problem is, poor people in the US still are way better than middle class elsewhere.

Middle class in US is not always better off than elsewhere. Consider Dubai and Qatar.

Elsewhere here means everywhere beyond the US, so you should take an average income across the world to make comparison valid.

If you take the average it may give other results and indicate that, but living standards in Qatar or Dubai are very different than say India.

Their population is small and they had the luck to be born literally in oil. When the oil reservoirs are finally depleted, they will return to where they started from, that is to nomadism and camel breeding (the richest will obviously emigrate to Europe or America). And their ultra-modern high-scrapers cities of today will be slowly but surely devoured by sand and desert.

if they're smart, they're going to use the oil money to develop an another source of income before they deplete the reservoirs

It is because culturally we (americans) feel that we must own a car, house, tvs, and other things for entertainment. As a result we borrow money. We all know what happens when we borrow money. Basically we made it culturally unacceptable to be poor so people would rather go further in debt than appear to be poor which they really are.

More and more we live in materialistic world where just money is important, not any more family, kids, friends etc.

money pays for your sons health, money provides food for your wife, money pays for stuff you do with your friends

money allows you to shape the world as you want it

Seem somebody steal the productivity gain:

one word

inflation

American wages have been stagnating in America for decades now, partly thanks to freemarket globalization, the erosion of workers rights and the lack of union membership.

it's because there is no world war so the USA has no one to sell weapons to and hand out loans
the "american dream" is built on pain and suffering of other nations in 2 world wars
USA just had a nice distant position from where they could exploit others

There is a huge reason Americans are getting more poor.


We keep giving jobs to illegal immigrants who do the job for less than min. wage and are happy to do it. 

The min. wage is a joke compared to what inflation says it should be, and thus all wages are slightly lowered due to this.  College education is literally raping us, it costs so much to go to school that people need a full time job just in order to pay for school. 

So many things need to change or America will go down the drain...

that's not just USA, that's most countries

[Malin Keshar]

There is a huge reason Americans are getting more poor.


We keep giving jobs to illegal immigrants who do the job for less than min. wage and are happy to do it. 

The min. wage is a joke compared to what inflation says it should be, and thus all wages are slightly lowered due to this.  College education is literally raping us, it costs so much to go to school that people need a full time job just in order to pay for school. 

So many things need to change or America will go down the drain...

Problem is the minimum wage law, so jobs that can't afford to pay that much either will go to illegal or won't exist.

Other problem is people believing so hard that university education is fundamental to get job or have money, then making it be true.

[tee-rex]

Problem is, poor people in the US still are way better than middle class elsewhere.

Middle class in US is not always better off than elsewhere. Consider Dubai and Qatar.

Elsewhere here means everywhere beyond the US, so you should take an average income across the world to make comparison valid.

If you take the average it may give other results and indicate that, but living standards in Qatar or Dubai are very different than say India.

Their population is small and they had the luck to be born literally in oil. When the oil reservoirs are finally depleted, they will return to where they started from, that is to nomadism and camel breeding (the richest will obviously emigrate to Europe or America). And their ultra-modern high-scrapers cities of today will be slowly but surely devoured by sand and desert.

if they're smart, they're going to use the oil money to develop an another source of income before they deplete the reservoirs

They are not, and they are not used to working hard (like, say, the Chinese or Japanese) which could make up for it. If they were, they wouldn't build useless (and ugly) skyscrapers or meaningless islands, but rather build research centers and production facilities instead, that is anything which creates real wealth (cf. Israel or Iran to a degree).

[ShibaWow]

Problem is, poor people in the US still are way better than middle class elsewhere.

Middle class in US is not always better off than elsewhere. Consider Dubai and Qatar.

Elsewhere here means everywhere beyond the US, so you should take an average income across the world to make comparison valid.

If you take the average it may give other results and indicate that, but living standards in Qatar or Dubai are very different than say India.

Their population is small and they had the luck to be born literally in oil. When the oil reservoirs are finally depleted, they will return to where they started from, that is to nomadism and camel breeding (the richest will obviously emigrate to Europe or America). And their ultra-modern high-scrapers cities of today will be slowly but surely devoured by sand and desert.

if they're smart, they're going to use the oil money to develop an another source of income before they deplete the reservoirs

They are not, and they are not used to working hard (like, say, the Chinese or Japanese) which could make up for it. If they were, they wouldn't build useless skyscrapers or meaningless islands, but rather build research centers and production facilities instead, that is anything which creates real wealth (cf. Israel or Iran to a degree).

true, they're wasting money

but islands attract tourists, skyscapers could too

I get your point, they're wasting their money foolishly

[tee-rex]

if they're smart, they're going to use the oil money to develop an another source of income before they deplete the reservoirs

They are not, and they are not used to working hard (like, say, the Chinese or Japanese) which could make up for it. If they were, they wouldn't build useless skyscrapers or meaningless islands, but rather build research centers and production facilities instead, that is anything which creates real wealth (cf. Israel or Iran to a degree).

true, they're wasting money

but islands attract tourists, skyscapers could too

I get your point, they're wasting their money foolishly

Income from tourists won't be enough even to maintain everything in order.

[ShibaWow]

they can always export sand