Why America's Middle Class Is Lost (Incredible Interactive Chart)

[vt]

The chart allows one to look at each county in the U.S. and seeing when income peaked. Very important to understand how the jobs crisis and changing economy had affected different parts of the country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/bus...class-is-lost/

[Forrest]

Re: Why America's Middle Class Is Lost (Incredible Interactive Chart)

The chart allows one to look at each county in the U.S. and seeing when income peaked. Very important to understand how the jobs crisis and changing economy had affected different parts of the country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/bus...class-is-lost/

That article was about the underpinnings of my life...my Dad went to work for Rockwell in 1963, and retired from Boeing in 1988...an economist who told NASA how much money was needed for what man-power to get what NASA wanted built...all the Apollo's, the Space Station, the Shuttles. I remember being yanked out of bed at 4:00am for every launch; saw my Dad agonising over layoffs he had to make, and punch drunk at re-hires when he got his favorite engineers back in 1972.

That Thompson guy might have known my Dad...who can tell...but Downey will never be the same, and neither will the country. I miss that time a lot, when our country still thought there were wide open spaces worth getting to; before the repeal of Glass-Steagal; and before the media sold out to the highest bidder.

I miss the time of optimism, when we Americans still thought we were doing some good somewhere, and so did some of the people we helped.

I miss being young, and not knowing the incredible risks I was taking with laughter and the expectation of good things...only good things, because I had never known anything different.

I don't miss, however, the 1972 version of middle class that most people in the lower class these days don't experience anymore...ton's of smog in the air; gas rationing; no air conditioning in the schools, or your home at night in SoCal summers that run from April to November; too much time hanging on your hands because the new suburbs had never heard of a mall (I spent my time in the Library); no spending money for fun, because making the mortgage was more important than new clothes or new shoes; no cell phones, no fax machines, no computers to play with; no choice of TV fare because there were only 5 channels in LA....

What is really middle class these days? The middle class I experienced with two working parents with college degrees...college that my parents paid for me to attend; living without debt if you wanted to; job's with income that went up and new conveniences like Microwaves and VCR's that you paid an arm and a leg for, and really enjoyed, but a life with a lot less convenience built into the lives of everyone, while paying through the nose for the conveniences that even the poorest working person seem to have today unless they are literally on the street.

Income has retreated, while convenience and ease of life has improved. What middle class did we lose? Or are we really talking about the upper middle class these days?

[charliebrown]

Re: Why America's Middle Class Is Lost (Incredible Interactive Chart)

A very nice picture you painted. I grew up in the 70's and had a similar experience. I think hope is what has been lost.

[lektrode]

Re: Why America's Middle Class Is Lost (Incredible Interactive Chart)

A very nice picture you painted. I grew up in the 70's and had a similar experience. I think hope what has been lost.

+1
or at least 'hope for change'

or for that matter, anything even resembling a plan from the beltway, on how we can - that would be The Rest of US - might get to a better place - as in: out of the ditch they've driven us into over the past 20 years or so

"The middle class took America to the moon."

Then something went horribly wrong

and its about to happen again ?

and again....??

[LorenS]

Re: Why America's Middle Class Is Lost (Incredible Interactive Chart)

I grew up in the 70's as well. I grew up on a mini farm. No smog, no AC didn't watch much TV (watch even less now - no cable, no satellite).

I'd trade AC for the fresh eggs and fresh fruit we grew. Mom ground flour from home grown wheat and oats. I used to sit on a tree stump with a hatchet and pockets full of hickory nuts. There is literally nothing you can get at the grocery store that even compares to the food we used to grow.

I don't want to sound negative, but many of our worst problems are just plain too many people and not enough land. It may not be "efficient" but family farms produced better food and a better living than our new mega farms and mega cities and I have never seen a city kid as thoroughly happy as a farm kid.

Technology is no substitute for nature.

[BK]

Re: Why America's Middle Class Is Lost (Incredible Interactive Chart)

Too much factory food will kill you or at least make you dependent of some miracle drug from Big Pharma.

Its easier to convince people to try a new medication than it is to get people to eat more greens, fruits, nuts, and whole grain breads.

[touchring]

Re: Why America's Middle Class Is Lost (Incredible Interactive Chart)

I grew up in the 70's as well. I grew up on a mini farm. No smog, no AC didn't watch much TV (watch even less now - no cable, no satellite).

I'd trade AC for the fresh eggs and fresh fruit we grew. Mom ground flour from home grown wheat and oats. I used to sit on a tree stump with a hatchet and pockets full of hickory nuts. There is literally nothing you can get at the grocery store that even compares to the food we used to grow.

I don't want to sound negative, but many of our worst problems are just plain too many people and not enough land. It may not be "efficient" but family farms produced better food and a better living than our new mega farms and mega cities and I have never seen a city kid as thoroughly happy as a farm kid.

Technology is no substitute for nature.

Despite advances in technology, globally, the standard of living has actually dropped over the last 30 years.

[shiny!]

Re: Why America's Middle Class Is Lost (Incredible Interactive Chart)

Too much factory food will kill you or at least make you dependent of some miracle drug from Big Pharma.

Its easier to convince people to try a new medication than it is to get people to eat more greens, fruits, nuts, and whole grain breads.

Agreed. Watch the trailer for Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead:

Here's the full movie. It's inspiring:

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead