OPINION
Recession is worst for those who had barely made it
New York Times Nov 18, 08 11:36 AM CST
(Newser)
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All boom times are alike; each recession is unhappy, however, in its own way, writes David Brooks in the New York Times . This recession will hit hardest “people who achieved middle-class status at the tail end of the long boom, and then lost it.” Even if there’s no sign of it yet, this is where to look for the next social protest movement.
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McCain: Obama's tax cut plan is 'welfare'; Dem: Mac 'out of touch'
Politico Oct 19, 08 9:21 AM CDT
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Values and socialism dominated the sharp rhetoric on the campaign trail yesterday, as the presidential candidates exchanged fire over Barack Obama’s plan for middle-class tax cuts, Politico reports. At rallies in North Carolina and Virginia, two traditionally red states where Obama has made inroads, John McCain accused him of planning to “convert the IRS into a giant welfare agency.”
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GLOSSIES
Atlantic Monthly Oct 15, 08 7:15 PM CDT
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For a while now, the divide between rich and poor has gotten bigger, but it "hasn't sparked an outright political revolt," writes Reihan Salam in the Atlantic . That could change soon. Our fragile, 20-year "consumption compromise"—the era of cheap goods and cheap credit keeping economic discontent at bay among the working class—has come undone. With the cost of living rising and workers feeling the pinch, a frustrated electorate is looking for a man with a plan—and coming up short.
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ANALYSIS
Obama's tax rate for
the rich no steeper
than in the '90s
TPM Cafe Jul 2, 08 7:12 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Despite David Brooks' attempts to “muddy” the mathematical waters, Barack Obama’s tax plan doesn’t hit the wealthy very hard—and it’s the one that helps the middle class, Jared Bernstein writes in Talking Points Memo Café. Brooks wrote in the Times that moneyed Americans would pay “over 50% of their income” under Obama, but Bernstein says the top 1% would fork over 36%, the top 0.1% only 39%—comparable to rates under Clinton.
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OPINION
Our 'land of equality' is now a 'bankers' utopia'
Wall Street Journal May 14, 08 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Thomas Frank tackles the decline of the American middle class in an outraged op ed piece in today's Wall Street Journal. He confesses fascination with "the mechanics of this huge social reconfiguration," which has, over several decades, shunted the nation's wealth into fewer and fewer hands, until the top 1% of the population takes home more than the bottom 40%. It's the kind of fascination, he adds, one might feel for "the industrial procedures of a slaughterhouse."
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Prices of "core" items are rising twice as fast as wages
Washington Post Mar 21, 08 1:35 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The rising price of essentials and sluggish growth in wages mean that inflation is hitting low- to middle-income families hardest, the Washington Post reports. Americans are paying 9.2% more for staples—groceries, gas, health care, etc.— than they did in 2006, nearly twice the pace of the growth in wages. Prices for luxury items—restaurant meals, new cars, etc.—are also rising, but not nearly as fast.
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Big scholarships could siphon top students who couldn't afford Harvard
Newsweek Mar 5, 08 12:35 PM CST
(Newser)
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It’s easy to applaud the generosity the Ivy League is lavishing on the middle class, but it could have unintended consequences, Newsweek notes. Second-tier schools and elite public universities rely on the highly talented middle-class kids Harvard and company are targeting. “Schools compete hard for those students,” said Colgate’s VP of finances. But Colgate’s $700 million can’t compete with Harvard’s $34 billion war chest.
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You don't have to have über-big bucks to spend like you do
Forbes Feb 21, 08 10:26 AM CST
(Newser)
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Middle-class millionaires are carving out a luxe lifestyle to define their 16.5-million strong group, Forbes reports. And while the $1 million to $10 million stashed in the bank doesn’t make them all that rich, that doesn't put much of a dent in lavish spending habits: Mega-home improvements, to the tune of $150,000 yoga rooms. Haute couture jewelry, complete with 11-carat diamonds.
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Jobs rise in region overall, partly due to international influx
New York Times Feb 19, 08 4:23 PM CST
(Newser)
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Silicon Valley is bleeding middle-income jobs, the New York Times reports. Clerks, secretaries, service reps and others earning $30,000 to $80,000 a year fell from 52% to 46% of workers from 2002 to 2006, according to a new report. The trend threatens the region's upward-mobility track, one author of the 2008 Index of Silicon Valley report said: “If you lose the middle, it’s harder to support the top."
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Middle-class children much less likely to pass parents than whites
Wall Street Journal Nov 13, 07 7:07 PM CST
(Newser)
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Middle-class African Americans are much less likely to surpass their parents’ income than their white counterparts, a new study finds. Overall, two-thirds of American adults earned more than their parents, adjusted for inflation. But among the black middle class, 69% are making less. “Black children and white children do not have equal chances of moving up the income ladder,” the study’s author concludes.
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Guardian (UK) Oct 20, 07 2:58 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Britain’s Labour Party says a classless society can be a reality in England, but after 10 years in power, their country still feels deeply divided by class. According to a Guardian survey, 89% of Britons felt they were judged by their class, with almost half saying it counted for “a lot.” The majority considered themselves working class.
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Don't blame frivolous spending, experts say; expenses really are up
MSNBC Oct 16, 07 6:19 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The proliferation of Starbucks and designer jeans is a red herring—today's middle class has less spending money than ever, says a Harvard law professor. People can buy more stuff because prices are down, but that provides a skewed picture. "These are things you don't see at the mall: housing, health care, child care, saving and saving for college," says Elizabeth Warren.
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America's middle class ousted from sitcoms, relegated to reality TV
Salon Sep 10, 07 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Sitcoms, once a window into middle-class America, have been invaded by the uberrich. But the bourgeoisie hasn't disappeared from the small screen entirely: They're fighting each other on reality shows for big bucks or their 15 minutes of fame. And, Salon 's Heather Havrilesky notes, it's not a healthy trend.
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Business and wealthy have hijacked the GOP, argues new book
Washington Monthly Sep 9, 07 9:11 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Don’t be fooled by the lip service to Christian conservatives: the interests the Bush administration serves are economic, not religious, Jonathan Chait writes in the “The Big Con,” a book that the Washington Monthly’s Kevin Drum calls the best on the long list of recent Bush-bashers. In fact, the modern GOP has been captured by right-wing fiscal zealots, Chiat argues.
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Mugabe's radical 'solution' to spiraling inflation backfires
New York Times Aug 2, 07 10:53 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A radical attempt to curb Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation by cutting prices up to 50% has backfired on President Robert Mugabe's government, which is now teetering on the brink of collapse, the New York Times reports. Store shelves are empty; bread, sugar, and cornmeal, the staples of Zimbabwean's diet, are depleted.
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The beer class is
finally embracing the grape, Slate says
Slate May 31, 07 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The American middle class has become connoisseurs of everything—coffee, '80s Japanese garage-rock bands, environmentalist toilet paper, and now wine, writes Slate 's Field Maloney. Fermented grape juice doubled its audience in the past decade, while consumption of lower-brow beer stagnated. And for the first time in history, Americans pollees prefer wine to beer.
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