Class distinctions
Published Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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To the editor:
Looking back on the recent election, class distinction seemed to be a prevailing issue. The privileged, the unfortunate and middle-class relief were often the center of tax issues.
Undoubtedly, the middle class is shrinking. My personal feeling on the matter is that the middle class is shrinking because middle class people are no longer having the numbers of children they once did. A generation ago many families had four or more children in them. It was not uncommon to know families with six to 10 children. My mother came from a family of six, my old boss came from a family of 10. These large, middle-class families promoted the ideals and work ethics of middle-class America, and subsequently produced (if not at least maintained) a sizable middle class.
Underprivileged, lower-income families did not have as many children based on financial reasons, but this fundamental reason has changed. As social programs have swelled and gained a further reach into society, lower-income families are less constrained by finances to have children. I am not suggesting these programs are not a needed benefit to many, I just believe it is also taken advantage of, thus fostering an environment in which irresponsibility can be sustained.
As a statistical matter, those born into certain classes remain in those classes throughout their lives. Obviously, my perspective here does not take into consideration the possibility of rich kids blowing the money and becoming poor or the possibility of those determined to rise above the station they were born into, but it does make sense on a larger general scale.
My wife once made the argument that we should not have more children because the world is a scary place. I replied that if only bad people are having kids (rich or poor), the world will stay a bad place. We should convince, if not lead the way, to ensure more good people are having and raising good kids. Similarly, if the middle class wants to survive, we need to have more middle-class kids. I will do my part, once my wife is convinced.
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I'll bet that Mrs. Want will be thrilled to see this letter to the editor. Wow.
Add to the fact that in most middle class families, both spouses work. Now I am by no means saying women should not be in the workforce, but I think it is more conducive to having large families when one of the spouses is home full time. Be it the man or the woman. Or man and the man, or the woman and woman, or the husband with his several wives, or the wife with her several husbands...whatever floats your boat, but someone should stay home with the kids!!
i got lost about a paragraph in
i would suggest the authors reason for the shrinking of the middle class is only a very very minor factor in the overall paradigm. or it is just wrong. my favorite reason behind the loss of ground in standard of living is the ever increasing costs of energy. when i was a kid oil was about 15 bucks a bbl. now it is around 57 (way down from a high of about 140 this summer). since just about everything in our society is connected to oil in one way or another it only stands to reason that everything must just cost more. scarcity and more competition for ever fewer resources; this is real loss of wealth. wages do not keep up with this.
And remember that the more people we put out there, the faster they will consume away these "ever fewer resources." In the big picture, the cost of energy will continue to skyrocket (the current price spike & squiggle notwithstanding).
"I replied that if only bad people are having kids (rich or poor), the world will stay a bad place."
So rich and poor people are automaticaaly bad just because they are having kids? So have those kids, Matt, and when you can't afford them, you too can become poor and be a bad person.
No kidding glacierles. Hope Mrs. Wants some.
AK husky, the letter isn't suggesting rich and poor are bad people by having kids, only that responsible people from across the board should be having more children, rich, middle, or poor. And if you couldn't tell, there is some sarcasm in the letter, making me think it's a half hearted attempt at humor. so lighten up. ps. YOU said poor people are bad. have fun defending that opinion.
Part of being a responsible adult in this day and age is not having a lot of kids. There are many ways to positively impact humanity than to pump out additional resource consumers.
Think adoption. There are many children world wide waiting for a family.
Welfare in this country has become a generational thing. People are on welfare whose parents and children are on it, whose grandparents. It is no long a hand up but a hand out. The middle class is being made to support those who choose not to work. It cant go on forever, something has to give.
So my question is: Where did the middle class go? Up to upper class or down to the "poor". America now has more millionaires than it ever has. The middle class of today is about like the "poor" of yesterday. Our standard of living has increased.
AKhusky once again your critical skills are lacking. The letter writer NEVER said what you implied. The same skills you use in your political thinking. Scary.
I think that the disappearing middle class is a myth that populist politicians drag out every election to scare the pants off of voters. I believe that the middle class is alive and well in the USA. The vast majority of Americans are part of it.
When asked, most people think that their neighbors are in for a tough time, but they are ok. If we had such a small middle class, consumerism would plummet more than it has, not to rebound as it always has for the past 70 years.
I'm not saying that we're not is some danger right now. I believe that the 2006 Congress has manipulated the economy in order to consolidate power. It worked, quite well. Now, can they put the brakes on the devastation that they have successfully blamed on Bush? That's the $700 billion question.
It's only going to get worse Matt. My wife and I can't afford to have another child, even though we both have above average salaries. We'll pay full retail price for:
The delivery and hospital stay,
Baby food/diapers,
Clothing,
Childcare, etc.
All the way through college.
My son is going to be at a disadvantage because his mommy and daddy chose to work, when it would have been easier for one (or both of us) to stay at home and "live" on Public Assistance.
Over the next few years it will pan out to what I've been saying for some time now. Either you work for the Government, or you'll depend on it for handouts. There will be no more middle class.
"Hope Mrs. Wants some."
Dang you, Corrine, you got there ahead of me. I need to start getting up earlier.
Too many people on this earth already. Having more just speeds up the destruction. Americans are having smaller families and have been for many years now. Large families were born out of necessity and basically began to decline as America became less and less rural and more and more "urban". Now if we could just get those Indians, Chinese, Africans, etc to follow suit this old Earth might be able to hang on for another few generations. There are only so many resources on the Earth and humans are consuming them at rates that cannot be sustained. At least that is what the show I saw on PBS a while back indicated in its models and projections.
akboss, get a job or something
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Our family stopped at 2 children as we couonted the cost of raising responsible, productive children into adults that are of the same morale as ourselves. Not an easy task. We have an average 2 income household and pinch every single penny until it screams for help. His truck is 22 my car is 15 and we have a 1000 gal fuel tank that we fill 2x yearly. Our house is 5*++ and very energy efficient. We don't have tons of unnecessary stuff and we don't eat out or shop very much. College is a daunting and terrifying cost even if they both stay within the state and live at home. They are both striving to be #1 in their class so they have the best possible chance for grants and scholerships. Everything simply costs more now than it did then. When our kids have their friends over, we can feed them too. For the simple things in life we are greatful. If we had more kids, we would not be able to do big sleep-overs and weekend long camping trips and at home dinner parties. We're not fancy, but we sure do know how to have fun. We are middle class, and we are happy.
I am always trying to drill frugality into my kids head, turn lights off, who are we the Rockefellers? Stop leaving the doors open, dont leave the water running, do you really need to take a shower for 20 minutes? Stop wasting food...on and on, over and over. It will sink in just around the time they are raising their own children.
Matt, not everybody wants more kids, and as long as there is rich and poor, there will be a middle. (Not that I dont adore yours!) ;) D.
was this your idea of foreplay??? It wouldn't work if my husband "put it to me" this way, doubt it will change Mrs. Want's mind either.
You said it AKBOSS. I quit too. Can't wait until the money comes. See what other changes he makes. I think he should start by changing his mind on being president and let someone take over with some sense and who is at least somewhat honest. I wish congress would go away too. They are definiately worthless, but it will be funny to watch them tear each other apart in a couple months. Can't wait till 2010.
AKBOSS, sounds like you should maybe try the job i have: it's called 16 credits. you might be less likely to quit/get fired.
same goes for you 375ULT
So, as a responsible adult I should be having more kids than I can responsibly take care of? What a catch-22 that is.
how sad, I think most of you are missing the point of this letter [akrose, twodecades, akhusky]. all it is saying (with too many words) is that responsible people who want kids should have them, naturally or adoption, and our society has created a situation where irresponsible people (of any class) are having more kids than the responsible ones. it has nothing to do with obama, oil, or if Mrs. Want wants more kids.
If you would like to understand the "REAL" reasons behind the shrinking of the middle class, please go to the following web site and listen to Alex Jones's daily radio program. It is live from 8:00am to Noon, Monday through Friday and replays every four hours.
www.infowars.com
The author of this letter is misinformed and some of the responses also show a lack of real education on this subject. You all owe it to yourselves to get a fresh perspective on our country's problems by taking a listen to this guy with an open mind.
It is something that you are not getting from CNN or FOX News....
No AKBOSS, 16 credits is what happens when you cant get a real job. You get paid to do nothing that actually matters.
i think the smart thing to do while living in Obamalot will be to work under the table so you don't have to pay taxes to the ones who don't work, and then you can get tax rebate too when you file with zero income. you can cut firewood and sell that under the table. that ought to be pretty lucrative since oil and coal won't be available.
"Trickle-down economics" has been replaced by "Trickle-up poverty".
I 100% agree with Matt Want. Nice letter, good job!
I agree 100% with Mr. Want. There is no bias or predjudice here. You can't argue with perfect logic.
Mrs. Want, you married an intelligent man. I hope there are triplets in your near future!
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