Disturbing Statistics on the Decline of America's Middle ClassBy BRUCE WATSON <http://www.dailyfinance.com/writers/bruce-watson/> Posted 8:00 AM 10/17/10 Technology <http://www.dailyfinance.com/category/technology/>, Economy <http://www.dailyfinance.com/category/economy/> In American public life, it's hard to escape the long shadow of the middle class. From politicians to pulpits to the punditocracy, those in the public eye constantly appeal to the solid center of the country.
Mainstream values are described as "middle class," as are common tastes and preferences. Economists often state that the middle class is the engine of commerce, and industries from construction to education to consumer electronics rely on a strong middle class -- with large amounts of disposable income -- to build colleges, fill houses and buy Blu-Ray players. But what if this massive engine ground to a halt? On the surface, the scenario sounds unlikely. But a growing cadre of economic analysts note the steady erosion of the middle class, and the loss of its massive buying power. In a recent article<http://www.businessinsider.com/dear-middle-class-americans-most-of-you-are-debt-serfs-with-zero-assets-2010-10>, my *Daily Finance* colleague Charles Hugh Smith laid out a fairly clear argument for the disappearance of the middle class, at least in terms of wealth. As Smith notes, the top 20% of the American populace holds roughly 93% of the country's financial wealth, and the top 1% of the country holds approximately 43% of the money in the U.S. Meanwhile, the middle 20% of the population -- what would, officially, be called the middle class -- holds only 6% of the country's total assets. While disturbing, even this miniscule share of the wealth pie dwarfs the bottom 40% of the country, who control less than 1%. *Trouble on the Factory Floor* So how did the middle class become second class citizens -- or, as Smith puts it, "Debt Serfs"? Not surprisingly, the answer is complicated, involving factors like the rising cost of education, the loss of pension funds and affordable health care, falling middle class wages, and the skyrocketing price of housing. Yet one clear answer lies in manufacturing. When looking at the declining American middle class, a good number to start with is 42,400<http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_plight_of_american_manufacturing>. That's the total number of factories that the U.S. lost between 2001 and the end of 2009. Put another way, this translates into the outsourcing of 32% of all manufacturing jobs in America. See full article from DailyFinance: <http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/disturbing-statistics-on-the-decline-of-americas-middle-class/19676292/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec4_lnk2%7C178480&icid=sphere_copyright><http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/disturbing-statistics-on-the-decline-of-americas-middle-class/19676292/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec4_lnk2%7C178480&icid=sphere_copyright> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WebTV Dawgs/Dittos" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/webtv-pals?hl=en.
