In todays day and age,do you think the middle class is shrinking,leaving only the Rich and the poor?

In the US the lower 80% loses about 700B a year. The top 10% gains about 700B a year. It's not a battle between the "haves" and the "have nots."

The "haves" are comfortably ensconced on their hilltops, content to rule from afar.

LOLThanks for the reply GOLDIE Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

It's not what I think. The cost of living goes up 25% since 2000 but wages and salaries have not kept pace. The grab for the gold is pushing us toward a plutocracy in the U.S.The cream has risen to the top by hook or by crook and will one day curdle, imo..

And thank you for your opinion. Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

It seems to be. However, I am skeptical about the numbers as there are those out there who have devoted their lives to seeing Obama fail, and aggressively work to spin the truth about how much progress is really being made. There is progress being made in many sectors of our society.

Of course we're all being made to focus on the negative day after day. There have been jobs created, there has been relief for homeowners, there has been improvements in health care, there have been rights given and so much more. It can only come by degrees.

I think we need to be discerning about what we buy into when we 'hear' the information out there. That being said, yes the rich are getting richer on the backs of the poor. There is a grave imbalance and we have liars, cheats, greedy, easily bought politicians and crooked CEO's at too many helms.

One wonders, what in the world will have to happen to get this country back on track? I doubt it will occur in our lifetimes, but then, who the heck knows? .

Always a pleasure hearing from you Skylight. Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

Yep...and the poor are going to continue to grow in numbers as they only keep getting pooer an' pooer an' pooer...while the rich are going to 'condense' and have to continue to find more an' more ways to 'lock us out and away' from them while they just keep gettin' richer an' richer an' richer....Then...someday, soon perhaps, the poor will ALL band together and storm the 'outer fortress(es)' of the rich with torches of fire and pitch-forks (and most-likely a rather large number of guns and 'what-nots' too), pounding and working their way through the fortress(es) walls.... And the rich will soon lose their sense of security they once felt behind their money-boughten walls of brick an' steel an' stone an' cement as the walls start to crumble in-ward...Then, just as ALL the rich are about to Sh*t their drawers, in unison, one chubby, tanned and cherubic-faced man (the one who 'drew the short straw') will climb, shaking but with a steady pace, to the highest corner-tower and yell...."Let Them Eat Cake"! And soon after we will all live in a country where everyone has just what they need...No hunger...No homelessness...No ragged an' tatered clothing - and we will ALL Live Happily Ever After! And, Yes...I DO believe that their is at least an element of truth within my little "Happily Ever After Story" (just not too sold on this ending part)...

Thanks. Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

We are in a transition and the end state depends on how we work on the energy problem and the balance of trade. But the answer is not to abandon trade, but to make sure it works for us.

Thanks for the reply. Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

That has been going on for 3 decades here in the USA. It is all but done, now. Anytime someone tries to discuss it, he is accused of promoting class warfare.

But that is exactly what it is, class war, and the working class has lost.

And boy have we lost you Americans and us Canadians it's the same up here. Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

Canada to my friend. Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

Thanks for the input. Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

Yes....I will need to buy mostly necessities for awhile...garage sales help...Middle class was small. Most of my students thought I was rich...but I wasn't.

Thanks for your reply Shasha. Squeeky-changes-suck 5 months ago .

Yes. I am not poor but not rich, but my work says I am in the poor class. Last year I was middle class.

Nothing has changed but I still was changed to poor.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.