View Full Version : Shrinking middle class transforming communities nationwide, new study says
Ultralight
5-27-16, 7:25am
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865654095/Shrinking-middle-class-transforming-communities-nationwide-new-study-says.html
Interesting snippet:
"Wages for men since 1979 have not grown in real terms, Haskins said. That's not true for women."
How are your communities being transformed by the shrinking middle class?
Williamsmith
5-27-16, 8:46am
The canary in the mine, if you will, is public schools. Really can't think of too many more important than basic education but the deterioration of the public school infrastructure, the shrinking of the tax base, the mismanagement of public school pension funding, the incompetency of city budget managers, to name a few.....have put this great country way behind other developed nations.
I live in a rural Pennsylvania county near the fourth largest city in the state. They are considering shutting down all the schools in their city and busing to suburban school districts. General Electric recently eliminated thousands of jobs blaming it on Obamas war on coal. These are middle income jobs that are not being replaced.
One school district in my county has reported plans to furlough 50 teachers.
If you don't live in what was the heart of industrialized United States, you can't imagine the devastation the economy is taking. Which is just one reason Trump appeals to many people in the rust belt. People around here like to get their hands dirty when they work, they know no other way. If they aren't working, well maybe they are just sitting around collecting unemployment and getting high.
Ultralight
5-27-16, 8:50am
The canary in the mine, if you will, is public schools. Really can't think of too many more important than basic education but the deterioration of the public school infrastructure, the shrinking of the tax base, the mismanagement of public school pension funding, the incompetency of city budget managers, to name a few.....have put this great country way behind other developed nations.
I live in a rural Pennsylvania county near the fourth largest city in the state. They are considering shutting down all the schools in their city and busing to suburban school districts. General Electric recently eliminated thousands of jobs blaming it on Obamas war on coal. These are middle income jobs that are not being replaced.
One school district in my county has reported plans to furlough 50 teachers.
If you don't live in what was the heart of industrialized United States, you can't imagine the devastation the economy is taking. Which is just one reason Trump appeals to many people in the rust belt. People around here like to get their hands dirty when they work, they know no other way. If they aren't working, well maybe they are just sitting around collecting unemployment and getting high.
There is plenty of room for them in the prison system.
My city has been drastically transformed during the past 5-7 years. Prior to that it was a solidly, middle class place with a high percentage of state workers and others who could afford a modest house within the city limits. One by one, these neighborhoods are turning over to residents with higher incomes - mostly transplants from other high income cities. Large swaths of downtown and central arterial roads are filling up with "luxury" 1 br apartments for those who can't afford to buy a house within the city. And people like us who have lived here for 30 years are forced to figure out where else to live when staring at both old age and a 10% annual rise in property taxes. Lots of societal changes going on for sure across the land.
Ultralight
5-27-16, 9:04am
My city has been drastically transformed during the past 5-7 years. Prior to that it was a solidly, middle class place with a high percentage of state workers and others who could afford a modest house within the city limits. One by one, these neighborhoods are turning over to residents with higher incomes - mostly transplants from other high income cities. Large swaths of downtown and central arterial roads are filling up with "luxury" 1 br apartments for those who can't afford to buy a house within the city. And people like us who have lived here for 30 years are forced to figure out where else to live when staring at both old age and a 10% annual rise in property taxes. Lots of societal changes going on for sure across the land.
These state workers are lazy bums! They should innovate -- perhaps design some new smart phone app and make a billion dollars. Or they could invent a new gadget or device. They could at the very least go back to university for a STEM degree and then make lots of money and keep their modest home in the city.
They need to get with the program!
pinkytoe, you could almost say the same thing about Indianapolis. Downtown has had s sudden explosion of high end apartment building which is causing other owners to renovate to get the big bucks. Then the people who lived in the lower cost units are forced out into the outer areas with transportation issues. Whole swaths of the area around the core where SF houses were are now gentrifying fast. In the last 15 years, I have seen the prices of condos increase 100 percent or more. None are being built as the land has become more desirable for more high density apartments. And we have seen some buy and tear downs.
I am actually not sure what is really causing all of this. But I have not kept up on the high educational, hospital and technology firms who might be coming downtown. We have lost a huge number of manufacturing jobs but maybe while they are going, high end jobs are coming. Just lost 2,100 Carrier manuf. jobs to Mexico.
Yes, I feel like my school is on the front lines. The neighborhood has people who have lived here for generations, and now the younger people have to leave because they can't afford it. We have a LOT of new families with higher incomes. Meanwhile my supervisor went from having only one homeless kid in her group of schools (mine) to several homeless kids across her schools. (side note: not like anyone is talking to me about how I took care of my homeless family, just a bad review last year for arguing and refusing to drop her from the program).
Just yesterday I saw one of those heartbreaking things, a parent put together something for the kindergartners after school and let everyone know, well everyone she knew. So a spanish speaking family was not informed and really wanted to come. They are not going through channels like the teacher or school, just throwing together good ideas insensitively. They had no idea the 5th graders were graduating and were asking me why there were so many people in the building. The newer affluent families all have really young kids but we still have lower income families here, some of them have been in the neighborhood a really long time. They really are shocked when I say our free and reduced lunch rate is still 67%. I have been doing this a few years and am getting a little tired.
I thought it was interesting that about half the displacement was in the upward direction.
Ultralight
5-27-16, 4:36pm
I thought it was interesting that about half the displacement was in the upward direction.
You would! :devil:
You would! :devil:
What can I tell you, I'm an optimist. If half the reason the middle class is shrinking is people getting richer, it's a good thing. Even if it detracts somewhat from the woe-is-me-the-game-is-rigged-and-we-need-a-revolution narrative.
iris lilies
5-27-16, 5:17pm
What can I tell you, I'm an optimist. If half the reason the middle class is shrinking is people getting richer, it's a good thing. Even if it detracts somewhat from the woe-is-me-the-game-is-rigged-and-we-need-a-revolution narrative.
And its likely that those who are gaining are still middle class. Win/win.
Ultralight
5-27-16, 5:18pm
I know you are an optimist and it is a curious thing. Really, it is.
Kids go to a zoo and see strange animals -- pink fairy armadillos, the proboscis monkey, or a tufted deer. They are amazed, astounded, and confused.
That is what happens to me when I see an optimist. I just think: "How peculiar!" haha
I know you are an optimist and it is a curious thing. Really, it is.
Kids go to a zoo and see strange animals -- pink fairy armadillos, the proboscis monkey, or a tufted deer. They are amazed, astounded, and confused.
That is what happens to me when I see an optimist. I just think: "How peculiar!" haha
I may be a disappearing breed in this Golden Age of Whinging, but it works for me.
Unreflective hopefulness and confidence may even provide an evolutionary advantage over the poor beasts crippled by studied self-immiseration. Vast conspiracies and deathly impersonal forces may be pursuing us, but even if we're doomed, I will at least have the advantage of not fretting about it for a lifetime.
Ultralight
5-27-16, 5:46pm
... even if we're doomed, I will at least have the advantage of not fretting about it for a lifetime.
I have thought of this. And it makes some sense. It really does.
While I gripe a bit, I can say that my actions massively outnumber my gripes. But I am decidedly not optimistic. haha
“Man alone is born crying, lives complaining and dies disappointed.”
- Samuel Johnson
catherine
5-29-16, 12:12pm
That is what happens to me when I see an optimist. I just think: "How peculiar!" haha
Why??? As everyone knows, there are two sides to everything, and you can see the glass half empty and half full. In spite of the fact that it's such a cliche metaphor, the fact of the matter is, objectively, the water is in the middle. The subjective part is how you CHOOSE to view it.
ApatheticNoMore
5-29-16, 2:15pm
I don't think optimism really has survival advantage. Survival advantage is at the tribal or next of kin levels (it's really not strictly at the level of the DNA one passes down but that of one's close genetic relatives etc.), for which many different personalities are probably needed (pessimists would be darn good at watching for danger which might keep the tribe alive for instance. Our society would probably function better if there were more of them in charge - I mean would you rather have people who foresaw say the economic dangers of say the housing boom leading up to 2008 or not ...).
The water just is, whether it's good or bad depends on purpose, to sustain a person dying of dehydration maybe it's not enough, to wash down an aspirin maybe it is. In the middle, middle of what, those terms have no meaning and the usefulness of it can only be determined with regard to purpose. People probably have different pain and pleasure thresholds and for some the pain gets in as does the danger (but again perceiving danger has it's uses).
Optimism does have some survival advantages. One I can think of is that if you're around enough pessimists for enough time, you'll want to throw yourself off the nearest cliff. More optimists, more fun, less self-immolation.
Relentlessly negative people are probably routinely sacrificed by primitive societies. "Into the volcano with you, Grumpy!"
>:(
Optimism does have some survival advantages. One I can think of is that if you're around enough pessimists for enough time, you'll want to throw yourself off the nearest cliff. More optimists, more fun, less self-immolation.
Relentlessly negative people are probably routinely sacrificed by primitive societies. "Into the volcano with you, Grumpy!"
>:(
haha! I can see that.
Mayo Clinic cites the following health benefits of optimism:
Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:
Increased life span.
Lower rates of depression.
Lower levels of distress.
Greater resistance to the common cold.
Better psychological and physical well-being.
Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.
I've read in several longevity studies that optimism is a predictor of a long life.
haha! I can see that.
Mayo Clinic cites the following health benefits of optimism:
Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:
Increased life span.
Lower rates of depression.
Lower levels of distress.
Greater resistance to the common cold.
Better psychological and physical well-being.
Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.
I've read in several longevity studies that optimism is a predictor of a long life.
Yes! Everything I've ever read about longevity says centenarians as a group are very resilient, and rarely let life get them down. An attitude more of us should emulate, if possible, IMO.
iris lilies
5-29-16, 3:34pm
I see the overall life- health as being a bigger issue than optimist or pessimist.
If people pretty much feel in control of their life and if they are self actualized, I would bet those people come off as optimists. But to me, its a richer and more complex thing.
I do know that Even though I consider myself largely a pessimist, I am also content with my life. I usually laugh once a day (and probably get mad once a day!) The husband here and the dog here generate the laughs. Also, irony in life--always good for a chuckle.
Teacher Terry
5-29-16, 3:38pm
I have always been an optimist. My doggies and family, friends make me laugh multiple times a day.
haha! I can see that.
Mayo Clinic cites the following health benefits of optimism:
Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:
Increased life span.
Lower rates of depression.
Lower levels of distress.
Greater resistance to the common cold.
Better psychological and physical well-being.
Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.
I've read in several longevity studies that optimism is a predictor of a long life.
Optimism may have advantages for living to a ripe old,age, but not from an evolutionary, survival of the fittest standpoint. For,a traitors,be evolutionarily successful it's only necessary that the person with the trait live long enough to successfully have and raise offspring. I suspect that Back when we lived in the wilderness, which was when 99% of human evolution took place, pessimism and caution got baked into our genes.
I thought it was interesting that about half the displacement was in the upward direction.
My guess would be that this is because as the industrial economy gets replaced by the information economy half the displaced jobs are being replaced by well paying new information economy jobs and the rest are being replaced by low paying service economy jobs. And as those service economy jobs get replaced by machines the working poor will just move further down the income ladder.
Williamsmith
6-1-16, 8:41am
I'm pretty much a n the same wave length as George Carlin....
"An optimist sees the glass half full, a pessimist sees it half empty. I see a glass that is twice as big as it needs to be."
I'm pretty much a n the same wave length as George Carlin....
"An optimist sees the glass half full, a pessimist sees it half empty. I see a glass that is twice as big as it needs to be."
So the middle class is a socioeconomic glass that is built to hold 12 ounces of sugary soda. The people that want to fit in it are 12 ounces of aspirating Americans (in liquid form). But the glass should be rebuilt to hold only 6 ounces and the middle class should be shrunk to only be 6 ounces?
I think that is America's socioeconomic trajectory. We're almost there!
So the middle class is a socioeconomic glass that is built to hold 12 ounces of sugary soda. The people that want to fit in it are 12 ounces of aspirating Americans (in liquid form). But the glass should be rebuilt to hold only 6 ounces and the middle class should be shrunk to only be 6 ounces?
I think that is America's socioeconomic trajectory. We're almost there!
No, the glass has been expanded to big gulp size. Williamsmith just wants to get it back down to the former standard of 12 oz, not all the way back down to 6.5 oz that cokes were first sold at.
ApatheticNoMore
6-1-16, 12:09pm
the glass may be adequate - for some - but it is an ever narrowing glass, ie raises non-existent, costs of basic living going up by leaps and bounds - ie shrinking.
Williamsmith
6-1-16, 12:37pm
the glass may be adequate - for some - but it is an ever narrowing glass, ie raises non-existent, costs of basic living going up by leaps and bounds - ie shrinking.
This is more a result of the abuse of monetary policy. The purchasing power of the dollar is constantly under attack from excess debt, taxpayer bailout and economic "stimulus."
No, the glass has been expanded to big gulp size. Williamsmith just wants to get it back down to the former standard of 12 oz, not all the way back down to 6.5 oz that cokes were first sold at.
I just don't want to see the day when we're all drinking from the same trough.
I just don't want to see the day when we're all drinking from the same trough.
I often refused the wine at mass because I felt it was drinking from a communal trough. Maybe I am not as socialist as I thought!
This is more a result of the abuse of monetary policy. The purchasing power of the dollar is constantly under attack from excess debt, taxpayer bailout and economic "stimulus."
That is my issue, it is not true capitalism here. We have had our fingers in everything and now maybe we should cut the welfare for the corporations. I don't have an issue helping the very poor, sick and mentally ill. It really isn't as big of a part of the budget as people like to think. I have been learning more the last couple years about how much money goes to companies who don't pay living wages. My soapbox is if you are going to get bailouts and extreme tax breaks then you need to follow certain guidelines. If you can run your company that way without our tax dollars more power to you,
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