Post by Joe Cocker on Aug 22, 2012 15:12:55 GMT -5
Maybe it's the New World Order or Obama and his saving the middle class is working.
Poorer, gloomier middle class voices echo 'lost decade' seen in new study
By Matt O'Brien
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 08/22/2012 09:20:03 AM PDT
Updated: 08/22/2012 12:04:40 PM PDT
In this Monday, July 30, 2012 photo, Dave Krepcho, director of the Second Harvest Food Bank,...
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The shrinking middle class highlighted
They are the protagonists of TV sitcoms, a group courted by politicians and considered the embodiment of the American way of life.
So why is the middle-class feeling so down?
"It really is a lost decade," says Hayward resident Sherry Revak, who believes her middle-class life is "very different" from what her grandparents' generation experienced.
The middle class has shrunk in size since 2000, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some of its characteristic faith in the future, according to a Pew Research Center survey of middle-class adults and an analysis of government data.
The 32-year-old and her husband lost their jobs in 2009 and, though the college graduates found new work within a year and make well above the median, they are still having trouble getting back on track.
They used up all their savings and don't have a retirement fund. They both drive decade-old cars and say it hurts to pay $3,300 a month for their relatively modest South Hayward home.
Among Americans who see themselves as middle class, the Pew report shows 85 percent say it is more difficult now than a decade ago for middle-class people to maintain their standard of living.
Poorer, gloomier middle class voices echo 'lost decade' seen in new ...
San Jose Mercury News-2 hours ago
Poorer, gloomier middle class voices echo 'lost decade' seen in new study
By Matt O'Brien
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 08/22/2012 09:20:03 AM PDT
Updated: 08/22/2012 12:04:40 PM PDT
In this Monday, July 30, 2012 photo, Dave Krepcho, director of the Second Harvest Food Bank,...
Related Stories
The shrinking middle class highlighted
They are the protagonists of TV sitcoms, a group courted by politicians and considered the embodiment of the American way of life.
So why is the middle-class feeling so down?
"It really is a lost decade," says Hayward resident Sherry Revak, who believes her middle-class life is "very different" from what her grandparents' generation experienced.
The middle class has shrunk in size since 2000, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some of its characteristic faith in the future, according to a Pew Research Center survey of middle-class adults and an analysis of government data.
The 32-year-old and her husband lost their jobs in 2009 and, though the college graduates found new work within a year and make well above the median, they are still having trouble getting back on track.
They used up all their savings and don't have a retirement fund. They both drive decade-old cars and say it hurts to pay $3,300 a month for their relatively modest South Hayward home.
Among Americans who see themselves as middle class, the Pew report shows 85 percent say it is more difficult now than a decade ago for middle-class people to maintain their standard of living.
Poorer, gloomier middle class voices echo 'lost decade' seen in new ...
San Jose Mercury News-2 hours ago