Without an abundance of good jobs, the middle class in the United States is going to shrivel up and die. Right now, rampant unemployment is absolutely killing communities all over America. Hopelessness and poverty are exploding and many are now wondering if we are actually witnessing the slow death of the middle class. There simply are not nearly enough "good jobs" to go around anymore, and even many in the mainstream media are referring to this as a "long-term structural problem" with the economy. The only thing that most working class Americans have to offer in the marketplace is their labor. If nobody will hire them they do not have any other ways to provide for their families. Well, there is a problem. Today wealth has become incredibly centralized. The big corporations and the big banks dominate everything. Thanks to incredible advances in technology and thanks to the globalization of our economic system, the people with all the money don't have to hire as many ordinary Americans anymore. They can hire all the labor they want on the other side of the globe for a fraction of the cost. So the rich don't really have that much use for the working class in America anymore. The only thing of value that the working class had to offer has now been tremendously devalued. The wealthy don't have to pay a lot for physical labor anymore. Thousands of our factories and millions of our jobs have been shipped overseas and they aren't coming back. The big corporations are thriving while tens of millions of ordinary Americans are deeply suffering. Almost all of the wealth being produced by our economy is going to a very centralized group of people at the very top of the food chain. The rich are getting richer and the working class is being systematically wiped out.
So the fact that we are facing rampant unemployment that never seems to go away should not be a surprise to anyone. Today, the "official" unemployment rate went up to 9.2 percent even though a whopping 272,000 Americans "dropped out of the labor force" in June. The government unemployment figure that includes "discouraged workers" went up from 15.8% to 16.2%. The mainstream media is proclaiming that this was "a horrific report" because most economists were expecting much better news.
Well, guess what?
Things are going to get a whole lot worse.
More job cuts are coming. One recently released report found that the number of job cuts being planned by U.S. employers increased by 11.6% in June.
It is also being projected that state and local governments across the U.S. will slash nearly half a million more jobs by the end of next year.
Needless to say, things don't look good.
Most people that still have jobs are desperately trying to hold on to them.
Employers know that most workers are easily replaceable these days, so wages are not moving up even though the cost of living is.
We are right in the middle of the worst employment downturn since World War 2. Jay-Z recently summed up the situation this way....
"Numbers don't lie. Unemployment is pretty high."
Jay-Z certainly has a way with words, eh?
If something is not done about the rampant unemployment in this nation, the death of the middle class will accelerate.
Most Americans just assume that the United States will always have a large middle class, but there is no guarantee that is going to happen. In fact, there is a whole lot of evidence that the middle class in America is rapidly shrinking.
Take a few moments to read over the facts compiled below. Taken together, they provide compelling evidence that the working class is being systematically wiped out....
#1 Right now, the U.S. government says that 14.1 million Americans are unemployed.
#2 There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States today than there were back in 2000 even though we have added 30 million people to the population since then.
#3 The number of Americans that are "not in the labor force" is at an all-time high.
#4 The United States has never had an employment downturn this deep and this prolonged since World War 2 ended.
#5 There are officially 6.3 million Americans that have been unemployed for more than 6 months. That number has risen by more than 3.5 million in just the past two years.
#6 It now takes the average unemployed worker in America about 40 weeks to find a new job. Just check out this chart....
#7 There are now about 7.25 million fewer jobs in America than when the recession began back in 2007.
#8 Back in 2000, the employment to population ratio was over 64 percent. Today, it is sitting at just 58.2%.
#9 Only 66.8% of American men had a job last year. That was the lowest level that has ever been recorded in all of U.S. history.
#10 During this economic downturn, employee compensation in the United States has been the lowest that it has been relative to gross domestic product in over 50 years.
#11 The number of "low income jobs" in the U.S. has risen steadily over the past 30 years and they now account for 41 percent of all jobs in the United States.
#12 Half of all American workers now earn $505 or less per week.
#13 According to a report released in February from the National Employment Law Project, higher wage industries are accounting for 40 percent of the job losses in America but only 14 percent of the job growth. Lower wage industries are accounting for just 23 percent of the job losses but 49 percent of the job growth.
#14 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#15 Between December 2000 and December 2010, 38 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Ohio were lost, 42 percent of the manufacturing jobs in North Carolina were lost and 48 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Michigan were lost.
#16 Back in 1970, 25 percent of all jobs in the United States were manufacturing jobs. Today, only 9 percent of the jobs in the United States are manufacturing jobs.
#17 Do you remember when the United States was the dominant manufacturer of automobiles and trucks on the globe? Well, in 2010 the U.S. ran a trade deficit in automobiles, trucks and parts of $110 billion.
#18 In 2010, South Korea exported 12 times as many automobiles, trucks and parts to us as we exported to them.
#19 The United States now spends more than 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that China spends on goods and services from the United States.
#20 Since China entered the WTO in 2001, the U.S. trade deficit with China has grown by an average of 18% per year.
#21 The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2010 was 27 times larger than it was back in 1990.
#22 The United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs per month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
#23 In 2002, the United States had a trade deficit in "advanced technology products" of $16 billion with the rest of the world. In 2010, that number skyrocketed to $82 billion.
#24 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry was actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#25 Since 2001, over 42,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have been closed.
#26 There were more manufacturing jobs in the United States in 1950 than there are today.
#27 Since the year 2000, we have lost approximately 10% of our middle class jobs. In the year 2000 there were about 72 million middle class jobs in the United States but today there are only about 65 million middle class jobs. Meanwhile, our population has gotten significantly larger.
#28 When you adjust wages for inflation, middle class workers in the United States make less money today than they did back in 1971.
#29 One recent survey found that 9 out of 10 U.S. workers do not expect their wages to keep up with soaring food prices and soaring gas prices over the next 12 months.
#30 Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.
#31 One out of every six elderly Americans now lives below the federal poverty line.
#32 According to one recent study, approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States were living below the poverty line in 2010.
#33 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid.
#34 As 2007 began, there were 26 million Americans on food stamps. Today, there are more than 44 million Americans on food stamps, which is an all-time record.
#35 Today, one out of every four American children is on food stamps.
#36 59 percent of all Americans now receive money from the federal government in one form or another.
#37 The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased by 46% since 2006.
#38 In the United States today, the richest one percent of all Americans have a greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent combined.
#39 According to Moody's Analytics, the wealthiest 5% of all households in the United States now account for approximately 37% of all consumer spending.
#40 The poorest 50% of all Americans collectively own just 2.5% of all the wealth in the United States.
The cold, hard reality of the matter is that the United States is experiencing a long-term economic decline.
Every single day, more American families fall out of the middle class and into poverty. There are millions of American families out there tonight that are just barely hanging on by their fingernails.
More Americans than ever are constantly borrowing more money just to stay afloat. Even as rampant unemployment plagues this nation and even as wages remain stagnant, middle class Americans are increasing their use of credit.
A CNBC article noted the increase in consumer borrowing that we have seen recently....
The Federal Reserve says consumer borrowing rose $5.1 billion following a revised gain of $5.7 billion in April. Borrowing in the category that covers credit cards increased, as did borrowing in the category for auto and student loans.
It is very hard to live "the American Dream" without going into huge amounts of debt these days.
But for an increasing number of Americans, "the American Dream" is just a distant memory.
Tonight, there are large numbers of people living in the tunnels under the city of Las Vegas. As the wealthy live the high life in the casinos and hotels above them, an increasing number of desperate "tunnel people" are attempting to carve out an existence in the 200 mile long labyrinth of tunnels that stretches beneath Vegas. It is a nightmarish environment, but it is all those people have left.
Don't look down on them, because you never know who might be next.
If you lost your current job, how long would you be able to survive?
Unfortunately, as bad as things are now, the reality is that this is just the beginning.
You ain't seen nothin' yet.
Do what you can to make sure that you and your family are not totally wiped out by the next wave of the economic collapse.
ok, if part of the game plan to bring the people to their knees in desperation to accept the globalists dream of haves and have-nots is to offshore living wage jobs out to the dirt poor and import the dirt poor to replace American workers who fought for living wages and decent working conditions, I understand that, see the backwards decline in action with my own two eyes.
The results are awful for the people. You get what you pay for.
This game doesn’t work for my conscience because I don’t care how inexpensive an item is. I care about PEOPLE. I’m not looking at the price tag first on an item, I look at where it’s MADE. If it’s not made in a place that treats people to a decent standard of living wage and working conditions I’m not getting it. (there are a few exceptions to this rule) Generally, places that make things that also invest in their people put out a pretty good product too. If it’s something I need/want but can’t find new from a business with some ethics, I’ll get it gently used.
As an aside, I really should email wallyworld and their ilk and tell them why I never step foot in some stores. Can’t support businesses that pay poverty wages. It’s not worth it because we all pay one way or another for poverty in America.
And those places with scant labor laws? The children in sweatshops? There’s a reason why Unions evolved ya know! Right to work or no, people ought never be treated as slaves! People what are you supporting through your purchases? Stop the decline, power to the people through your own purse. Put some ethics in your consumption!
It’s too late for that. There are too many products that are just no longer built in the US. Try buying a refrigerator or TV made in the US – there aren’t any. Even the products that are built in the US may contain many imported components. Any type of trade legislation now would be a can of worms. Unions did a good thing in the early 20th century for livable wages, and safe working conditions. Unfortunately, they have become TOO MUCH of a good thing. UAW workers want $70/hour to put a nut on a bolt. Unions want to dictate to the management what they can and can’t do, and who they can and can’t fire. They also help employees file the plethora of workplace lawsuits. If you built a refrigerator in the US and it costs $5,000 – no one will buy it anyway. Unions + government regulations + lawyers = the death of US manufacturing.
Someone who makes $70/hr is a producer in many ways. Think about the differences in $8 an hour vs the $70 hour taxpayer.
People with money buy things. And they pay taxes which in turn helps keep us solvent. Neighborhoods aren’t likely to fall to crime and poverty when people can make money. Detroit might be a good example.
Others get subsidized by taxes.
So, continue to buy your cheap televisions and refridgerators, but don’t turn around and blame the low wage workers in America selling that cheap foriegn made crap for needing foodstamps, subsidized housing and health care and whatever else they do to get by. (low wage or no wage worker since they aren’t making much but hamburgers here anymore)
Given the choice of careening toward third world desperate people or a more expensive product, I think I’ll take the pricey fridge.
I don’t think we can afford low wage workers, truth be told, in the long run far too expensive to support!
Higher wages and higher prices? That’s not solution, that’s inflation and things are the same. Dollar already lost 97% its value from 1900.
make sure you don’t buy MADE IN USA… THEY DON’T TREAT OTHERS IN A WAY YOU WOULD ACCEPT FOR YOUR OWN LOVED ONES…
Gary2,
I totally get what you are saying about the 25 cent raise vs. the exec. retirement package. And I understand why you feel the way you do about taxing the rich. If I thought it would help, I might actually agree with it. But I HATE our tax system. It doesn’t work. One reason is because the rich never pay. You are right about one thing…there is too much corporate welfare.
I also HATE our political system, because both sides are completely corrupt…they both work for and are funded by the same jerks who think it is okay to give someone a 25 cent per hour raise.
I am so sick of the whole fiat currency and fiat economy that I am okay with the whole thing collapsing. I don’t want people to be hurt. Too many already have been. Frankly, though, I don’t see how this whole thing could end up in anything less than a free for all. I just hope the greedy corporations, central banks, IRS, and fiat anything goes down with it. Wipe the whole slate clean.
The idea of an economic collapse scares me, but the idea of the corporate paradigm programming continuing scares me even more. I want it to end now, before the corporations and banks control everything.
One thing I’d like to say, which has very little to do with this issue directly, is being mindful of the way we talk about those in low-paying service jobs – the “Walmart greeters” and “burger flippers.” Any honest work, to me, is honorable work, and many people have resorted to jobs they otherwise would not be doing, if theirs had not been outsourced, downsized or done away with by technology. The problem is that jobs that can actually support a household and an adult independently in relative comfort are going away.
Some of those burger flippers have college degrees…
I agree, the middle class is getting destroyed and will likley never return….thats bad. thats the way 3rd world countries are……….a select minority of wealthy groups, the vast majority in poverty with very little in between
We are ancient Rome.
So what is the downside here for the poor of the world? A crash of the USA and its economic camp followers would be the best thing possible for Africa, Asia, and South America, and especially for the world’s ecology. Destroy the USA and half the world’s military industries go belly up, oil consumption drops, and predatory trade policies collapse. These are the monsters who spread nuclear technology around the unstable Pacific rim, the ones who made usury into a way of life, the ones who intentionally set out to hook young people world wide on tobacco, while demonizing cannabis. These are the people who have bombed flat Southeast Asia in the name of freedom and are today making war on one Muslim country after another, because these people have the audacity to still pray, dress modestly, and live in families. When the USA crashes there should be dancing in the streets world-wide.
so… bad for the USA it’s good for the rest of the world?… lets have it…now, b4 the money men destroy the rest…
profs : “West’s go v’s borrow to pay int.,
cant pay prin.” ” U + S. total pub
pvt debts $200t, two hund tril, gdp$14/t/yr”
I agree, Mr M. This phoney capitalism – which is really just corporate fascism – has destroyed our once great nation. Someday, people will get clear heads and recognize that while free markets and opportunity are great things, they are NOT what we have. I know it is natural for corporations to grow and merge, but when the resulting companies are under the control of cold sociopaths, we had better watch out. We have regressed to robber baron ways. But, everyone is so brainwashed into supporting “capitalism” and “free markets” that we will accept most anything the powerful people label as such. Mr. G
The problem is capitalism period. It is a system that is inherently flawed in that there are always booms and busts. Few people seem to gain during the booms and those who do not gain in the boom share in the bust. F-capitalism. We can do better. If someone I knew was that unstable they would be committed.
PS – I would LOVE to live in a society with CAPITALISM, FREE MARKETS, and FREEDOM. I doubt that I ever will, though! Mr. G
Here is what happened to the jobs – set to music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SRWmV2WIE
…are you SURE you don’t want fries with that??
Well, don’t buy gold. That money is sunk. You can also glue it to the pavement. Or burn it.
Get a house instead. Small, ugly, but made from stone or concrete to survive tornado and hurricane, maybe on stilts to protect your goods from flooding. Make it large enough to be comfortable but small enough to be payable. Perhaps with a patch of veggie garden and some fruit trees.
…MODERATION OF ONE’S OPINION IS ANOTHER FORM OF OPRESSION…
Oh no the sky is falling!
All of this is indicative of Satan setting up his last great world empire, Mystery Babylon (USA), to enslave mankind and to enforce obedience to and worship of the coming Antichrist. Amerika has to be broken, morally, financially, and spiritually, before she can be made to yield to the NWO. DON’T GIVE UP and DON’T GIVE IN! Jesus Christ is coming soon!
Can someone PLEASE explain to me why Americans are not out in the streets rioting???
How bad will it have to get before we at least try to take back our country?
We aer too lazy. Something about two and a half men season starts soon? Jajaja
Part of the reason that unemployment duration has spiked is because the govt keeps extending the benefits. The govt has caused this to happen.
Our politicians are intelligent but do not have wisdom to govern. Why are we allowing China and other nations to manipulate their currencies in order to have an unfair trade advantage? Why are we allowing companies to outsource our jobs to countries that purposefully manipulate thier currencies to steal away our jobs? Why are we giving foreign nations billions in foreign aid if we have to borrow the money from China? Why are American tax payers footing the bill to police the world and keep other nations safe while we get nothing back for protecting them? Why has our government become a welfare nation giving out billions per year for lazy people who dont want to work? Why are we allowing huge trade imbalances to continue? Why are we burrying ourselves with enormous debt that we cannot pay back while we recklessy hand out so much money? Our politicians and the majority of Americans do not have the wisdom to know what is right for our nation. That is why unemployment is rampant in America and the economy cannot recover? The solutions are simple but most Americans and politicians continue to put the pedal to the medal to drive us over the cliff!
We mostly have nobody to blame except ourselves.
We have become complacent and lazy for accepting our impending demise.
How many of you make a priority of buying American made goods over that of foreign produced when there is a viable American alternative? How many of you would complain to US companies manufacturing abroad?
There are plenty of quality US made products, some more expensive (I am willing to pay more), some LESS expensive than foreign. Tires, automobiles, parts, appliances, tools, etc. are just a few examples of US produced products.
Remember, foreign workers and companies pay ZERO US taxes, buy very little US made goods and many wish to eliminate us.
Remember these things next time you go shopping.
WHERE IS BANNER MAN ?????/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FV4_sNaDeA
Too big to bail, and too big to fail is the new norm, it’s hard to believe that even though Europe is leading the way to hell because of their high debt, here in the USA we continue to print, borrow and spend our way to hell too. When will they stop? To continue borrowing 2 trillion dollars a year to prop up a false economy is crazy. Huge cuts in government spending and tax cuts for the private sector to create jobs is the only solution, but politics won’t allow it to happen…..
So let us boycott BIG BUSINESS and BIG BOX stores. Buy locally period.
President Obama’s Economic Recovery Program worked. It made American Corporations over 2 Trillion Dollars. Yes, thst’s a “T”.
They are NOT HIRING. They are sitting on their money stashed away off-shore.
The unemployment issue is NOT the President’s fault.
If you want to help people, webmaster, you’ll leave my post up entitled “What Can Americans Do, To Fight The New World Order”, instead of removing it, every time I put it up!
Ben Dover:
I am glad to post the same message a few times, but if it is done over and over and over then Google might look at all that duplicate content and start penalizing the site.
Michael
The KEY word here, is SYSTEMATICALLY. This is actually correct. The EU/US Central
Bankers have two openly stated goals: 1) Global Neo-feudalism, via debt for Nations,
and Individuals, and profits for Central Bankers, Oil Conglomerates, Weapons Manu-
facturers, and other Multinational Corporate Owners, & 2) Global De-population. Yet,
in the MSM (Main Stream Media), there is still an argument, that there exist banks, that
are TBTF (Too-Big-To-Fail), and must be bailed out(?!), with each new ‘crisis’? How stupid are people? Seriously.
Keiser Report: Mass Psychosis (E167)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUl6aFgL41U&feature=player_embedded
Death to capitalism and corporate fascism!!
Keiser Report: Ghettofication of America (E168)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxQUKCyf8YA&feature=player_embedded#at=653
A boom in corporate profits, a bust in jobs, wages
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_18533859
What has caused this ‘Greater Depression’ in America?
http://www.amazon.com/Psychological-Warfare-New-World-Order/dp/0932367232/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311890494&sr=8-1
Naming Names: Your Real Government (When dark deeds unfold, point the finger in this direction).
by Tony Cartalucci
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/03/naming-names-your-real-government.html
The Real Revolution
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/02/real-revolution.html
“Boycott the globalists, cut off their support, undermine their system, and they lose their ability to commit these atrocities. That will be a real revolution and it can start today. Not burning cities and masked rebels waving flags, but communities no longer dependent and fueling a corrupt system we all know must come to an end.”
Clearly, opportunities to earn a decent living within the western world have been on the decline for over 30 years now.
However, I say we can foster a more life enhancing economic paradigm for all people!
Could this be true?
To tell you guys what the real Unemployment rate would blow your minds. I hear if you include everyone that is between that ages of 18 and retirement age it’s something like 50% and that’s excluding part timers, people in school, the sick, injured and mentally handicapped. I really don’t know how acurate these numbers are but from what i see in my
neighborhood on SI, NY that sounds about right!
77% of these jobs are in the service sector!
34% of these jobs are through government local or federal employment! I feel we all let this happen since we have not refreshed our struggle for freedom. People are willfully ignorant, afraid or complacent in this system! Until we are willing to risk our dwindling extravagant lives we will never break free from the powers that enslaving us as well as our children!
I was in Corp. AMERICA 24 YEARS. My company got taken over. I have applied at 700 plus companies. Now I have been out work 3 years and it is looking even worse. A perfect picture -TITANIC !!! It will get them too. Thank got I have a degree in Agriculture and know how to garden. We are all deep trouble.
The creation of a new government agency that will be dedicated to job creation, will only create more government jobs.
What a joke! The government can’t create jobs. Our only hope is to support small businesses, which create the majority of new jobs.
And you need to take control of your finances by getting financial education. The market is rigged against you. Your IRA and 401K are in danger of becoming worthless.
Learn how to leverage the financial crisis to create wealth and protect your family.
[...] that means is that the middle class is [...]