Disappearing Middle Class

[Wardsweb]

Seems to me as times get tougher financially, there is a bigger dividing line between the haves and the have nots. This site alone points out their are people buying frivolous speakers. No one needs speakers that cost thousands and tens of thousands of dollars.

There is no action item item here, just an observation. Those that have will continue to consume and to pay taxes that will be used as our government deems fit.

Speaking of congress, has anyone actually read some of the pet projects earmarked in the bail out? Here are just a few:

Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) obtained $1,500,000 for the Presidio Heritage Center.

Sen. Stevens (R-AK) obtained $2 million for Hibernation Genomics, a project at University of Alaska.

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) obtained $24.5 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center which has been criticized as redundant of existing facilities and for mismanagement.

Sen. Bond (R-MO) obtained $800,000 Pseudofoliculitis Barbae (PFB) Topical Treatment – this goes to ISW Group in St. Louis, MO, a privately held pharmaceutical company.

Sen. Lieberman (I-CT) and Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) obtained $15 million for Waterbury Industrial Commons Redevelopment Initiative. The town hired a lobbyist that was Deputy Campaign Manager for Sen. Lieberman’s reelection in 2006 and Congress kicked in $15 million.

Sen. Shelby (R-AL) and Rep. Aderholt obtained $1.6 million for SAIC’s High Fidelity Virtual Simulation and Analysis program which uses simulation software to reduce the amount of time it takes a soldier to receive operational support in the field.

Sen. Levin (D-MI) obtained $1.6 million for Low Temperature Vehicle Performance Research at Wayne State University.

 

[Kenscollick]

Dont knock my frivolous speakers the difference between me and our elected officials is that I actually earned my money by working for it.

Most of our esteemed congress and our President included is that they never had to work for a living so them having a comprension of how much work it actually takes is lost on them. Plus they are not restricted by a checking account balance like most of us.

Case in point is my senator Carl Levin got $56,000,000 for a five mile stretch of land along the Detroit River for a walking trail the only problem with that is Jack Bauer couldnt make it walking five miles in Detroit.


our elected officials are a joke but we keep electing them on name recognition alone. we are our own worst enemy.

 

[Wardsweb]

I'm not knocking your speakers. CLS are among my audio toys. I have spent more on audio gear than many have for cars, but then I have worked for every penny of it. No one has ever given me anything. So if you work hard, always save and never take anything for granted you can be comfortable in tough ecomonic times.

 

[Rich]

Earmarks. Always a hot-button issue. The truth is . . . they are just a political distraction. The total cost of earmarks every year is absolutely dwarfed by the costs of defense, social security, medicare, medicaid, etc. But instead of pushing for reform of the areas of government where trillions of dollars are spent and wasted every year, we squabble about a few million here and there. That's like going to the grocery store and spending hundreds of dollars on the finest steaks, beer, and seafood, and then complaining because a few bags of cookies and candy are thrown in to make the kids back home happy.

Total cost of last year's earmarks: $17 billion dollars. Total cost of the war in Iraq for last year alone: $144 billion dollars! Let's debate about the things that really matter rather than squabbling about lawmaker's pet projects. And don't forget, while there is a lot of foolishness and waste, many earmarks are valid expenditures for needed local projects which help to fuel our local economies and make our nation stronger. For example, the earmark by Shelby and Aderholt mentioned above, goes to a company in my hometown that is an incredible high-tech employer which produces amazing tactical gear for our armed forces and is one of the reasons we are still number one in the world in military defense.

As for the "disappearing" middle class, I would say there are less people in the destitute category and more people in the well-off category than ever before in our history. Even with the tough economic times right now, we are still doing very well by historical standards and in comparison to other countries.

Yes, there are lots of people buying frivolous speakers, boats, cars, houses, vacation houses, etc. That is the culmination of the American Dream. Nothing wrong with it. Likewise, there are plenty of people who have very little to nothing, as there always has been. The beauty of it is that the opportunity is still there in this country for those who have little to change their circumstances. I know more than a few people who grew up in poor families who are now wealthy, myself included. These rags-to-riches stories are a whole lot more common in this country than any other I know of.