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| Economy |
| Where the Middle Class Is Dying |
| 2016-04-03 |
| h/t Instapundit Despite the country’s unemployment rate falling below 5% in January for the first time since 2008, and the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006, concerns about wage growth -- particularly among middle earners -- remain. Since 2010, as the country began to recover from the Great Recession, income of the top 20% of households grew 3.7% from 2010 through 2014. During that time, incomes of the middle 20% of households declined 0.7%. |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #5 Raj, thank you. While I don't embellish others might. |
| Posted by: Dale 2016-04-03 17:22 |
| #4 Dale - the maximum Earned Income Tax Credit is $6,242, and the Child Tax Credit maxes out at $3,000 ($1,000 per child). Both of those are 'refundable credits', which means you get the credits even if you don't have a Federal tax liability. The rest of the refund is probably Fed. tax withheld. |
| Posted by: Raj 2016-04-03 15:50 |
| #3 Two individuals that I am aware of have got their refunds from the government. The first was told to me by my accountant; $14,000 dollars. This fellow has several children. The second is a young woman I know. She is getting $12,000 refunded to her. Her income is no more than $25,000. She has lost her Food stamp benefits. Four children and I don't know if she is married to her husband. $2000. for each child (2 only). She adopted two children one from each sister. So what am I doing wrong?. This is accurate. I embellish not. |
| Posted by: Dale 2016-04-03 14:43 |
| #2 If you consider that under this administration, the amount of outright deception by the government regarding, unemployment, inflation, immigration, high-profile criminal cases, global warming, race relations, foreign policy and world affairs, one cannot determine the true nature of the vast majority of what was once the thriving middle class. The naïve idea of free trade pushed the manufacturing jobs overseas, and our balance of trade hasn't seen a positive overall number in 40 years. Immigrants have now taken 21% of the jobs here, so workforce participation rates are at abysmal levels. Somewhere I read that a huge number of households have virtually no savings, and the fraud in welfare, foodstamps, disability, earned income tax credit and other public welfare assistance programs is rampant. Not a happy picture.... |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2016-04-03 13:06 |
| #1 In Chapter Five of The Great Gatsby, while having Daisy and Nick over, Gatsby insists that Nick play the piano, even though Nick admits that he is not all that good. Other than the naturalistic positioning of this song as merely an entertainment device, the same way the alcohol and the parties are in this novel, the song choice, I think, was something that Fitzgerald put a lot of thought into. he song that Nick decides to play is the song, “Ain’t We Got Fun,” a satirical foxtrot composed by Richard A. Whiting and lyrics written by Raymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn. The lyrics tell the story of a young couple with debts encroaching upon them, though they claim that, “still they have fun.” Then, in a surprising turn of events, they have twins, exacerbating their situation. The song highlights the increasing gap between social classes (“The rich get richer, and the poor get– children”). Though it seems an innocent pop song, the song has cutting undertones, and much of the song gives you the idea that the couple isn’t having much fun at all. This is a much more disillusioned view of the Roaring Twenties than much of the upper class of the time would have. Despite the song’s lower-class characters, the song’s relevance resonates throughout the novel, for the rich become disillusioned with the Jazz Age as well. For example, Gatsby and Daisy, much like the characters of the song, are ignoring worldly problems while they “have fun” together. This ignorance gives them the idea that their the re-creation of their relationship from the past can work. However, the situation with Tom, and the fact that things are not as simple as Gatsby wants to make them, show that the future for Gatsby and Daisy as a couple is something that is not very likely. The fact remains that money does not set one above worldly problems, nor is it the solution the problem. It seems that both the rich and the poor have problems, just with different things. Link |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-04-03 02:34 |