Middle Class Economy

The Middle-Class Solution: GET OUT!

Grant Cardone | Posted 06.01.2012

Read More: Inflation, Mitt Romney, Middle Class, Income Disparity, Finances, Personal Finances, Middle Class Economy, Money News
Grant Cardone

People in the middle class must understand that it is no longer the safe haven of inspiration it was for their parents. Particularly, its lower and middle bands do not make enough money to save enough to create financial security.

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The Myth of the Myth of the Disappearing Middle Class

Jared Bernstein | Posted 05.30.2012

Read More: U.S. Economy, Middle Class Economy, Economics, Economy, Middle Class, Taxes, Jobs, Unemployment, Health Care, Money News
Jared Bernstein

"The myth of the disappearing middle class" is a canard. Indeed, most living standards analysts think of the middle class as some chunk in the middle of the income distribution -- say the middle fifth or some variation therein -- which of course cannot by definition "disappear." I've been writing about middle class economics for decades and not once did I or my colleagues argue "disappearance." However, we did, and do, argue that the wage and income growth of middle class workers and families has weakened over time -- that the middle class has become increasingly squeezed. To understand the middle class squeeze, you've got to look at wages and hours.

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Introducing "Breakdown: Americans on the Edge"

Timothy L. O'Brien | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Breakdown, Politics, Business, U.S. Economy, Poverty, Middle Class Economy, US Poverty, Slums, Economy, Middle Class, Politics News
Timothy L. O'Brien

The Huffington Post is launching a year-long exploration and examination of the lives of middle class and poor Americans in a series called "Breakdown: Americans on the Edge."

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Middle Class Is Failing

Grant Cardone | Posted 04.28.2012

Read More: Jobs, Unemployment, Middle Class Economy, Middle Class, Housing, Failing Middle Class, Adam Corolla, Grant Cardon, Grant Cardone, Business News
Grant Cardone

The middle class concept is failing millions of people because it is based on myths and formulas that worked for our parents but will no longer prove ...

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The Minimum Wage: Time to Start Working On the Next Increase

Jared Bernstein | Posted 04.08.2012

Read More: Minimum Wage Increase, Minimum Wage, Middle Class Economy, Federal Minimum Wage, Economy, Middle Class, Business News
Jared Bernstein

When someone brings up the idea of a raise in the federal minimum wage, you hear a huge outcry from some in the business lobby. Their generic argument is that the increase will lead to job losses among those low-wage workers affected by the higher wage level. Yet, you hear the opposite from groups that represent low-wage workers interests. So the DC lobby that represents low-wage employers say they're against an increase, not because it would raise labor costs and cut into profits, but because it's bad for the workers themselves, who will suffer reduced hours and layoffs. But the workers' groups say, "Bring it on!" So what's best for the middle class in this economy -- who you gonna believe?

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The Power of Owner-Entrepreneurship Education to Restore Our Middle-Class

Steve Mariotti | Posted 03.27.2012

Read More: State of the Union, Education, Owner-Entrepreneurship Education, Class Warfare, Middle Class Economy, Low-Income, Income Inequality, Middle Class, Entrepreneurs, Obama State of the Union, State of the Union 2012, Entrepreneurship, Low-Income Students, Education News
Steve Mariotti

Most of our national education efforts seek to teach low-income youth to become better workers. Why aren't we also teaching them how to own? If entrepreneurship is the engine of the American economy, why aren't we raising more creative entrepreneurs?

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Merry Christmas, Middle Class! House Republicans Just Voted To Raise Your Taxes By $1,000

Tom McMahon | Posted 02.20.2012

Read More: Gop, Middle Class Economy, John Boehner, Payroll Tax Cut, House Republicans, Payroll Tax, Middle Class, Politics News
Tom McMahon

What a way to ring in the new year -- a tax hike in our pay checks. We can't return this gift because, thanks to the House Republicans, all we got was coal.

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Only Voters Can Save Middle Class America

Robert Schwab | Posted 01.31.2012

Read More: Middle Class Jobs, 2012 Election Romney, Middle Class Economy, Bain Mitt Romney, Barack Obama Reelection, 2012 Election Obama, Denver, Middle Class Taxes, Mitt Romney Campaign, Politics News
Robert Schwab

If Mitt Romney is the nominee, the stark difference between a president who cares for all Americans and a candidate whose life has demonstrated his disregard for common people will be prominently illustrated.

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Flat-Lining the Middle Class

Andy Kroll | Posted 12.06.2011

Read More: Ethnic-Wealth-Disparity, 99ers, Unemployment, Middle Class Economy, Double-Dip Recession, Wealth Disparity, Middle Class, Jobs, Economic Recovery, Politics News
Andy Kroll

The question on many economists' minds is: Will the U.S. slump into a double-dip recession? In the meantime, the middle class has flat-lined. Life support is nowhere close to arriving.

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Can Confucius Save America's Middle Class?

David Rohde | Posted 12.06.2011

Read More: Middle Class Economy, Third World America, Middle Class, Business News
David Rohde

Two decades of covering political, religious and ethnic conflict around the world has convinced me that the single largest instrument of stability in any society is a middle class.

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Study: Boost In Union Membership Would Be A Boon To Middle Class

The Huffington Post | Jillian Berman | Posted 11.27.2011

Read More: Business News, Middle Class Economy, Labor Unions, Unions, Middle Class Income, Middle Class, Union Membership Middle Class, Video, Business News

If the incomes of the union rank-and-file rose by just a tenth, middle-class incomes would go up $1,479 per year -- even for those who aren’t member...

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American Voters Are Killing the American Dream

Eliot Daley | Posted 11.15.2011

Read More: Standard of Living, Middle Class Economy, Voter Behavior, Campaign Ads, Middle Class, Middle Class Voters, American Dream, Politics News
Eliot Daley

Maybe the only answer is that middle-class Americans actually have a death wish when it comes to The American Dream.

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Many Americans Born Into Middle Class End Up Falling Out Of It

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 11.07.2011

Read More: Drug Use, Education, Downward Mobility, Middle Class Economy, Divorce, Third World America, Blacks, Economy, Middle Class, Low Income, Economic Mobility, Income, Working Class, Video, Business News

The promise of the American dream has given many hope that they themselves could one day rise up the economic ladder. But according to a study release...

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E Tu Democrats: The Bloody Toga of the Middle Class

Paolo Romanacci | Posted 10.08.2011

Read More: Debt Ceiling Bill Reactions, Debt Ceiling Bill, Middle Class Economy, Middle Class, Middle Class Suqeeze, Middle Class Debt Ceiling, Video, Politics News
Paolo Romanacci

This week, like the Roman senators who lined up one by one to stab Julius Cesar 2000 years ago, the Democrats in Congress, the protectors of the middle class if you will, have lined up to do the same to us.

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The Clash of the Middle Classes

Moisés Naím | Posted 10.05.2011

Read More: Economy, Middle Class, Middle Class Decline, American Middle Class, Middle Class Economy, World Middle Class, World News
Moisés Naím

Governments in the poorer countries are under enormous pressure to meet the booming demands of the new middle class while those of the richer nations are struggling to contain the fall in living standards of the existing bourgeoisie.

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Jason Linkins

Washington Post Columnist: It's Ridiculous That Lawmakers Would Advocate For The Middle Class

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 06.15.2011

Read More: Eat the Press, Raul Grijalva, Dana Milbank, Middle Class Economy, Budget, Deficits, Paul Ryan, Politics News

It seems like just a little while ago that the Washington Post's Dana Milbank was rightfully complaining about the rogering he was getting at the hands of Citibank. One might have imagined that Milbank's trials and tribulations then would have given him some insight into the reality that income disparity exists and that ordinary people are bearing the brunt of the bad economy. Only, now that a bunch of Democratic lawmakers have set out to try to ameliorate these problems, Milbank has reverted back to a position of hyena-bray ridicule.

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Poor No More! Or That "Hard Working Middle Class" Baloney

Sherman Yellen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Union Workers, Obama Middle Class, Middle Class Economy, Unions, Wisconsin Union Protests, Middle Class, Politics News
Sherman Yellen

The one thing Obama and Palin have in common? Everyone is middle class. To call a man or woman poor is to insult them -- to call them a failure in this land of plenty.

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Brutal Bookends: Our Middle's Final Squeeze?

Sam Pizzigati | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Middle Class Economy, New York Budget Cuts, California Budget Cuts, Inequality, Politics News
Sam Pizzigati

Neither Brown in California nor Cuomo in New York sees any reason to inconvenience the financially fortunate. We're just "going to have to reduce government spending," as New York's Cuomo insists.

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Money GOP Wants for Rich Should Be Spent on the Needy

Rev. Jesse Jackson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Unemployment Benefits, Middle Class Economy, Democratic Party, Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, US Poverty, Republican Party, President Barack Obama, Bush Tax Cuts, Politics News
Rev. Jesse Jackson

We need a project for American renewal, not a holdup where the weak are held hostage. The president would be wise to abandon the back room dealmaking and take his case to the American people.

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Defining Class in America: Has the Economic Crisis Brought Us Closer Together?

Curtis Valentine | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: National Retail Federation, Middle Class Tax Cuts, Third World America, Black Friday, Pew Research Center, Economic Crisis, Middle Class, Unemployment Benefits, Bush Tax Cuts, Middle Class Income Range 2010, Middle Class Economy, Middle Class Definition, Obama Middle Class, Middle Class Income Range, Politics News
Curtis Valentine

Amid all the discussion about "Middle Class Tax Cuts" and the "War on the Middle Class," there has been little attention paid to the puzzling fact that Americans still do not have a hard and fast definition for middle class.

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The Great American Credit Catastrophe Is Our Generation's 9/11

Michelle Kraus | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tarp, Interest Rates, Tarp Bailout, Wall Street Bailout, FICO Score, Foreclosure Crisis, Consumer Debt, Middle Class Economy, Health Care Costs, Middle Class, Mortgage Crisis, Credit Crisis, Credit Cards, Credit Crunch, Big Banks, Consumer Spending, Obama Health Care, Tea Party Movement, Unemployment, Banks, Foreclosure, Obama Middle Class, Bank Bailout, Tea Party, Politics News
Michelle Kraus

The housing crisis is just one piece of the big, ugly mess of the consumer credit debacle. It seems to me that our president must call for immediate reform and take action through executive order.

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Math Professor Gives Away Half His Yearly Income To Charity

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: North Virginia, Middle Class Donation, Richard Semmler, Northern Virginia Community College, Modest Income Donation, Middle Class Economy, Virginia Donations, Video, Impact News

Mathematics professor Richard Semmler works two jobs in addition to his post at Northern Virginia Community College so that he can give away up to $60...

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Arianna Discusses 'Third World America' With Maria Bartiromo On C-Span's 'After Words' (VIDEO)

Huff TV | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Unemployment, Middle Class Economy, Third World America, Economy, Middle Class, Jobs, Obama Economy, Business News
Huff TV

Arianna appeared on C-Span's "After Words" program this weekend to discuss her latest book "Third World America" with Maria Bartiromo. Arianna spok...

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Third World America: America's New Must-Read

Leo Hindery, Jr. | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Third World America Map, Arianna Huffington Third World America, Declining-Middle-Class, Middle Class Economy, Third World America, Middle Class, Books News
Leo Hindery, Jr.

At the end of Third World America, Ms. Huffington really got my attention with her not-so-gentle reminder that if middle-class Americans are to keep their American Dream alive, then "it's the jobs, stupid."

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Losing America: The Way Backwards

Michael Brenner | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: American Middle Class, Third-World-America-Map, Arianna Huffington Third World America, Middle Class Economy, Third World America, New Deal, Politics News
Michael Brenner

The great virtue of Arianna Huffington's latest book, Third World America, is its incisiveness and candor in explaining how we have gone off the rails -- and the extent of the wreckage.

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