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Middle Class

Rich Buying Again, But Middle Class Still Hurting

AP | EMILY FREDRIX | Posted 11.13.2009 | Business

Read More: Walmart, Wealthy, Luxury Shopping, Middle Class Economy, Luxury Brands, Middle Class, Consumer Spending, Wealthy Americans, Recession, Transparency, Business News

American shoppers are splitting again: The affluent are finally starting to buy, picking up designer clothes at places like Nordstrom, while those on ...

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Middle-Income Families Can Slip Through Cracks of ECE Policy

James Mejia | Posted 11.12.2009 | Denver

Read More: Early Childhood Education, Education, Pre-K, Middle-Class-Squeeze, Early Learning Challenge Fund, Middle Class, Preschool, Denver News
James Mejia

Early childhood education is again on the minds of our elected officials. Last month, the House passed the Early Learning Challenge Fund, which gives states a chance at $8 billion in competitive grants.

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Lessons of November

Max Fraad Wolff | Posted 11.05.2009 | Politics

Read More: Virginia, Election Reaction, Conservatives, New Jersey, Liberals, Middle Class, Wage Gap, Gay Marriage, Maine, Politics News
Max Fraad Wolff

I believe that hordes of voters went yesterday and voted for Republican candidates and discriminatory marriage platforms even though they voted for and like Obama. I also believe they are expressing an anger that liberal and conservative pundits alike do not understand.

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Goldman Sachs Seizing Homes Subprime Mortgages Bought

McClatchy | Greg Gordon | Posted 11.02.2009 | Business

Read More: Mtglq, Cases, Hank Paulson, Lawsuits, Middle Class, Suits, Goldman Sachs Subsidiaries, Housing Crisis, Working Class, Goldman Sachs, Judge Roger Efremsky, Lenders, Home Prices, Foreclosure, Subprime, Repossession, Roger Efremsky, Ge, Mortgage Brokers, Mortgage Crisis, Homeowners, Securities Exchange Commission, WMC Mortgage Corp, Judge William Aslup, Wall Street, GE Money, Wiliam Aslup, Henry Paulson, Banks, Sec, Subsidiaries, Business News

Goldman spent years buying hundreds of thousands of subprime mortgages, many of them from some of the more unsavory lenders in the business, and packa...

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I Am Not Paying Higher Taxes to Help the Uninsured

Blake Fleetwood | Posted 10.28.2009 | Politics

Read More: Prisoners-Dilemma, Game Theory, Middle Class, Health Care Reform, Universal Health Care, Obama Health Care, Health Care, Single Payer Health Care, Obama Universal Health Care, Obama Health Care Reform, Public Option, Politics News
Blake Fleetwood

No social program -- Medicare, social security, rent control, public universities -- that aims to help the poor can ever succeed without appealing to, and paying off, a broad middle class.

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The Stuy Town Decision: A Good Reality Check for New York

Elizabeth Donoghue | Posted 10.28.2009 | New York

Read More: Tenants Rights, Tenants, Real Estate Industry, Middle Class, Tishman Speyer Stuyvesant Town, New York City Real Estate, Stuyvesant Town, New York City Apartments, Peter Cooper Village, New York News
Elizabeth Donoghue

New York is experiencing what the rest of the country is, too: unemployment and hard times. The Stuy Town decision on rent regulation will help people keep their homes in this uncertain era.

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How To Live On $0 A Day: Rediscover the Childlike Joy of Halloween (Get Free Stuff)

Lesley Stern | Posted 10.26.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Candy, Food Pyramid, Depression, Middle Class, Economic Crisis, Halloween, Tricks, Recession, Advice, Financial Advice, Pharmaceutical Industry, Free Stuff, Treats, Satire, Trick-or-Treating, Nutrition, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Financial Crisis, Comedy, Economy, Milk Chocolate, Humor, Halloween Candy, Nuts, Raisins, Budget, Living, Thanksgiving, Comedy News
Lesley Stern

Halloween traditionally marks the end of the harvest season when people begin storing necessities for the long, lean months ahead. Which is exactly the way you should be looking at it now.

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Republicans Must Stop Playing Politics With Unemployment Benefits

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand | Posted 10.19.2009 | New York

Read More: Unemployment Benefits, Long Island, Senate Republicans, Recovery, Economic Policy, New York City, Middle Class, Economic Stimulus, Joblessness, Senate Democrats, Hudson Valley, Recession, New York News
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Rather than do what is right, Republicans did what was politically convenient, twice blocking the unemployment extension last week in an effort to derail other economic recovery programs.

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Lessons From Letterman in Health Reform

Robert Reich | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Big Pharma, Senate Finance Committee Health Care Bill, Robert Reich, Public Option, Middle Class, Health Insurance, Obama Big Pharma, Barack Obama, Ama, Nancy Pelosi, American Medical Association, Health Care, Health Insurance Reform, David Letterman, Politics News
Robert Reich

If Obama doesn't weigh in forcefully and say "no" to the hush money arranged in January for Big Pharma, big insurance, and the AMA, America's middle class will get walloped. And so will he in 2012.

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Bernie Sanders: The Middle Class Today Is In Desperate Shape (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Senator Sanders Unfiltered, Wall Street Executive, Wall Street, Economic Crisis, Middle Class, Vermont, Bernie Sanders Unfiltered, Financial Crisis, Bernie Sanders, Wall Street Bonuses, Sanders, Politics News

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) was on fire in his weekly YouTube video, "Senator Sanders Unfiltered." "The reality is that the middle class today ...

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Last Words From the Vanishing Middle Class

Francine Hardaway | Posted 10.13.2009 | Politics

Read More: Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore, Mortgage Relief, Phoenix, Aurora Loan Services, Loan, Small Business, Mortgage, Economic Crisis, Economic Hardship, Middle Class, Financial Crisis, Declining Middle Class, Mortgage Crisis, Politics News
Francine Hardaway

I personify the vanishing middle class. When I started my business in 1980, I had a pretty good life. Twenty-five years later, my standard of living has totally deteriorated.

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How The Middle Class Got Squeezed: Charles Hugh Smith

DailyFinance | Charles Hugh Smith | Posted 10.12.2009 | Business

Read More: Tarp, Elizabeth Warren, Middle Class Wages, Charles Hugh Smith, Middle Class, Globalization, Financial Innovation, Congressional Oversight Panel, Business News

The current recession has stoked deep-seated fears about a declining middle class. A great collective anxiety about such a decline has been floating a...

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Middle-Class Family Forced Into Homeless Shelter

The Huffington Post | Tam Vo | Posted 10.13.2009 | Impact

Read More: Foreclosures, Virginia, Job Loss, Middle Class Family, Middle Class, Homeless Shelters, Homeless, American Homelessness, Joblessness, Viriginia Homeless, Impact News

It's estimated that 7 million more homes are going into foreclosure, which is dramatically changing the the face of those who are without a place to l...

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Health Insurance Companies Want Severe Penalties For People Who Do Not Buy Coverage

The Associated Press | By ERICA WERNER | Posted 10.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Lobbying, Lobbyists, Senate Finance Committee, Health CareHealth Care, Low-Income, Alissa Fox, Peter Orszag, Pre-Existing Conditions, Middle Class, Insurance Companies, Mandatory Insurance, Debbie Stabenow, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Insurance Companies, Schumer, Penalties, Public Option, Health Care Reform, Karen Ignagni, Individual Mandate, Chuck Schumer, America's Health Insurance Plans, Stabenow, Health Care, Politics News

WASHINGTON (AP)-- The health insurance industry doesn't want Congress to let you off easy if you decide to ignore a proposed requirement that all Amer...

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The Forbes 400 Shows Why Our Nation Is Falling Apart

Les Leopold | Posted 10.01.2009 | Business

Read More: Wealth, Wall Street, Income Inequality, Economic Crisis, Financial Crisis, Higher Education, Health Care, Global Warming, Eisenhower, Forbes 400, Middle Class, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Billionaires, Forbes, Tax Breaks, Forbes 400 Richest Americans, Business News
Les Leopold

Collectively, the Forbes 400 have $1.57 trillion in wealth. It's hard to get your mind around a number like that. So let's imagine that it was available for the public good. What does $1.57 trillion buy?

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O'Reilly Endorses Public Option, Which He Previously Called "Socialism"

Think Progress | Amanda Terkel | Posted 09.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Public Option, Middle Class, Federal Reserve, Fox News, Socialism, Healthcare Reform, Bill O'Reilly, Healthcare Costs, Health Insurance Reform, Health Care, Politics News

Last night on Fox News, Bill O'Reilly actually told a Heritage Foundation scholar who was fear-mongering government-backed health care that he favors ...

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Obama Plans to Reform Economy, Not Just Health Insurance

Leo W. Gerard | Posted 09.16.2009 | Business

Read More: LTV Steel, Teabaggers, President Barack Obama, Middle Class, Jones & Laughlin Steel, Usw, United Steelworkers, Afl-Cio, Kaiser Family Foundation, U.S. Supreme Court, National Labor Relations Act, Health Insurance, Insurance Reform, Republicans, Steve Skvara, Health Care, Business News
Leo W. Gerard

The teabaggers are apoplectic because this isn't just about health care. This is about the values of a government.

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President Obama Ties Reform To Rebuilding Middle Class

POLITICO | Carol E. Lee | Posted 09.15.2009 | Politics

Read More: Blue Collar, General Motors, Public Option, Middle Class, President Obama, Health Care Reform, Afl-Cio, Richard Trumka, Politics News

PITTSBURGH -- President Barack Obama delivered his most strongly worded speech in defense of organized labor since taking office - tying health care r...

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Income Inequality: How The Wall Street Journal Got It Wrong

businessinsider.com | Bruce Judson | Posted 09.15.2009 | Business

Read More: Wealthy, Income Inequality, Middle Class, Bruce Judson, Economic Inequality, Rich, Wall Street Journal, Business News

For anyone with even a passing familiarity with issues associated with economic inequality, The Wall Street Journal front page story last week was sho...

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As Jobs Are Lost, So Is The Middle Class

The New York Times | PETER S. GOODMAN | Posted 11.12.2009 | Home

Read More: Banks, Jobless, Income, Recession, Middle Class, Bailout, Poverty, Economy, Home News

Across the United States a sense has taken hold that the Great Recession and the financial crisis are predominantly a result of national profligacy, a...

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Beer, Cigarettes and Flat Screen TVs: Targeting the Poor in Times of Economic Crisis

C. Nicole Mason | Posted 11.09.2009 | Home

Read More: AIG Bailout, Temporary Aid to Needy Families, Aig, Tanf, Poverty, Economic Stimulus Package, Race, US Poverty, Social-Policies, Investment Banks, Middle Class, Home Buyer's Credit, Home News
C. Nicole Mason

When it comes to lending a helping hand to poor people, there seems to be a double standard. The government requires states to match funds for poverty relief, while banks get stimulus money without a fee.

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Left, Right & Center: Jobless Labor Day, Afghanistan Plans, ObamaCare, and Back-to-School

Huff Radio | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Unemployment, Jobless Rate, Wall Street, Afghanistan, Middle Class, Health Care Reform, Obama, Obama Health Care, Back to School, Politics News
Huff Radio

New Afghan plans need a major commitment to get the job done -- but Obama is losing support from all sides on this one. And will health care reform be so watered down it's not really reform?

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The Key to the Fall Debate: Staying Focused on the Economy

Simon Rosenberg | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Jobs, Obama Administration, Health Care, Wages, Middle Class, Economy, UN General Assembly, Politics News
Simon Rosenberg

A "new economy" is emerging in America, and it has not been kind to most Americans. This fall is the time for the president to make it clear that he has a strategy to ensure their success in this new economy.

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Half Measures and Lukewarm "Reform" Won't Save the Middle Class

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 10.18.2009 | Politics

Read More: Al Qaeda, "Ownership Society, Home Ownership Loan Corporation, Economic Crisis, President Barack Obama, Middle Class, George W. Bush, Congress, Credit Default Swaps, American Middle Class, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, " David Brooks, Upside Down Mortgages, Home Ownership, Wall Street, The New Deal, Steve Moore, Standard and Poor, Holc, Republican Party, Moody's, Barack Obama, Stephen Moore, Politics News
Joseph A. Palermo

Let's hope that when Obama speaks Congress he outlines not only a bold program to provide health care for all Americans, but also a set of proposals to lift the middle class out of its currently dismal economic condition.

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Obama Administration Policies Will Divert Funds From Middle Class Economy

Chris Gunn | Posted 10.18.2009 | Business

Read More: Small, General Electric, Raytheon, Fortune 500, 3m, Abuse, Lockheed Martin, Small Busniess, Hewlett-Packard, Boeing, Economy, Rolls-Royce, Middle Class, Textron, Lloyd Chapman, Loopholes, Business, General Dynamics, Fraud, AT&T, Fortune 1000, Barack Obama, Office Depot, Xerox, British Aerospace (BAE), American Small Business League, Dell Computer, Business News
Chris Gunn

We project that by counting big businesses in the United States and Europe as small businesses the Obama Administration may be shortchanging middle class firms out of as much as $100 billion a year in contracts.

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