I just watched NOW on PBS. The topic for this week was Middle Class Insecurity. Most of what they had to say has been on the news and in conversations for quite some time. What I found amazing is many of the folks they interviewed and were feeling the financial squeeze either voted Republican or said they would still vote Republican. Hey, I guess some people don't learn.
One couple said they were voting for a President based on his moral views. They said this as they packed away their belongings. This good Christian family had to move out of their home, because they could no longer afford to pay the mortgage. Their main moral issue is abortion. Perhaps, they should focus on moral issues such as: corruption, corporate greed and exploitation.
Oh, by the way one of the speakers they interviewed said the middle-class was a group that was nurtured into exsistence via the G.I. Bill, low mortgages, suburban expansiion, etc. etc., which occured a few generations ago. And, the new Middle Class don't have those safety nets anymore.
Check your local listings to see when it will air again. And, here are some interesting tidbits to hold you over till you see it.
10 Reasons America's Two-Income Families Aren't What You Think
(According to Harvard Law professor and bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren)
Two-income families today make 75% more in inflation-adjusted dollars, but have less money to spend than one-income families did 30 years ago.
Two-income families today spend: 21% less on clothing, 22% less on food, and 44% less on appliances compared to one-income families a generation ago.
Every 15 seconds an American family files for bankruptcy.
This year, more kids will live through their parents' bankruptcy, than through their parents' divorce.
1.6 million families will file for bankruptcy this year, 9 million more are already in credit counseling.
Home mortgage foreclosures are up more than three-fold over the last generation and car foreclosures have hit record levels.
More than 62% of families say that they worry about making ends meet.
The average family spends 69% more in inflation-adjusted dollars on their home mortgage than their parents spent a generation ago.
The average family spends 61% more on health insurance, than their parents spent a generation ago.
Credit card default rates are at a record high.
1 comment:
I think I saw the same special. Was this the one with the family that had to move into a relative's house because they lost their house and the wife was crying because of what it was doing to the children.
I love PBS because it makes me sad and sometimes you need to be reminded of the sad in the world. Times is not good. Not good at all.
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