FNJ this is a political thread.



Try to watch at least the first 2:40.

"If you don't say where the idea is coming from, big majorities of Americans support really, really, really liberal policies."

I find it very interesting that the average American misbrands themselves based on the choice of title they would like to have for their political selves.

There is a certain amount of money that is required in order to survive as a middle class American. If you consider home ownership to be part of that survival I would argue that the amount ranges between $65,000 - $90,000 per family.

If your family makes less money than that, you are going to struggle and have a hard time. You might have to sacrifice a car, which means no job for one partner. You might have to sacrifice having children. Or you might have to live somewhere you do not wish to, such as urban vs suburban vs country.

To many people those numbers seem high, especially amongst people who have not yet had careers. For single individuals the number is different, but it is disproportionate. To own property as a single person, I would argue that you need to make at least $50,000 - $60,000 at a minimum.

The problem is that these numbers keep going up yet average pay for middle class jobs is not rising at the same rate.

This means that people have to shop smarter to maintain the same lifestyle. Thanks to large corporate stores we are able to get the best "bang for our buck", sadly killing off smaller shops at the same time.

The larger corporations don't pay the average middle class workers higher salaries, but they do pay executives very well. So the discrepancy between middle class and upper class grows, while the gap between middle class and poverty begins to shrink.

It would balance out if the corporations were paying taxes, but they are subsidized and or able to sneak past with legal loopholes. In addition the richest executives make enough money that they aren't seeing the same troubles.

Ultimately it is a question of surviving. How does American want to survive? Should this be a land where the general population struggles and becomes further and further separated from the rich while the average family becomes closer to poor? Should schools, public utilities, and community offerings suffer because the average tax payer can't handle the burden any longer?

This is a very fine line because the rich have definitely earned their money, but without re-balancing this system, it will continue in its current direction.

I believe that before we tax the rich, we must close tax loopholes for major corporations, and end subsidies for companies that generate profits. If you make money, you don't need help.

However, if it ultimately comes down to 1% of the country having 99% of the wealth then we have a problem because that ratio used to be 20% of the country with 80% of the wealth. It is a failed system that brings us to this point, and we may not be able to fix it without first cleaning up a mess that shouldn't have existed in the first place.