Death of the American Middle Class (documentary)

You may need to set aside 90 minutes or so to watch it but for me it was really interesting. A first world country making the transition into third world (at the same time the rest of the world is coming up)

https://youtu.be/rtsXr969Nz4

Thanks, I watched a bit of it, gonna watch the rest tomorrow. In the UK that first couple would probably be referred to as 'working class' not middle class. Guy working in a factory at an hourly rate. Is that middle class in America?

It was. Unskilled jobs used to pay $50 an hour. But now not any unskilled laborer can fall into that.

Wages for uni grads have been going way up for years. Decades. (Overall.) The losses happened to those with low levels of education. (Overall.) Look up the stats. That is true.

Over the last few decades, has the typical American become: poorer? a little bit richer? quite a bit richer? much richer? Yes! Every answer is correct.

How can this be? It simply depends on how you decide to measure income and income growth

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/12/07/middle-class-incomes-have-slumped-stagnated-or-grown-depending-on-the-measure/

The next time you hear a politician or pundit talking about what is happening to middle class incomes, you should ask not only how they are defining the middle class, but also how they are measuring income. The danger here is that people simply select the approach that best fits the story they want to tell.

A first world country making the transition into third world (at the same time the rest of the world is coming up)

Couldn't be further from the truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykaDgXoajc

Ask yourself why Koreans are desperate to get into the United States.

It's because for those with average or above average intelligence and ambition, there's a ton of money to be made in 'Murica.

A first world country making the transition into third world (at the same time the rest of the world is coming up)

Couldn't be further from the truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykaDgXoajc

Ask yourself why Koreans are desperate to get into the United States.

It's because for those with average or above average intelligence and ambition, there's a ton of money to be made in 'Murica.

That GDP doesn't take the population into account. Sure China may be the second 'richest' country on earth. But it doesn't mean they have the 2nd richest people on earth. Although GDP/capita also isn't a great predictor of per capita income, it's often a good reference point.

A first world country making the transition into third world (at the same time the rest of the world is coming up)

Couldn't be further from the truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykaDgXoajc

Ask yourself why Koreans are desperate to get into the United States.

It's because for those with average or above average intelligence and ambition, there's a ton of money to be made in 'Murica.

That GDP doesn't take the population into account. Sure China may be the second 'richest' country on earth. But it doesn't mean they have the 2nd richest people on earth. Although GDP/capita also isn't a great predictor of per capita income, it's often a good reference point.

I thought Australia had the richest people (average wealth) in the world. Most of it because of property.

A first world country making the transition into third world (at the same time the rest of the world is coming up)

Couldn't be further from the truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykaDgXoajc

Ask yourself why Koreans are desperate to get into the United States.

It's because for those with average or above average intelligence and ambition, there's a ton of money to be made in 'Murica.

That GDP doesn't take the population into account. Sure China may be the second 'richest' country on earth. But it doesn't mean they have the 2nd richest people on earth. Although GDP/capita also isn't a great predictor of per capita income, it's often a good reference point.

I thought Australia had the richest people (average wealth) in the world. Most of it because of property.

Except no one can afford to enter the market now.  Most younger people.  But big North American cities too.  I have heard Aussies complain about the costs.

As for GDP, what about median income (not average) and measuring that in relation to the cost of living.  The PPP GDP per capita sort of does that.  But is not always a true indicator.  How comfortably can people afford to live with the money they have?  Cheap living cost and decent income in comparison even if low by global or US standards.  China measures up well against this, but is still essentially a poor and developing country in most of the nation. 

Jim Rogers the investor is of the opinion that if you compare Singapore to New York City. New York looks and feels third world.

If anyone actually cared to watch the documentary you would see that for the past twenty years life was getting harder and harder for ordinary people.

Yes a fraction of one percent, an elite, maybe making more money but again this is a phenomenon also seen in the third world.

I watched twenty minutes of the video then turn it off. A family or two is a small sample size. What's the cliffs?

Yes a fraction of one percent, an elite, maybe making more money

Recent stats showed the poor getting richer in America. And the middle class. And the already wealthy. It's a hell of a lot for than a fraction of one percent doing better.

14,814,453 millionaires in the United States

7,647,278 American households with $2 million or more

4,665,039 households with $3,000,000 or more

3,527,878 eclipsing $4,000,000 in wealth

2,888,408 households with $5,000,000 or more

1,347,336 decamillionaire households in America- 1.07% of households have $10,000,000 or more

Millions of millionaires!  

again this is a phenomenon also seen in the third world.

Not true. Thanks to globalization, millions, even billions are being lifted out of extreme poverty AND middle classes are growing all over the world AND the richer are getting richer. Technology and free trade benefits us all. A rising tide lifts (almost) all boats.

As for GDP, what about median income (not average) and measuring that in relation to the cost of living.

Here's an article released just before your hero Trump was elected.

The American economy is the best in the world and will continue to be the best in the world. No matter who is president.

America's middle class is booming.

Between 2015 and 2016, US median household income rose 3.2% from $57,230 to $59,039, according to a new report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday.

It's now the highest income year on record, beating the previous high of $58,655 in 1999 (all numbers are adjusted for inflation).

The US poverty rate simultaneously declined about 1% to 12.7%, returning to nearly the same level as in 2007, prior to the recession. In total, 2.5 million fewer people were in poverty in 2016 than in 2015.

Plus, almost every demographic group experienced a rise in incomes last year, according to the Census, thanks to more Americans securing full-time and better-paying jobs — a total year-over-year rise of about 2.2 million workers.

If anyone actually cared to watch the documentary you would see that for the past twenty years life was getting harder and harder for ordinary people.

Watched the whole video.

Was incorrectly titled in my opinion.

Should have been called 'Struggles of the Underclass' or something like that.

It's about single parents with low education levels living in housing projects and trailer parks.

Sad for sure but I wouldn't call them middle class or even "ordinary people" as you put it.

The kid says, "I'm the first in my family to graduate high school." Is that normal?

We see a house bought for $38,000. You can guess that's in a bad neighborhood.

There is only one college graduate in the district according to the documentary. Seems way below average.

Not really representative of the United States as a whole.

To me underclass is someone who chooses welfare as a lifestyle.

Maybe a woman who has 5 kids with 4 different men and expects the state to provide housing, child benefits etc.

Or someone who never worked in their life and just deals drugs. In the U.K. there is a program representing such people known as “the Jeremy Kyle show”

Nobody in this documentary struck me as underclass.

The one couple that broke up did so because of financial difficulties and the children were born while the husband was in work.

They were responsible and tried to do the right thing IMHO

The people in that video struck me as not that bright. Which is not their fault. No one chooses to be born with a low IQ.

Globalization has caused adjusted for inflation wages for below average intelligence Americans to decline while raising wages for Americans with average and above average intelligence. (Generally speaking.)

To me underclass is someone who chooses welfare as a lifestyle.

Maybe a woman who has 5 kids with 4 different men and expects the state to provide housing, child benefits etc.

Or someone who never worked in their life and just deals drugs. In the U.K. there is a program representing such people known as “the Jeremy Kyle show”

Nobody in this documentary struck me as underclass.

The one couple that broke up did so because of financial difficulties and the children were born while the husband was in work.

They were responsible and tried to do the right thing IMHO

Yes, as you say underclass = Jeremy Kyle guests. In the the UK middle class = university educated, white collar job, slight local or neutral accent. Working class = state school educated, no university, thick local accent, manual job. It's more about this than the money in the UK. E.g. a plumber could be on more than a primary school teacher but if he speaks with a thick local accent, reads the sun etc... he's still working class. The people in the video would be described as working class in the UK.

So you agree the video / thread was incorrectly titled?

So you agree the video / thread was incorrectly titled?

Middle class in the US might have a different meaning