Middle is disappearing into Upper Middle. The result is the same for "working class" men - total cultural obsolescence; no potential access to mid-20th C. community-actualized status / dignity since shortly after the 70s-era veer toward PMC-centric meritocracy. But why should emptying a gross, stupid trashcan garner anybody respect from …
Middle is disappearing into Upper Middle. The result is the same for "working class" men - total cultural obsolescence; no potential access to mid-20th C. community-actualized status / dignity since shortly after the 70s-era veer toward PMC-centric meritocracy. But why should emptying a gross, stupid trashcan garner anybody respect from their community?
The Upper Middle doesn't really have it so great either. Most PMCs toting around USBc-crippled MBPs today can only afford a fraction of the "fellow American labor hours" a middle class family had access to half a century ago; hence all the struggles over child and elder care even in the 6-figures household.
I wasn’t aware that it is a trope. And yes, that is exactly what I am arguing. Rewind time four decades, and “fellow American labor hours” were affordable to the middle class, now they are not affordable to even much of the upper middle class. In part this has to do with the increased demand inflicted by the medicalization of life. But fundamentally it is the visible manifestation of the impoverishment of the working class. The most charitable take possible is that this was inevitable once the hangover of our two-decade post-war export hegemony had to be dealt with, so globalism has been a grand compensation in the form of shifting as many goods possible into foreign labor hours.
Thanks for your comment. I agree that's what it looks like now, but I think the whole upper-middle is becoming the middle and is going to sink. If we let it, there's going to be the 1%ers and the rest of us in the lower income. Just my gut.
people have been saying that for 20 years. yet the opposite keeps happening despite the fact that much of the lower bracket is driven by immigration which constantly refills it.
the us IS having a lot of immigrants come in these days. but these times are not typical of the past 20 years. if enough people don't wake up... i want to thank you for waking people up, gato!!! i also really hope you're right and i'm wrong.
Middle is disappearing into Upper Middle. The result is the same for "working class" men - total cultural obsolescence; no potential access to mid-20th C. community-actualized status / dignity since shortly after the 70s-era veer toward PMC-centric meritocracy. But why should emptying a gross, stupid trashcan garner anybody respect from their community?
The Upper Middle doesn't really have it so great either. Most PMCs toting around USBc-crippled MBPs today can only afford a fraction of the "fellow American labor hours" a middle class family had access to half a century ago; hence all the struggles over child and elder care even in the 6-figures household.
this is mostly a trope.
the "labor hours" is just people living in bigger homes with more appliances, taking more vacations, etc. and needing far fewer "labor hours."
you're basically arguing that because the cost of labor is up, people are poor and ignoring the substitution effects.
I wasn’t aware that it is a trope. And yes, that is exactly what I am arguing. Rewind time four decades, and “fellow American labor hours” were affordable to the middle class, now they are not affordable to even much of the upper middle class. In part this has to do with the increased demand inflicted by the medicalization of life. But fundamentally it is the visible manifestation of the impoverishment of the working class. The most charitable take possible is that this was inevitable once the hangover of our two-decade post-war export hegemony had to be dealt with, so globalism has been a grand compensation in the form of shifting as many goods possible into foreign labor hours.
Thanks for your comment. I agree that's what it looks like now, but I think the whole upper-middle is becoming the middle and is going to sink. If we let it, there's going to be the 1%ers and the rest of us in the lower income. Just my gut.
people have been saying that for 20 years. yet the opposite keeps happening despite the fact that much of the lower bracket is driven by immigration which constantly refills it.
the us IS having a lot of immigrants come in these days. but these times are not typical of the past 20 years. if enough people don't wake up... i want to thank you for waking people up, gato!!! i also really hope you're right and i'm wrong.