I am currently reading, Thom Hartmann''s "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class." Much of it is depressingly accurate, but it might explain the nation's current economic climate. The economy has affected all segments of society, but particularly the middle class. If you need any evidence of this, look at the huge numbers of home foreclosures (there are three in a row on my block), bankruptcies and repos.
Those were mainly blue-collar/middle-class people who were making a comfortable living until they were laid off. Unfortunately in this economy, $50,000 per year jobs are not out there anymore. And if they are, there is fierce competition for them. Wages have also been depressed. Since there are so many people out of work, many workers are willing to lower their wages, just so they can have some form of income.
In many cases, companies have eliminated middle-management jobs and are replacing those workers with inexperienced, recent grads, who are happy to land any job. Also a recent grad will gladly work for $30,000, while a mid-career professional would have a hard time accepting this salary. Hartmann argues this was done deliberately. He said that many conservatives believe that the country should be ruled by a super-rich elite, who make all the important decisions. Essentially, it is a return to feudalism and in modern-day America, which has a rapidly shrinking middle class, I can see how this could happen. The book argues that part of this policy is to keep the middle class so stressed from trying to making a living, they will not have the time to take an active interest in politics. This is also a theory reported by Noami Klein in "The Shock Doctrine," and this is happening. If you don't believe me, trying having a political conversation with a friend and see how far it goes before that person says, "I am too busy trying to survive, to worry about politics."
Hartmann also reports that former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan was in favor of weakening the middle class and thus driving down wages. (I googled the quote and the link is included below.) And that is pretty much what is happening now. Competition is so fierce, many workers have lowered their wage expectations. This benefits the share holders because that saved money is returned to them in dividends. So, according to the American business model, companies will pay their employees the lowest wage possible, work them to death and avoid offering them any benefits, if possible. And if all else fails, they simply fire employees and use the saved income to drive up stock dividends. That sounds awfully similar to working conditions in many American companies.
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