I agree. But there is something called the "middle class," which might be seen as describing people in the intermediate zone involving some working-class characteristics and some rich characteristics. The place where I live -- Torrance, south of L.A. -- seems a hotbed of the middle class. (It's been accurately described as a little piece of Orange County (CA) transplanted into L.A. county.) I'd say that some of the over-consumption story applies here. It applies even more to the upper classes, with their multiple McMansions and the like.
Joanna wrote: > As some mention, some of the decline in savings is attributable to > overconsumption, but scholarly studies show that the largest factors were > > 1. Stagnant or declining incomes > 2. Massively increasing health care, education,and housing costs. > (3. Food & energy have gone up quite a lot in the last few years too) > (4. And, I'd add, massively inventive forms of debt peonage.) > > According to hard data, the oft cited snowmobiles and gadgets played a very, > very minor part in the expenses that overwhelmed people in the last > generation. > > Of course, talking about the snowmobiles is big on the media, where the goal > remains to blame workers for the current debacle. By the same token, a govt > employee who takes home 100K in overtime is a big angry news story; whereas > the CEO who takes home 100 million remains an object of awe and fawning. > > The class war continues. ... -- Jim Devine / "Nobody told me there'd be days like these / Strange days indeed -- most peculiar, mama." -- JL. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
