Fascinating article about the continued wage gap not only between men and women, but more so by race and ethnicity!

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In Reality, Middle-Class Blacks And Middle-Class Whites Have Vastly Different Fortunes by Matt Bruenig

"With the passing of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, commentators have been assessing the status of blacks in society. Matt Yglesias has a post about the black-white income gap, and how it has not budged in 40 years. Brad Plumer has a post at Wonkblog that features a list of 10 charts showing the persistence of the black-white economic gap, including rates of unemployment, poverty, and so on.

The statistics provided in these posts—and indeed most statistics provided on this question—compare all blacks against all whites. This kind of comparison is worth making for certain purposes, but it also has its limitations. By itself, such group-level comparisons lend themselves to the hasty conclusion that the difference between the economic situations of blacks and whites is mainly that blacks are more concentrated on the low end of the economic ladder." Article -- http://bit.ly/16WqPrX

 

I recently read about a poll taken by a national organization that said the average American nearing retirement age has only put aside $10,000! Why aren't Americans saving more money?

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Will You Have a Middle-Class Retirement? by Tom Sightings

 

"What is middle class in America today? According to a definition from the Brookings Institution, the middle class comprises families with incomes between one-half the median income and twice the median income. Today this would make a middle-class annual income range from about $25,000 to $100,000."

"But your location and your situation make a big difference. If you're trying to raise a family on $100,000 a year in New York, Washington or Los Angeles, you're barely scraping by. If you're a retired couple without kids in Macon, Ga., or Mason City, Iowa, you're among the richest people in town." Read article -- http://bit.ly/1c9S6cs

After years of economic turmoil, most families now believe the most valuable--and elusive--possession in American life is economic security.

This sentence jumped off the page at me when reading the article below by Ronald Brownstein. This is evidently the  "ambivalent" message from the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll which explored the public's perception of what it means to be middle class in America today. The poll reveals even more unsettling feelings by the majority of people interviewed!

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Meet the New Middle Class: Who They Are, What They Want, and What They Fear by Ronald Brownstein

 

"After years of economic turmoil, most families now believe the most valuable--and elusive--possession in American life is economic security. Americans still believe they can reach for the stars, but they are increasingly fearful they are standing on a trapdoor as they try." Read more -- http://bit.ly/17XSo2f

 

As written in the article below by Tami Luhby for CNNMoney, its evident that most Americans are feeling the pinch of inflation over the past 10 years, and are really scared about how its going to affect their future financial security! The article gives several examples of how people are dealing, or not dealing, with inflation and current economic conditions in the U.S., but the bottom line is that many economists don't see any changes coming down the pike to change the tough situation middle-Americans are finding themselves.

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 Why America's Middle Class is Losing Ground by Tami Luhby

"In the wake of the Great Recession, millions of middle-class people are being pinched by stagnating incomes and the increased cost of living. America's median household income has dropped by more than $4,000 since 2000, after adjusting for inflation, and the typical trappings of middle-class life are slipping out of financial reach for many families." 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/05/news/economy/middle-class-wages/index.html 

Obama’s Plan to Save the Middle Class: Redistribution Now, Education Later by Ezra Klein

 

"My colleague Jim Tankersley writes that “there are two kinds of middle-class Americans struggling today. There are the people who can’t find work or can’t work as many hours as they’d like. And there are full-time workers who can’t seem to get ahead. In Tuesday’s State of the Union and its response, there wasn’t much for either group — at least when it comes to their biggest problem.” Read more -- http://wapo.st/VaNdvI 

  In a report written by three Citigroup analysts in October 2005 (see link below) describing the pattern of growth in the U.S. economy, they stated that the U.S. is comprised of only two distinct groups -- the rich and the rest. The report goes on to say:

"... the second group didn’t matter; tracking its spending habits or worrying over its savings rate was a waste of time. All the action in the American economy was at the top: the richest 1 percent of households earned as much each year as the bottom 60 percent put together; they possessed as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent; and with each passing year, a greater share of the nation’s treasure was flowing through their hands and into their pockets."

Eight years has passed since this article was written. Please let me know your thoughts on the authors' predictions. Better yet, let your city, state and Federal Representatives know your thoughts and concerns!

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Can the Middle Class Be Saved? by Don Peck

"The Great Recession has accelerated the hollowing-out of the American middle class. And it has illuminated the widening divide between most of America and the super-rich. Both developments herald grave consequences." Continued -- http://bit.ly/TzO1mB

Reviving U.S. Manufacturing Key to Rebuilding the Middle Class by Bill Simon

"One of the biggest obstacles facing Americans today is a lack of opportunity and social mobility. While we have entry-level and high-end jobs, we have lost the jobs in the middle that helped each generation of Americans do better than the one before it. Some call this an "hourglass economy"; I tend to think of it as a canyon being hollowed out between the two ends of the job market." Continued -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-simon/post3792753_b_3792753.html