In the next state of the union address, President Obama looks to speak heavily on the middle class and what needs to be done to stimulate the economy with through the the middle class. Obama claims that only a "thriving middle class" will stimulate the economy over the long term. Do you agree with President Obama's stance on this?
In this article from the New York Times, the author claims that he feels that President Obama will address some of his new proposals, that build off his earlier reports of strengthening the middle class. Do you have any ideas of what these new proposals will be? If so, do you think these are the right way to go about stimulating the economy? what do you think should be done?
President Obama presents an interesting platform for the state of the union and his second term. His initiatives in green energy have been a way of moving jobs to the middle class, especially in hard hit industries in the recession. Just drive through Iowa and see the wind turbines creating energy and also providing income for many middle class families.
ReplyDeleteI think that health care reform was another important policy change for middle class families. The affordable health care act has done just that and has supplemented middle class incomes, for example birth control is now free under new coverage plans. This may see like a small change but it is reducing day to day costs for the middle class as a higher portion of income as compared to the upper class of our country. Reducing costs of healthcare means that money saved will either be invested or apart of increased consumption.
I think that a strong middle class will help our economy. There are a lot of people in the middle class, and helping to control interest rates, inflation, unemployment, and so on will lead to more disposable income for the middle class and thus more spending. This will have a larger impact on the economy than helping the lower class which would use this money for better food, shelter, and clothing, which is something that the middle class already has. The middle class would spend more money on non-necessities and that will help drive our economy.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that the Middle Class is incredibly important (everyone is), so it is encouraging to see President Obama speaking about it. I am interested to see how this will happen though. Right now the Middle Class is paying higher taxes as a result of some of the reforms which is doing the opposite of "helping the middle class". However, I do agree that since there are things that are more affordable and more accessible, it may help counter the higher taxes.
ReplyDeleteJust like small and medium sized enterprises take a very important role in the business field, I absolutely agree with Obama's new proposals promoting strong Middle Class. But what exactly is the middle class in the United States? How much household income do you guys consider middle class and upper class?
ReplyDeleteAnd how will Obama ensure that “hard work leads to a decent living”? Again, what's the income level in the United States that's considered a "decent" living?
I share Clare's skepticism of all this middle classism. I think:
ReplyDeleteA. the term is overused to the point where it has lost all meaning. It seems like basically everyone considers themselves part of the middle class.
B. If someone is in the middle class, they are by definition doing fine! They have food, employment, shelter, healthcare, safety, and probably a reasonable degree of opportunity. An average sized family with a household income of 40,000-60,000 dollars/year in the U.S is wealthy by any international standard.
C. Politician's obsession with the middle class has paralyzed our policy system. There was so much fear of raising taxes on anyone that could by some bizarre stretch of the imagination be considered middle class that President Obama dared not consider raising taxes on any family making less than 250,000 and ultimately only raised taxes on those above 400,000! Paying for the kind of government we want will involve raising taxes on the sacred middle class.
D. In terms of people who need more help than the American middle class, two groups that jump to mind are the poor and the majority of the global population. But almost no one considers themselves poor whereas everyone considers themselves in the middle class, so ideas like increasing welfare benefits or improving low income schools are unpopular whereas "middle class" benefits like social security, medicare, and the mortgage interest tax deduction are sacrosanct. In addition, we prevent millions from immigrating into the U.S, a process that would help our economy in the long run and bring huge increases in standards of living for the new workers who come here, because we don't want immigrants to compete with middle class Americans for jobs.
I agree with Scott Sumner's thoughts here where he writes,
"I recently heard a progressive criticize Obama. He started his comments by saying something like “If progressivism stands for anything, it stands for helping the middle class.” What?!?! Those sentiments are truly disgusting, repulsive. The focus should be on hunger in America. I hate to sound like an aging baby boomer, but at least in the 1960s the middle class was perceived by progressives as the enemy, unwilling to share their money and perks with poor black people. That’s not entirely accurate either, but at least it’s not morally repulsive."
If we're trying to help the people who need it the most, there are better targets than the middle class.
I agree with Claire and Phillip about how undefined the middle class is. Although I do think that a strong middle class is important to America it is also a bit of an ambiguous term making it hard to decide on what is the right policy. Because the term 'middle class' covers so many levels of income it means that while we are making it stronger, we are ultimately, yes, helping the lower end but making the higher end even richer and increasing the divide between income levels.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we need to establish a stronger middle class in order to continue pushing the economy in a better direction. By making services more affordable and accessible like Abby said will definitely be important.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a middle-class driven economy is a recipe for a successful economy. However, I do not agree with Obama's purposed plan of increasing government investment to do this. Government spending is a huge problem at this moment and is hurting confidence. I think that if we could find a better way to enhance the middle class we would be much better off as a nation both from a government standpoint and from a citizen standpoint. Lastly, I think that this article lacks focus on the lower class of people and the role that they play within the economy. How are we going to help these people rise in economic status?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very tricky time for the United States. We must either build up the "middle class" or allow the "predator class" to continue their money-sucking reign. Is austerity the right measure? Is increased spending the right measure? How do we boost consumer confidence? If we look to this blog (http://americablog.com/2013/02/no-austerity-anywhere-in-the-world-has-restored-a-national-economy.html#predatorclass), the author presents Paul Krugman's argument that austerity really only aids the the wealthiest. Follow the link for further explanation and a good graphic showing the breakdown of income gains in recent years by percentiles.
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