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Old 10-21-2015, 03:53 AM   #12
Rustybarge
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MYTraveler View Post
There are lots of class distinctions, not highly correlated with the trappings of wealth or income, but measured mostly by things like education, out of wedlock birth rates, criminal history, drug use and the like. As far as wealth, even our "poor" have cell phones, color TV's (with cable), and more than enough food to become fat. Probably 60% of society (say from about the 40th percentile to the 99.5th percentile) enjoy roughly comparable life styles. Two or three cars, a house, some toys, at least one spouse working, eat out on occasion, budget major expenditures, etc. Lots of people in the US live (for a while at least) beyond their means, and lots of people live below their means, so you can never really tell anything about a person based on the car they drive, the clothes they wear, how much gold they have hanging around their neck, etc. At the very upper echelon, you have the people here for whom money is no object -- they have amassed more wealth than they can reasonably spend, probably fly private, have multiple houses with domestic help in each, etc. But even within that group, there are significant disparities in education and the other variables mentioned above. Contrary to popular belief, what you don't often see is three (or more) generations in a row living on inherited wealth. In fact, there is an expression "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations". Between inflation, estate taxes, stupid investing, and dilution through multiple marriages and correspondingly many dependents, wealth is quickly dissipated.
I do believe that our country still offers the most equal opportunity for success anywhere, but I fear that is rapidly diminishing, with the result that livestyle quality for most everyone has peaked out.
This is a very interesting point. For the first time in history our children may be less well off than us.

Diminishing wealth for the middle classes, will it cause a new social revolution bringing back into existence the lower classes that haven't really existed since the great depression?
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