[raftguide]

"The vast middle class that is fast disappearing."

Where is this "disappearance" coming from. Are there facts to support your thesis? I submit that home ownership is at an all time high. That's middle class for the most part. More people own stocks then ever before; that too is middle class.

[Cacique]

Of course everything boils down to definitions. There was a time when being middle class meant the wife remained home and the husband was able to support his family with his job. Don't know whether that was really ever true. The fact is that Americans are working longer hours to maintain a standard of living and with both spouces working. Home ownership is another one of those rather interesting phenomenons. With so many people mortgaged out and in debdt they own their houses on paper, but the reality is that it is banks and other financial instituions that "own" the houses. It's all a matter of definition and perspective. Peasants may own their land, but they are still peasants.

The fact is that class is a matter of class consciousness and self definition. Are blue collar workers members of the middle class?

Regarding stock ownership, we can quibble the fact that mutual funds have separated the owners from the means of production. What good is ownership if you have no say in policy or what goes on?

As Einstein once said, everyhting is relative.