Living Large [Drew Carey on America's Middle Class]

Reason.TV ^ | unknown | Narrated by Drew Carey

[LowCountryJoe]

To hear the Lou Dobbses and Bill O'Reillys of the world--not to mention politicians ranging from Ron Paul to Hillary Clinton--the middle class of America (however you define that term) has never had it so tough. Between credit squeezes, out-of-control immigration, rising costs of education and health care and everything else, it's all darkness out there for those of us who are neither millionaires nor welfare cases, right?

In "Living Large," Drew Carey and reason.tv examine the plight of the American middle class. What do they find?

http://reason.tv/video/show/61.html

[MuttTheHoople]

I work part time at a fitness club, opening up in the mornings two days a week. Money spent going to a fitness center is the epitome of disposable income that would dry up if we were really in a bad recession.

Our membership is going up, with more new people coming in. If we were in a real recession, like in the early '80's when I got laid off from my summer shirt factory job or 1986 when I got laid off my drilling rig job when oil prices plummetted, I'd be worried about keeping this job. Instead, there seems to be no problems.

THis is just political reporting, like it was back in 1992, when they tried to get a Democrat into the White House.

[singfreedom]

Oh, man, I liked that! There are people dying, literally, to be the “poor people” in this country.

(I don’t know why they chose O’Reilly, though, he and Neal Cavuto are always high on our economy. They didn’t show him in any clips. Maybe they were just trying to be “evenhanded” with the criticism. We can’t hurt the ill-informed dim libs feelings, now, can we?)

[singfreedom]

Yep, they’re trying again, and even if they don’t, there’s always McCain—he’ll fix it.

[LowCountryJoe]

Because Bill O’Reilly succumbs to populist sentiment quite regularly. He deserved to be singled out, in my opinion.

[elfman2]

Good clip, but it could have been accented with a few more relevant statistics, not comparisons with living standards 105 years ago, but 20 or 30.

[1rudeboy]

Good find. But the headline isn’t negative enough . . . yesterday’s Dow Jones down 300 thread is over a hundred replies.

[RipSawyer]

Good clip, but it could have been accented with a few more relevant statistics, not comparisons with living standards 105 years ago, but 20 or 30.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thanks, I don’t know what the idea was but as far as I am concerned it does wreck the whole comparison. I tried to make the case on this forum that (in some ways) we are worse off than forty years ago and was told that I should make comparisons to ten years ago.

[1rudeboy]

Wreck? Without watching the video again, what about the home and cell-phone comparisons?

Moreover, is your intention to argue that we are worse-off since your starting point, whatever that is? That's a tall order, and one that cannot be avoided by complaining about the 105-year data set.

[LowCountryJoe]

So, you want recent stuff, stuff with numbers. I think that the third link down is a YouTube parody (if memory serves) but it will illustrate something, if you're paying attention.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_438111.html http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2006/09/halfempty_or_ha.html http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2008/01/24-circa-1994.html http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2007/11/more-progress.html http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2007/09/more-room.html

[napscoordinator]

THis is just political reporting, like it was back in 1992, when they tried to get a Democrat into the White House.

That is true, but I have never witnessed the Republican Party helping make sure that a Democrat wins a general election.

[AfterManyASummer]

Yeah; because unrestricted immigration and free trade with communist China are so healthy for the US.

[ByDesign]

Amusing, but how much of that “stuff” was bought with refi’s on their equity? Most of the people I know with toys like that bought it all on credit and with equity that is being burned rapidly with falling home prices.

Just like in the 80’s.

There’s going to be a BANNER market for boats, motorcyles, rvs, hummers, and Escalades in a year or two as the toys are sold to pay mortgages or bills - especially tax bills.

Well, for people with cash, anyway.

[1rudeboy]

Thanks for bringing those two important issues up. They are hardly ever discussed around here.

[Lurking in Kansas]

Breaking news?

[rbg81]

Exactly, they don’t mention the crushing debt load some people have to maintain their facade. They also don’t mention how some of us are connected nearly 24/7/365. The 8-hour workday is history.

[AfterManyASummer]

They’re probably going to be discussed even less from now on, now that the GOP candidate is the one most obviously bought and controlled by Mexico and communist China.

[1rudeboy]

And we all should know that we are all worse off because some people have a crushing debt load. The question is why should we know that instead of actually finding out.

[1rudeboy]

I'm getting ready to post an article that I found where the author postulates that Bush hatred (or in your case, disappointment with the GOP) colors people's views on the economy.

It's one thing to point at statistics (and there are plenty enough) and say "our economy is doomed," and entirely another to claim that our economy is doomed because one disagrees with the War on Terror, or is unsatisfied with the current crop of presidential candidates.

[Cacique]

btt