Post: #1

In 1990, the going pay rate was about $10/hr for a general office job - whether it be customer service, sales, administrative work, etc. You could do these jobs straight out of high school or even while still in school. You could expect a raise and advancement if you did a good job. You could expect benefits such as health/dental insurance, paid vacation, etc.

Today, the going pay for the same jobs is STILL $10/hr. I have taken this rate from looking up job listings for actual jobs at places I worked in 1990 as well as just in general. But now many of these same jobs also require a college degree and that you be bilingual, and many offer reduced benefits or no benefits at all.

In 1990 an average apartment in a decent area would run you anywhere from about $400 to $700 depending on the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and location. I am emphasizing “average” - neither low-end nor high-end. And this is taken from a cross-section of friends, family and myself living in different cities.

In 2012 the same apartments I (or friends or relatives) rented back in the early ‘90’s are going for triple what they were in 1990. The SAME ones, in the same building which are now 20 years older.

When I was growing up, an average middle-class to even a lower-middle class family could afford things like health care, a vacation once in awhile, dinners out and going to the movies on a pretty regular basis, and have a little nest-egg put away in case of an unexpected car repair or medical expense, etc. In many cases, even if only one parent was working full-time.

Today, in 2012, for many average, hard-working Americans - things like a vacation, a small nest egg, money for “non-essentials” like going to a movie, a weekend outing just for fun etc., - are not even possible.

In 1990 I drove to California from over 1,000 miles away on about $75. I filled up my tank 4 times. Back then, it only cost about $15 - $20 to fill up a tank on an average car. (The average cost of a gallon of regular gas in 1990 was $1.16).

Today, that same $15 that could fill an average tank in 1990 will net you about ¼ tank of gas.

Taxes get raised, inflation goes up, rent goes up, groceries go up, gas has quadrupled, yet the pay for an average-wage job has stayed the same for over 20 years.

And Americans are OK with this, WHY?

The increased taxes you pay - has it netted your kids better schools and education? Infrastructure improvements to roads, transportation, bridges, etc? Are the government agencies that many of these tax dollars fund providing you with better service?
Have the buildings you rent apartments or a business in improved over the years as your rent has been raised again and again?

I loved growing up in America. I loved the way of life. I still do, it’s just harder to get by and get ahead. Which is why I want to know, collectively, as Americans - how is that we have allowed our way of life and ability to enjoy it get eroded on a continuing basis over the years with nothing in return for the increased cost?

Things that were the backbone of America such as family farms, towns built around an industry such as factories and mom-and-pop shops are rapidly falling by the wayside, giving way to corporations and outsourcing to foreign countries, lobbyists, bankers, corrupt politicians….

I understand the HOW of why it is happening, just not the WHY - why so many good, hard-working Americans haven’t drawn a line in the sand.

I’m trying to understand the psyche of fellow average Americans and how we got here (2012) from there (1990 or before) and what positive, legal and constructive measures we can take to improve our way of life going forward.

Post: #2

Disturbed nli  Wrote:

In 1990, the going pay rate was about $10/hr for a general office job - whether it be customer service, sales, administrative work, etc. You could do these jobs straight out of high school or even while still in school. You could expect a raise and advancement if you did a good job. You could expect benefits such as health/dental insurance, paid vacation, etc.

Today, the going pay for the same jobs is STILL $10/hr. I have taken this rate from looking up job listings for actual jobs at places I worked in 1990 as well as just in general. But now many of these same jobs also require a college degree and that you be bilingual, and many offer reduced benefits or no benefits at all.

In 1990 an average apartment in a decent area would run you anywhere from about $400 to $700 depending on the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and location. I am emphasizing “average” - neither low-end nor high-end. And this is taken from a cross-section of friends, family and myself living in different cities.

In 2012 the same apartments I (or friends or relatives) rented back in the early ‘90’s are going for triple what they were in 1990. The SAME ones, in the same building which are now 20 years older.

When I was growing up, an average middle-class to even a lower-middle class family could afford things like health care, a vacation once in awhile, dinners out and going to the movies on a pretty regular basis, and have a little nest-egg put away in case of an unexpected car repair or medical expense, etc. In many cases, even if only one parent was working full-time.

Today, in 2012, for many average, hard-working Americans - things like a vacation, a small nest egg, money for “non-essentials” like going to a movie, a weekend outing just for fun etc., - are not even possible.

In 1990 I drove to California from over 1,000 miles away on about $75. I filled up my tank 4 times. Back then, it only cost about $15 - $20 to fill up a tank on an average car. (The average cost of a gallon of regular gas in 1990 was $1.16).

Today, that same $15 that could fill an average tank in 1990 will net you about ¼ tank of gas.

Taxes get raised, inflation goes up, rent goes up, groceries go up, gas has quadrupled, yet the pay for an average-wage job has stayed the same for over 20 years.

And Americans are OK with this, WHY?

The increased taxes you pay - has it netted your kids better schools and education? Infrastructure improvements to roads, transportation, bridges, etc? Are the government agencies that many of these tax dollars fund providing you with better service?
Have the buildings you rent apartments or a business in improved over the years as your rent has been raised again and again?

I loved growing up in America. I loved the way of life. I still do, it’s just harder to get by and get ahead. Which is why I want to know, collectively, as Americans - how is that we have allowed our way of life and ability to enjoy it get eroded on a continuing basis over the years with nothing in return for the increased cost?

Things that were the backbone of America such as family farms, towns built around an industry such as factories and mom-and-pop shops are rapidly falling by the wayside, giving way to corporations and outsourcing to foreign countries, lobbyists, bankers, corrupt politicians….

I understand the HOW of why it is happening, just not the WHY - why so many good, hard-working Americans haven’t drawn a line in the sand.

I’m trying to understand the psyche of fellow average Americans and how we got here (2012) from there (1990 or before) and what positive, legal and constructive measures we can take to improve our way of life going forward.

The answer is "you can't" because you have no power.

The why? They want to create "de facto" slaves, as in they want you to spend all your money propping them up (financially) so they can lord over you. If you save your money you don't spend your money on their crap and they make less money and hence have less power/ability to pretend to be gods. This is nothing new.

Constructively? The best way to combat them is to expose them and pass it along. If no one supports their bullshit the system will collapse.

Post: #3

The rich want to do away with the middle class, plain and simple. More power for them.

Post: #4

I'm with you all the way. I managed to pay for an apartment working part time and going to high school. I don't see how anyone can work at a minimal pay job and afford an apartment now. Every time I need something, like a handle for my maul, I have to drive to an old hardware store in a small town miles away because there is no such thing at Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, et al.

And what about Sears? There was the quintessential American store, now it is filthier than a Walmart with three cashiers and two customers.

How did it happen and what can be done? You've got me. Perot tried to wake people up, but he was discredited. He should be held up as a prophet now, but no one thinks that hard anymore. You can try as you might to "wake people up", but they just don't want to think about it. I'm not sure that any of us have much say as to who is elected these days. I think the about best you can do for society is restricted within your own family now.

Well, that and sticking to your morals.

Things are moving fast towards dissolution of society by inviting everyone and their mother from every backwater country they can find. There will never again be a majority consensus.

The education system is the exact antithesis the name implies. I'm not sure how much longer I am going to stay here and watch the decline.

Post: #5

The reason is a campaign of brainwashing by the government in their schools and the media they control to turn all of you into good little Marxists. Do you realize that the communist party now always endorses the democratic candidate, because their platforms are identical?

As long as you vote D or vote for liberals or globalists you will continue to see the massive deterioration of this country. Liberalism is an infection that is reaching it's final stage. It is self limiting in that it rapidly kills it's host, but that doesn't bode well for the rest of us either.

Our only hope is to rebuild after the infection is cauterized during the great nuclear cleansing.

Post: #6

SevenThunders  Wrote:

The reason is a campaign of brainwashing by the government in their schools and the media they control to turn all of you into good little Marxists. Do you realize that the communist party now always endorses the democratic candidate, because their platforms are identical?

As long as you vote D or vote for liberals or globalists you will continue to see the massive deterioration of this country. Liberalism is an infection that is reaching it's final stage. It is self limiting in that it rapidly kills it's host, but that doesn't bode well for the rest of us either.

Our only hope is to rebuild after the infection is cauterized during the great nuclear cleansing.

If I can't vote liberal and I can't vote globalist, who do I vote for? That rules out every option.

Post: #7

interesting analysis......go to 1975 growing up in the north working in summers at the auto factories .... a hard working lad could earn approximately 3500........a nice new car cost 3000.......college tuition was a 1000 per year (state public)...hockey tickets were 8 dollars....yes people are being converted to wage slaves which I first noticed from my friends who moved to california in late seventies and worked two jobs to survive.....good post bro

Post: #8

No different here in Canada.

We are still in our housing "bubble" here too.

Want to buy a house in Vancouver BC? Hope you have 750,000 for a small bungalow because thats the average house price.

Either you are well off or you are hand to mouth- nothing in between.

Post: #9

Romney said in an interview the middle class are the ones who make 200,000 to 250,000 a year.


woah!

Post: #10

Back in the nineties a person could by a farm for
around 11 hundred an acre, including buildings and a well.

Now? Try anywhere from 8 - 12 thousand/ acre.

Banks won't loan half that, so NO MORE YOUNG FARMERS!

The land is all for the government and the elites, the rest of us
are now campesinos.

Post: #11

sp,,, not by,,, buy.
First cup of coffee mistake.

Post: #12

eclipsed  Wrote:

Romney said in an interview the middle class are the ones who make 200,000 to 250,000 a year.


woah!

Post: #13

TV.

they would burn the country to the ground if the cable was shut off.

Post: #14

I said this in another thread.

in 1998 I was 16 during the summer:

had a vehicle that got 25-30mpg
gas was around $1.00-$1.10
$15-20 under the table working 50-60 hours a week.

Post: #15

Reagan/Bush Family/Clintons/Obama and friends/CIA/Bohemian Grove/Bilderbergs/Federal Reserve/Soros/Trade Agreements/Big Oil/Big Pharma/MSM/WallStreet/Rockefellars/Rothchild/K Street lobbyists/NWO.

You, OP, don't stand a chance. None of us do. The Constitution is dead and so is the last president of USA, JFK.