The growing middle class of India has more people that the entire USA.

[FloridaPat]

Just heard this on CNBC. All of us who have lost jobs or careers can be proud of our contribution to the Indian middle class growth. That's a lot of well-educated (non-FCAT), well paid consumers. National health care. I think higher education is free or very cheap. And India eliminated hunger years ago but subsidising rice growing. Do we even have a chance in the new world with our backward government leaders?

[lovuian]

1. Its a socialistic country and has the communist party

it just shows ya doesn't it...

[LiberalEsto]

2. American IT workers are losing their jobs

because folks from other countries - who have received free or low-cost college educations - come here on H1-B visas and do information technology work for half the salary the Americans received.

The laid-off Americans have to pay off college loans and struggle to find health care as well as jobs. They don't have the social safety net that other nations provide.

And yet the Chimp wants to lift the caps and allow unlimited numbers of H1-B visa workers into the US.

[MadMaddie]

4. This is the message that should hammered time and time..

again....

He is selling out America...

<snip>
And yet the Chimp wants to lift the caps and allow unlimited numbers of H1-B visa workers into the US.
<snip>

[MadMaddie]

3. GW will count this as his contribution to the world...

even thought he decimated the middle class in America.....

Cause he and his buddies made some money in the process....

[Warpy]

5. India is just the example that proves what I say about the money pump

is absolutely correct: the more people at the bottom who are given jobs and money to spend will create more demand for goods and services, thus creating more jobs and more prosperity for everyone. The money pump works from the bottom up, always has, always will.

Money allowed to accumulate at the very top is wasted money, because money only works when it's in motion. The rich hoard, and may drive up the price of stocks or fine art or antiques, or other limited commodities, but they don't do a thing for the economy as a whole. After all, no rich man ever hired a poor man to do a job he didn't have a customer waiting for.

I don't begrudge India's new success. I do begrudge our loss. Only when a stake is driven into the black heart of neoclassical, trickle down economics will things change for the better here.

[FloridaPat]

8. It's great to see a country go forward. I just want to know why my gov't

is against it's citizens. Why my gov't is intent on destroying my country.

[BeTheChange]

6. Mission accomplished?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ownership_society

You know with his approval ratings so low, things heating up in the Roe v. Wade debate, Iraq getting more bloody... something has to happen soon.

Something horrible has to happen to allow him to go into Iran and the greater Middle East. The powers that be need atleast 2 years for the new and broader war to sink in, so the people can elect McCain and continue the cycle. I don't know why any of us are even outraged at this point. It is appauling that we are sitting back and letting this administration do what it is hell bent on doing to our society and the world.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. To put this in perspective, here's what the Indian "middle class" spend

The 241 million people belonging to the middle class as a whole (23 per cent of total population) accounted for Rs 3,02,534 crore of total consumption (42 per cent). If you wanted to find this great Indian middle class market, with annual per capita consumption of, say, Rs 8,000 or more where would you look? The table tells you where.

The average middle class consumption per capita per year works out to Rs 12,546. A little more than 40 per cent of the total consumption of this class is accounted for by the top one third; the `upper middle class', which enjoys an average consumption of Rs 20,196 per capita per year, more than twice as much as the Rs 9,896 average for the `lower middle class'.

http://www.blonnet.com/2005/01/22/stories/2005012201860700.htm

Though the exchange rate between the dollar and rupee stands at more than Rs45 to a dollar, $1 is actually considered to be equivalent to Rs9 in terms of purchasing-power parity. That is, the same bundle of goods and services that can be purchased for $1 in the US can be obtained in India for Rs9.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FK16Df06.html

So, the average yearly personal consumption of the 'middle class' was the equivalent of about $1400 (and in actual currency, under $300).