"12 ways to kill middle class", written in 2002...every one has happened.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Suppress unions. From the 1930s on, unions have been the principal route out of poverty for tens of millions of Americans. Since 1983, membership has been declining, and is now around 12-13 percent of the workforce. Fewer union members equals fewer people in the middle class.

2. Substantially reduce dividends paid by public companies. Stockholders used to rely on dividends to build a nest egg for a downpayment on a home or a fund to send the kids to college. When the average dividend dropped below the rate of inflation, accumulation by dividends became impossible.

3. Lower interest rates on bonds, deposits, and CDs to laughable levels.

4. Fire middle managers and at the same time raise compensation for upper-level managers. Decades ago, the top manager made 40 times the salary of the factory floor worker; now the multiple is 500, and the growth has been provided mostly by firing the managers in between the top and bottom levels.

5. Shift the burden of health care costs from businesses to employees. Medical costs alone don't cause people to fall out of the middle class; it is the burden of carrying overpriced health care.

More:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-shachtman/a-dozen-ways-to-eliminate_b_808683.html

[sarcasmo]

1. The Corporation control of the right and left has had this agenda for some time now.

[markbark]

2. Irony Alert!

Ahem....

7. Raise college tuition to the stratosphere. Even public college costs today are so high that almost no middle class families can pay for college out of current income, and are forced to take out second mortgages so that their children can obtain a sheepskin.


...and on the right hand side of the page?

www.OfficialPayments.com
Pay for your college tuition the EASY way: Use your MasterCard!

Does the ad server have a sense of humor?

[conspirator]

15. It would definitely be hilarious if it wasn't sad, that you have to become a loan slave to

get an education

[The Doctor.]

18. Points for a good catch.

Yes, there are hints of irony and depths of tragedy there.

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. Targeted ads are a bit disconcerting, in this case truly ironic, as you say.

[Mira]

3. A wake up call for sure Recommended

[vssmith]

4. undo the New Deal

[truedelphi]

21. Yes indeedy. Why should Amerians be subservient to a bunch of phoney

Baloney stuff like the regulations on the banking world (especially Glass Steagall) and why should people be expected to have their employer match the retirement savings plan known as Social Security?

What a bunch of Commie Pinko Stuff, clearly put forth to turn us into a Marxist paradise! <sarcasm meant>

[lpbk2713]

5. 'Suppress unions' isn't number one by accident.

They have been trying to kill the Labor Movement since before most of us were born.

[upi402]

12. Union busting; It's not just for Republicans anymore

Rarely is there support for unions from politicians who get "Democrats" elected.
Betrayal is job #1 for corporatists. They know there's nowhere else to go, so screw workers. No opposition party = disenfranchisement.

[SpiralHawk]

6. "Smirk. Sneer. Smirk." - RepubliCorp, Inc. (R)

[malaise]

7. MUST READ

Rec

[Faryn Balyncd]

8. K and R

[Urban Prairie]

9. I would add one more to make it a bakers dozen

Richly reward and give special recognition/tax incentives to those companies who off-shore and outsource the most US jobs.

A CEO's wet dream is for his or her business(es) to have as little as possible, or much better still, no actual physical presence in the US, other than perhaps warehouses, (ie...Netflix business model) and just sell their products and/or services online. Avoid paying taxes through loopholes in the federal tax code, incur little if any overhead costs, employ only part-time, contracted, or temporary employees if necessary, and hopefully reap huge profits.

[pacalo]

14. Yes! +1,000,000!

[RegieRocker]

10. A good start but I'm sure there is more.

Good job.

[nashville_brook]

11. big kick and rec!

[pacalo]

13. Number 4 happened at my husband's place of work & it created bedlam.

No supervisors or other intermediaries to settle everyday issues like vacation schedules, variances between interdepartmental procedures, cya issues, etc.

What a mess that employees are subjected to now -- similar to "Lord of the Flies".

[Obamanaut]

16. Add this to 'end times' at our doorstep and we're really doomed. nt

[Kurovski]

17. We've been worried that this has been the goal.

When you're searching for bread, you don't worry about freedom.

[Richard Steele]

19. K&R

[HippieCowgirl]

20. I don't believe he wrote it in 2002 unless it was published in 2002

That "I ran across this in my notes" sounds like bullshit to me.

[lonestarnot]

23. Kick!