Re: Decline of the Middle Class?

On 3 Jun 2005 02:00:27 -0700, "Jonas Cord" <cordjonas@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>Why have the living standards of the middle class declined so much in
>the US (and other countries) over the past 30 years or so?
>I am not an economist, but it seems to me that middle class people have
>a lower standard of life nowadays than the one enjoyed by their
>parents, apart from technological innovations such as internet access,
>satellite TV, etc. An example: my working class parents in California
>had no problems buying a house (for about $10,000) in the 1960's. A few
>years ago they sold it for half a million. I am an IT consultant but I
>can't even afford to rent a house like the one my parents bought back
>then, let alone buy it.

True, but home ownership is said to be at an all-time high.
Is there an explanation for this seeming contradiction?
Mason C

>Why has this happened? Recently I watched a documentary by the Mises
>Institute on the Federal Reserve. They claim that the cause lies in the
>collapse of the Bretton-Woods agreement and the gold standard, which
>caused massive inflation.
>Another possibility could be the federal welfare programs introduced by
>the Johnson administration in the 60's. Or perhaps WWII gave us such a
>powerful Keynesian "shot in the arm" that its effects lasted a few
>decades until the early 70's.
>Personally I think the right explanation is a mixture of the first two.
>What do you think?
>
>Jonas
.

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