Re: [Pen-l] Lack of personal savings....

["Jim Devine" <jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx>]

I agree. But there is something called the "middle class," which might
be seen as describing people in the intermediate zone involving some
working-class characteristics and some rich characteristics. The place
where I live -- Torrance, south of L.A. -- seems a hotbed of the
middle class. (It's been accurately described as a little piece of
Orange County (CA) transplanted into L.A. county.) I'd say that some
of the over-consumption story applies here. It applies even more to
the upper classes, with their multiple McMansions and the like.

Joanna wrote:
> As some mention, some of the decline in savings is attributable to
> overconsumption, but scholarly studies show that the largest factors were
>
> 1. Stagnant or declining incomes
> 2. Massively increasing health care, education,and housing costs.
> (3. Food & energy have gone up quite a lot in the last few years too)
> (4. And, I'd add, massively inventive forms of debt peonage.)
>
> According to hard data, the oft cited snowmobiles and gadgets played a very,
> very minor part in the expenses that overwhelmed people in the last
> generation.
>
> Of course, talking about the snowmobiles is big on the media, where the goal
> remains to blame workers for the current debacle. By the same token, a govt
> employee who takes home 100K in overtime is a big angry news story; whereas
> the CEO who takes home 100 million remains an object of awe and fawning.
>
> The class war  continues. ...
-- 
Jim Devine /  "Nobody told me there'd be days like these / Strange
days indeed -- most peculiar, mama." -- JL.
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