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  • From: "Lynda" <lurine AT com-pair.net>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] [Homestead ] MY microcosm of economic downturn
  • Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:59:36 -0800

O.K., the problem is that the middle class is still there and is still what the proper definition is (those who have some economic independence, a social class of business or professional people, also known as the Bourgeoisie). At some point someone decided that the upper working class was the middle class and the definition changed to: professionals, semi-professionals, and lower-to-middle managerial level workers. Now, the middle class is going to return to the traditional definition.

What the economy is doing is wiping out the upper working class and lower middle-class and creating an enormous gap. The working class is gradually seeing its wages shrinking down to meet the working poor (burger flippers). At the rate the economy is going there will be the poor, the working poor but the the middle class will begin feeling the pinch because all those sweet paper pushing jobs are going to be going bye-bye. Bottomline is that those truely in the middle class have a lot of invented work, busy work jobs. Jobs that can be easily done by others for less money (you know the secretary really is the one doing the job of most paper pushers) or gotten rid of all together.

And, the one positive is that the fat cat who wanted the sweet young thing to look at is going to feel the pinch. There isn't going to be money to hire people who haven't a clue just so some perv can have eye candy to look at. Plus, he's going to have to explain to the money crunchers how come the $$ out don't represent the work produced. How come Mz. Sweet Thing is on the payroll and they can't find that she has "produced" anything.

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>

You remind me of my best friend A, Bob, you are out of touch with the
lower echelons. There has been a separation for quite a number of
years now.
The working class, for example, did not get a bonus this Christmas, for
example, or maybe they got a $25 gift card or a turkey/ham. Business
and professional workers almost always get a bonus, even in a bad
economy. Working classes have no perks like business phones or long
lunch hours-they punch a clock.

You know Bob, the first thing you said was that she was a young girl
that you chatted and flirted with. Do you not think this might have
anything to do with her salary doubling at the age of 22, before she
even finishes school?
In my last two jobs, I have been subjected to discrimination and
harassment. At the grocery store, the owner told the manager than when
he walked through the store, he did not want to see me, a 40 year old
woman, he wanted to see a pretty young thing whose butt he wanted to
slap as he walked by. More recently, in my last job, I made less than
half of my male co-workers doing the same do.
Point is, in a good economy, it is easy to be inclusive and treat people
fairly. In a bad economy, all kinds of crap happens.
Your last comparison between the bank employee and the carpenter reminds
me of James' post about real vs. imaginary money. He did not use those
words, but he was talking about value and paper value vs. actual value.
IMO, the actual value guy is the carpenter, the skilled laborer. He can
produce something related to food, clothing, or shelter, namely shelter.
IMO, the bank employee has a 'paper' job, and yet, she is the one who is
rewarded handsomely.
It is all screwed up Bob, and it has been for quite some time. It is
not that it is going to happen, it already has happened and it has been
that way for a while. Your story below proves my point. That is why so
many "working class" people are totally fed up in this country and voted
for change in the way things are done.





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