DBWI: U.S. middle class continues to decline after 1975 recession?

ASB. Too big of a market for companies to ignore, plus you know the weed and soma edibles plus other stuff keep people who'd be causing trouble quiet. The move to a medical/traffick ticket type approach in the 70s and 80s was probably inevitable.
 
ASB. Too big of a market for companies to ignore, plus you know the weed and soma edibles plus other stuff keep people who'd be causing trouble quiet. The move to a medical/traffick ticket type approach in the 70s and 80s was probably inevitable.

And its hardly coincidence that that approach has actually reduced hard drug use, and that the rehab programs from the Addict Rehabilitation and Mental Health Assistance Act have reduced it further over time, and its even reduced the numbers of alcohol-related issues too.
 
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and from yet another zonky alternate history site:

This site envisions Denmark becoming a major player in wind power!

Ah-h [heavy sigh]

Look, I'm all in favor of imaginative alternate history, but it has to be somewhat realistic. And about this one,

No way!
This is not that crazy I mean they have a history of more traditional windmills so I could see them doing this with a combo of hydroelectric power. Especially if they have less connection to there former colony's
 

Kaze

Banned
Define the "Middle Class". I am talking dollars and cents - how much money is Middle Class? The number stated must be the same for every single American no matter what region they live in and skin color. Say you say between x-number and y-number, so if a person that lives below the y-number finds a penny on the street are they suddenly "middle class"? Say you say between x-number and y-number, a person that lives on the edge of y they lose that penny, are they suddenly "lower class"? Say you say between x-number and y-number, a person that lives on the upper end finds a penny, are they now "upper class?"
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
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from 1983,

but what if this is delayed to the mid-1990s, combined with higher tuition and significantly harder college admissions, might this lead to a bifurcation of jobs?

Perhaps. This is a good mid-sized combo of a POD, although we might need a few more.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
. . the rehab programs from the Addict Rehabilitation and Mental Health Assistance Act have reduced it further over time, . .
But like me, I’m sure you can see how some citizens focus on the aspect that lower penalties “condone” drug use. And especially some upwardly-mobile, middle-class parents focus on the mixed “message” being sent to kids.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
Define the "Middle Class". I am talking dollars and cents - how much money is Middle Class? The number stated must be the same for every single American no matter what region they live in . . .
The standard approach is to take median income, and then say between two-thirds of median and double median. This is used in most economic studies, although some use different measures.

Now, geographic area is all across the board.

Many economic studies use median income for the entire nation, some use state median, and a number use median by metro area.
 
He’s basically talking about skilled labour which is the labourers as family organisations supplying complex labour power. As we all know from volume one complex labour power is socially defined as unique exertions not available from socially standard labour power. Telephone operation (calling) in 1900 is complex. Telephone operation (calling) in 1990 is simple.

This is mostly not about difficulty but about sectional bargaining capacity. The Union makes plumbers a trade, not plumbing.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
. . . The Union makes plumbers a trade, not plumbing.
But union membership in the United States has declined,

from about a third of all workers in the 1950s to about 19.5% today, and rather seeming to hold there, at least last time I checked.
 
A crummy chief executive may delay it, but that's about it.
The lack of economic reform means a deepening economic crisis. Problems in the economy through the fault of the Union government will ensure the popularity of the opposition and separatist ideas. The necessary economic reforms will be carried out by the opposition in much worse conditions
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
. . . will ensure the popularity of the opposition and separatist ideas. . .
I think you're on to something, for both the U.S. and Russia, as well as any other advanced economy. As things decline economically, people will thrash about like a wounded animal and look to scapegoat, and recourse to ethnic identity as most important.

But this doesn't explain the first five to ten years of how such a serious decline gets started.
 
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GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
http://blog.williamferriter.com/tag/teacher-compensation/

May 3, 2018

" . . . That’s a pretty common pattern on conservative radio nowadays. Striking teachers in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona are driving those on the far right of our society straight over the edge. To them, teachers are nothing more than greedy folks failing children and collecting fat pay checks. . . "
from another zonky alternate history site

The guy does a pretty good job of painting what a declining society looks like. But as far as getting there.

No way.


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And we're going to let teacher salaries decline . . um . . just because we're a bunch of dumb asses? So, not very realistic.
 
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I think you're on to something, for both the U.S. and Russia, as well as any other advanced economy. As things decline economically, people will thrash about like a wounded animal and look to scapegoat, and recourse to ethnic identity as most important.

But this doesn't explain the first five to ten years of how such a serious decline gets started.
The economic problems of the USSR began in the mid-1970s
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
The economic problems of the USSR began in the mid-1970s
Thank you. Yes, I rather forgot how early the Soviet problems began, which is a big reason Russian leaders of the late 80s had so such an issue with resentment and scapegoating on the part of their people.

Along a similar view, I read in a textbook on natural disasters that people are often at their best following a hurricane, but often at their worst during the course of a slow disaster such as a long drought.
 
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GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
someone wrote to me with this interesting idea:

What if the public focuses on inflation as a middlebrow idea, and that becomes pretty much all the mental space they care to give to economics? It then becomes an intellectual cul-de-sac, and the public generally ignores GDP growth rate, employment, overtime law, the counter-cyclical emphasis of Keynesian economics, etc.

Well, I appreciate someone in there pitching new ideas, but at the end of the day I’m going to judge this as, not very realistic.
 
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What if the public focuses on inflation as a middlebrow idea, and that becomes pretty much all the mental space they care to give to economics?

That’s as credible as a general denial of externalities, or a single land tax, or any other monomania. Show me a place where “society doesn’t exist” in economics, or where Georgians rule.
 
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