ABC's 20/20 "Whatever happened to the middle class"?

[StormRichards]

The lack of compassion for median household earners astonishes me here. I believe there was a survey done before on what the household income was for SA members. Most people on the forum makes over 100k/year. Of course you guys think any documentary about the lower income earners are "fabricated biased fake news".

Understand statistics, Americans who make over 100k/year are in the top 5%. Not everyone can get into real estate, become a doctor, or do what you do to have a household income of over 100k/year.

So when there's a documentary about lower income Americans who are selling plasma trying to get by, BELIEVE IT and stop calling it biased fake news.

After reading this, I couldn't help but wonder how many of these lower income families are watching the fake news stories on nicer televisions than I am. No doubt that number would be much higher than you think. The number wouldn't shock me though.

[Nutria]

And there is significant demand for skilled trades in manufacturing as well. I'm not sure if all the talk of automation killing off manufacturing has caused the shortage of skilled manufacturing labor, but I can't find a descent manufacturing engineer or supply chain manager to save my life.

The serious flaw in your argument is that skilled trades are blue collar, but engineers and supply chain managers are white collar.

And you don't need a degree to be skilled. I hired a non-degreed engineer last year who had 30 years of experience. The job required a masters or Phd and he had an associates degree. But he is smarter than most of the engineers that do have a degree.

Job openings usually say, "degree OR 5/10/15/etc years experience in the field".

come to the Detroit area

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. No.

[TexasHusker]

I live near Burlingame. In our area, the problem is not with the builders, it is with supply and demand. Facebook is building a new building for 5,000 new employees but there are no houses/apartments for them to live in. We bought our 1500 square foot ranch house for $300k in 1994 (and we thought that was a fortune) and it is worth $1.5M+ (depending on what someone would pay to buy it). Apartments in this area rent for $2100 for a 468 square foot studio. Prices are increasing because of tech workers having stock options. If you think about it, even a family that makes $100k can't afford to buy a place here and really can't afford to rent a place after paying taxes, etc.

If a family makes minimum wage, they cannot afford to live in an apartment on two wages. Most end up living multiple families to an apartment and sharing the kitchen. RVs are the new normal for many families. They park on side streets and live in them. We have so many homeless kids in our schools (homeless means not necessarily living in a shelter but not having a permanent living arrangement either). It is a truly a sad state of affairs.

You live in a coastal area. That ain't cheap. I couldn't afford to live there either.

Not quite sure why this is so outrageous to Diane Sawyer. Should we really be in the business of guaranteeing families that they can afford to live wherever the heck they want? If so, I'd like the gubmit to pay for me a cozy place on Coronado Island. All I demand is a living wage.

[Nutria]

After reading this, I couldn't help but wonder how many of these lower income families are watching the fake news stories on nicer televisions than I am. No doubt that number would be much higher than you think. The number wouldn't shock me though.

And have two or more video game consoles + the games and online services.

[corn18]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. No.

You hit the nail on the head. This next part is a rant, and not directed at you Nutria.

That's why any whining I hear about "the middle class is getting squeezed" falls on my deaf ears. You gotta put in some effort and sacrifice to get the payoff. Come to where the jobs are. It's nice up here.

[TexasHusker]

The lack of compassion for median household earners astonishes me here. I believe there was a survey done before on what the household income was for SA members. Most people on the forum makes over 100k/year. Of course you guys think any documentary about the lower income earners are "fabricated biased fake news".

Understand statistics, Americans who make over 100k/year are in the top 5%. Not everyone can get into real estate, become a doctor, or do what you do to have a household income of over 100k/year.

So when there's a documentary about lower income Americans who are selling plasma trying to get by, BELIEVE IT and stop calling it biased fake news.

If that was an unbiased dicumentary, then my name is Santa Claus.

[StormRichards]

If that was an unbiased dicumentary, then my name is Santa Claus.

Santa, will you bring me one of those big screen TVs like the lower income families have?

[Singuy]

If that was an unbiased dicumentary, then my name is Santa Claus.

What is the point of attacking this documentary and pointing out it's deficiencies? Do you believe poor people doesn't exist? Selling plasma is a liberal propaganda to guilt Republicans to pay more taxes? I really don't understand why nick pick every little detail in which we barely know nothing about these families just to say "YOu SEE THAT HUGE TV?..yeah Poverty MY ASS!".

So I guess seeing poor people struggle is liberal propaganda? Are you saying this is all BS and there's no such thing as poor people struggling, and it's the Libs that spoon fed us bias stories of people that actually doesn't exist?

[JoeP]

So does a program like the one referenced here offer any solutions? Does it mention anything about gauging the costs of living by area against the amount of salary required?

I hate to say it, but if a low earner finds themselves in a HCOLA, then it is a losing battle. The options are less than optimal: work multiple jobs, go without many niceties, hope you don't get sick, eat cheap unhealthy food, probably hit up payday lenders when you get behind on a critical payment, maybe share apartments with others.

There are only a couple solutions I see. One is to find a higher paying job, but that may be difficult without incurring a commute, or learning an in-demand skill quickly and cheaply, or having a connection. The other solution is to move where the jobs are.

Nobody likes the second, but that is what tomhole suggested, and it has merit. I'd be in favor of having my tax dollars spent on relocation, if it can give someone pride in working again.

[TexasHusker]

What is the point of attacking this documentary and pointing out it's deficiencies? Do you believe poor people doesn't exist? Selling plasma is a liberal propaganda to guilt Republicans to pay more taxes? I really don't understand why nick pick every little detail in which we barely know nothing about these families just to say "YOu SEE THAT HUGE TV?..yeah Poverty MY ASS!".

So I guess seeing poor people struggle is liberal propaganda? Are you saying this is all BS and there's no such thing as poor people struggling, and it's the Libs that spoon fed us bias stories of people that actually doesn't exist?

See my original post. I think laid out my position pretty clearly.

[Nutria]

I know we want to avoid political discussion but how is this any different at all than any of the conservative biased news outlets? I see the same exact biased crap, propaganda when I watch Fox News or CNN.

This is a prime example of Whataboutism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

[Nutria]

What is the point of attacking this documentary and pointing out it's deficiencies? Do you believe poor people doesn't exist? Selling plasma is a liberal propaganda to guilt Republicans to pay more taxes? I really don't understand why nick pick every little detail in which we barely know nothing about these families just to say "YOu SEE THAT HUGE TV?..yeah Poverty MY ASS!".

I see nothing, zilch, nada wrong with criticizing people who live beyond their means and then cry poverty.

[TexasHusker]

This is a prime example of Whataboutism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

good stuff right there

[Fishindude77]

I hate to say it, but if a low earner finds themselves in a HCOLA, then it is a losing battle. The options are less than optimal: work multiple jobs, go without many niceties, hope you don't get sick, eat cheap unhealthy food, probably hit up payday lenders when you get behind on a critical payment, maybe share apartments with others.

There are only a couple solutions I see. One is to find a higher paying job, but that may be difficult without incurring a commute, or learning an in-demand skill quickly and cheaply, or having a connection. The other solution is to move where the jobs are.

This hits the nail on the head.
You can either sit around and whine about your situation, or you can do something about it. Relocation is the smart move in many cases, but people just won't do it.

My dad tells stories about how he and his sister lived on the farm with his aunt & uncle while his dad traveled the country working construction on military base projects during the build up for WW2. Sent the money back home and that is what kept the family going.

[Nutria]

This hits the nail on the head.
You can either sit around and whine about your situation, or you can do something about it. Relocation is the smart move in many cases, but people just won't do it.

My dad tells stories about how he and his sister lived on the farm with his aunt & uncle while his dad traveled the country working construction on military base projects during the build up for WW2. Sent the money back home and that is what kept the family going.

Exactly what illegal Mexicans do today.