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

[Petunia 100]

I'm not sure if any of you had a chance to watch this on Friday night with Diane Sawyer. I rarely watch network TV any more in terms of news, because the liberal undertones have become overtones and I simply cannot trust it. We watched this episode out of boredom.

The idea of the show was to profile various families that "should" be middle class but are getting squeezed out.

The first family profiled was a family of four who claim to be broke. The mother works as a school aid, and the show detailed how her salary barely covers their food, house payment of $800, $200 car payment, and utilities. How sad. Except they never told us what dad makes as an HVAC repairman. Next...

I saw a promo blurb about this episode on FaceBook on Sunday, before the program actually aired. According to the promo, this family makes 54k per year.

That stuck with me, because as it happens, I also make 54k per year.

[Singuy]

The next profile was of a firefighter in Wilkes Barre, PA who has a family of three but has to work three jobs to make ends meet. Just barely getting by. I call b.s. The firefighter is working 3 part time jobs, one as a firefighter, two as a paramedic. Paramedics don't make jack and never have. And the wife isn't working at all.

The next profile was a couple who literally live in Archie Bunker's house. However, home values in that neighborhood have reached into the stratosphere and so no one can afford to live on that block any more that is middle class. Only bankers and CEOs. This couple is outraged that folks who are middle class can't live on this block any more, and so was Diane Sawyer. She said "it's just not fair!" The only problem here is that this phenomenon has nothing to do with the middle class getting squeezed out - it's just that a particular inner city neighborhood has increased substantially in value.

The next profile was of a part time college professor who is on food stamps and simply can't afford to make ends meet. Diane Sawyer was practically in tears. Newsflash: Colleges don't pay jack, especially if you're part time. Go get a full time job somewhere.

The next profile was of a single mom working at a Taco Bell who couldn't afford to live in a middle class neighborhood. Newsflash: Working at Taco Bell is not a middle class job and never was.

The next profile was of a single mom who has been cleaning office buildings for 25 years. Same situation. Cleaning office buildings has never produced middle class income.

This next one was really good: It was in Burlingame, California, where the fast food workers have actually had to move out of the town because it is now so incredibly expensive to live. Everything just costs too much these days. And 20/20 interviewed 4 couples who have had to move from this town for the same reason. Cost of living is just too high. 20/20 failed to report that in this town, the council declared a city-wide minimum wage of $12.25 an hour several years ago, causing prices of everything from cereal to gas to coffee to skyrocket. That minimum wage is going to $16 an hour by 2018!

So after all these sob stories, a round table of bureaucrats were asked what to do? One said more tax credits. One said "higher wages." 20/20 scathed McDonald's for making $ billions on dollars and not paying folks more.

Question: Has it occurred to 20/20 who actually owns McDonald's? Hint, it's not Ronald. It is individual shareholders and mutual funds all over the world - most of whom are middle class folks. How do you think McDonald's share prices would act if they had a 50 percent increase in wages for a $12 per hour minimum wage? Is that fair to those millions of owners, who are working class people like you and me?

Another problem is that houses are just too expensive! And whose fault is that? It's the builders' fault! They aren't building affordable housing! No one wants these nice houses they are building. Reality check: Builders aren't building houses for social justice; they are building for profit, and almost always building a house because they know it will be in demand.



The dumbing down of America

Just watched the entire show...okay you are being a little harsh.

1. The firefighter working 3 jobs probably married to someone who makes min wage..so it's most likely not worth it for her to work and spend money on day care. We were not given an in-depth look into their finances so we don't know.

2. As home values skyrocket, so DOES PROPERTY TAX. This will squeeze you out if you can't afford to pay the government 15k/year in taxes just to live in your "middle class" home. Good news for them is to just sell and move into a cheaper place..but still being "squeezed out" in a way...cause what is a 50k/year family doing with a million dollar house?

3. Perhaps you should look into the history of subprime, 0%, 3% down house purchase. These are relatively new, which of course drive house prices and demand up. You have to wonder why the household median income is 54k and yet the median house prices is 369k. The math doesn't add up until you factor in shady lending practices. Based on SA's suggested no more than 3x of your median household income, the houses being build today only carters to household making over 120k/year? So only to the top 5% of Americans? Builders will go bankrupt if that was the case.

[JoeP]

This isn't about politicians. It is about gross distortion of truth and the withholding of relevant facts by a supposed news organization. It was one hour of unadulterated elitist, liberal propaganda under the auspices of journalism. What's new?

It used to be that news was controlled by few, and they had the authority on the message. Before the 1980s, what choices for news existed? You had newspapers, TV, radio, and magazines. Even small-time magazines (remember Whole Earth Review?) and newspapers were overshadowed by the giants.

Now that everyone can broadcast, tweet, post, etc, the monopoly once held by the big news outlets is threatened. They no longer hold the spotlight.

If you're going to make a news magazine show like 20/20, would it be about maximizing your savings while paying down debt? Would it be about managing your expenses? Would it be about the basic math behind mortgages and consumer debt? How about selecting a field that is stable and adapts to future demand? No, it would be about how you're just like these poor souls, and how the Other Team is winning while you're losing. It's meant to resonate with people so they vote against those on the Other Team, because they are responsible for all of your problems in life.

[TexasHusker]

I saw a promo blurb about this episode on FaceBook on Sunday, before the program actually aired. According to the promo, this family makes 54k per year.

That stuck with me, because as it happens, I also make 54k per year.

Unless I wasn't paying attention, they conveniently omitted that fact in the program. $54K isn't a lot, but a family making that pays very little income tax. It isn't a granite countertops income for sure, but not terrible either.

If $54K doesn't provide a decent living in your neck of the woods, you need to think about moving. A home in Burlingame CA is a lot more than it is in Topeka KS.

[TexasHusker]

Just watched the entire show...okay you are being a little harsh.

1. The firefighter working 3 jobs probably married to someone who makes min wage..so it's most likely not worth it for her to work and spend money on day care. We were not given an in-depth look into their finances so we don't know.

Correct. I think there is a lot more to the story.

2. As home values skyrocket, so DOES PROPERTY TAX. This will squeeze you out if you can't afford to pay the government 15k/year in taxes just to live in your "middle class" home. Good news for them is to just sell and move into a cheaper place..but still being "squeezed out" in a way...cause what is a 50k/year family doing with a million dollar house?

I suppose, but this is just the dynamics of the free market. We WANT our neighborhoods to appreciate in value.



3. Perhaps you should look into the history of subprime, 0%, 3% down house purchase. These are relatively new, which of course drive house prices and demand up. You have to wonder why the household median income is 54k and yet the median house prices is 369k. The math doesn't add up until you factor in shady lending practices. Based on SA's suggested no more than 3x of your median household income, the houses being build today only carters to household making over 120k/year? So only to the top 5% of Americans? Builders will go bankrupt if that was the case.

Low and no down are products on Congress. "Get more fold into homes" with loose lending. 2008. Oops. It was the greedy banks' fault.

Houses can be built for $150K. But people won't buy them because they don't have stainless appliances, granite, hardwood, and a jacuzzi tub.

[TexasHusker]

If you're going to make a news magazine show like 20/20, would it be about maximizing your savings while paying down debt? Would it be about managing your expenses? Would it be about the basic math behind mortgages and consumer debt? How about selecting a field that is stable and adapts to future demand? No, it would be about how you're just like these poor souls, and how the Other Team is winning while you're losing. It's meant to resonate with people so they vote against those on the Other Team, because they are responsible for all of your problems in life.

Winner winner chicken dinner !

[Singuy]

Low and no down are products on Congress. "Get more fold into homes" with loose lending. 2008. Oops. It was the greedy banks' fault.

Houses can be built for $150K. But people won't buy them because they don't have stainless appliances, granite, hardwood, and a jacuzzi tub.

Hmmm, I don't think this generalization have any basis. Houses under 250k sells the fastest in my area. I think the biggest reason why someone doesn't want to buy very cheap houses is due to the school district, crime rate, and neighbors. Granite countertops can be installed whenever, but you can't move your house to a safer neighborhood unless you pay to play.

Don't forget, everyone is playing the 3% down 43% debt to income ratio game..including the poor of the poor. Really poor people are buying houses that are 100k or less so the median income "middle class" are hitting 200k+ to separate themselves from the working class neighborhoods.

In reality, the working class should be buying 30k houses and the middle class should be buying 150k houses.

[StormRichards]

Can't go to college? let the government fund it through grants or guaranteed student loans. Then when inflation is runaway and it's $25K per year to attend a state school, blame it on inflation and give it even more gas.

Can't find work to pay off those student loans? Look to the Government to forgive or further subsidize that debt.

[Nutria]

It is also a lot of seniors and retirees who are working to have something to do and earn a few bucks. A generation or two ago, you rarely saw a 65+ woman working anywhere and an older guy working wasn't all that common either.

Of course, people died a lot earlier in 1940... https://www.ssa.gov/history/lifeexpect.html

[Nutria]

I think that both spouses are working these days because they desire granite counters, a daily latte or two from Starbucks, a late model Infiniti, a health club membership, and so on.

In other words, folks these days demand one hell of a lot more out of life than our parents did.

That's definitely part of it.

Also, though, there was just a lot less housework to do in 1975 than in 1945. Even less than when compared to 1935 and 1925.

Combine that with The Pill, and you've created women with lots and lots of time on their hands. They flood into the job market, and the Law Of Supply and Demand guarantees that wages flatten.

(Add in the opening of the Chinese and Indian labor market flood gates in the 1980s, and there's no way that wages can rise.)

[TexasHusker]

What is interesting is that the stereo-typical millennial doesn't give one whit about home ownership and social status.

"Just give me my free healthcare and a coffee shop within 100 yards of my apartment."

"Never mind that my parents spent $150K on my college diploma. I'm going to work in a bike shop".

[sv2007]

Donald Trump may actually bring back the middle class, at the expense of long-term US economic growth.

The completion of the US-Mexico wall will definitely bring up the price for many things. For one thing, my day labor supply will be gone and I'll have to pay more to collect all the rocks in my yard. Our office cleaners will be gone and revert back to night-time cleaning crews (currently offices here use day-time cleaners, cleaning the hallways 2x per day and bathrooms at least 4x per day). Most of my neighbors use in-home cleaners; those would be gone and they'll have to pay more. Trump's hotels will not have any maids or cooks.

The increased barriers to do business in the US (e.g. BMW must make more cars they sell here in the US, Chinese goods may get blocked) will mean more jobs to make stuff here. It'll also mean more expensive BMWs if duplicate lines must be done in US and Germany : )

[sv2007]

Just in case you think the above is good for the US -- here's my take. It'll be good for the short term but very bad in the long term. US will lose it's #1 economy to China faster if the above happens.

What good is being the #1 economy? Well, what good is being #1 in sports? The pay difference isn't all that different between top players; but the extras, the endorsements can be much different. Same with countries, initiatives and direction for the world can be set since so much of the world is run on money.

I think I'll hate it when that day comes; but for now, things are looking good for the US and the us middle class

[TexasHusker]

I'm not convinced Trump brings anything to the table. As President, I will certainly respect and support him as we all should do.

I just think that the government has encroached so much into our economy, our psyche, and our lives, that it is too late to turn the clock back. folks eat up and regurgitate the Diane Sawyer junk like it's candy. Spoon fed.

I hope I am wrong.

[Nutria]

I hope I am wrong.

You're not.

Even Republicans say, "The government should Do Something!" when there's a problem.