Why would you want to dismantle the middle class?

Too late for me, it’s already been dismantled and I’m as fucked as a pedophile in the penn. lol
The uber rich don’t care about a social structure, they only care about keeping their wealth and power. There are a few enlightened mega-wealthy but they are few and far between.

It’s a game, always has been, always will be.
Asking the greedy and powerful to give up anything is like asking a wolf to not attack a wounded Moose.

I don’t think the top 1% wants to dismantle the middle class. I think they have different ideas on how to spread the weath. And, just to clairfy not all the top 1% agree on how to accomplish prosperity for all Americans. Not that entire tier is the right wing, which is what I assume you are trying to understand with the Q.

It has to do with the fact that most people cannot or refuse to see the long term consequences of their actions.

Everyone wants to maximize the rules to favor themselves. Parents want tax credits for children and education, farmers want subsidies for crops, investors want a lower tax rate on investments, fast food workers want higher wages for fast food workers, business owners want it to be easier to run a business.

The rich folks are just playing the same game. They aren’t trying to dismantle anything, just pushing for their interests just like everyone else.

If everyone donated 1% of their income to the political candidates that align with their own ideology then the middle class would be the most powerful both in terms of votes and financial backing.

Yeah, but that 1% donation hurts some of us far more than others.

@funkdaddy The middle class is the most powerful vote still. The numbers are there. But, a large portion of the middle class believe they will one day be the 1% if they go along with what the right wing sells regarding taxation, wages, and healthcare. They are totally sucked in by the philosophy being sold. The guy painting my house was all for getting rid of income tax and having a higher sales tax. I explained to him why that is a bonanza for high income people, I hope he understood. Maybe I changed his mind. I have my doubts. He just thinks it will be less taxation on him, but really it isn’t.

There’s a middle class?

@Seek_Kolinahr – I don’t know about your situation individually, but there are other ways to influence policy other than cash, and for just about everyone truly in a “middle class” there is some discretionary spending. (I think this is what makes someone “middle class” according to a lot of definitions) We choose what’s important to us, and I’m not saying politics should be important to everyone, my point is just that so many seem to feel victimized by “the 1%” or “the rich” that they don’t notice the fact that they are in fact in the vast majority compared to either of those groups. Whether by numbers, money, time, or combined influence they can make a difference.

@JLeslie – yes, the middle class has greater numbers by most definitions, and most people seem to identify themselves as middle class. That’s what I meant.

Imagine a hundred people screaming about how that one guy over there in the tower is holding them all down and there’s absolutely nothing they can do to stop it. That’s how I feel people are regarding “the rich” right now. Who’s really stopping you from anything? Has it ever been easier to learn new skills, change jobs, or communicate?

I don’t think you can dismiss people’s beliefs and say they must go with what the right wing “sells” because they think they will become rich one day. Personal responsibility and a fiscally conservative mindset sell well with a number of folks who never wish to be rich.

@all I’m not arguing necessarily for these things, just arguing against the mindset that someone else has all this power that could never be matched.

@funkdaddy The middle class who agree with the right wing on these issues believe it helps the middle class to have lower income tax and higher sales tax, they believe letting the rich be rich helps the economy, and in turn will help them, and they believe paying low wages are a right the rich have. They don’t see that if there is no income tax and only sales tax that the wealthy get to stuff their extra money into investments and banks tax free while the middle class pays on every or almost every cent they earn, because there is very little discretionary income. For whatever reason they think one rich guy buying a $200k luxury car is better than ten average guys buying $20k cars for the economy. Or, that the rich guy is less likely to even buy a car with an extra $200k, but the average guy is likely to spend an extra $20k on something, which helps our economy and employs more people. They don’t see that paying extremely low wages costs the tax payer more as we supplement those individual being paid poorly with food stamps and medicaid, we the tax payer subsidize businesses basically, that isnhow they get away with paying low wages.

I don’t know why they don’t see it the same way I do.

As far as personal responsibility. This Q might interest you. A bunch of liberals talking about personal responsibility while the republican is giving away her money and has a very low threshold for what constitutes enough savings. in this particular case she was giving away money for a very good cause, but her general take on savings is not to save very much.

Personally, I always thought that the middle class was a buffer class designed by the rich to pay the bills to make sure that the poor did not rise up and kill them all.

The wealthiest 1% still only have a paltry 42% of the nation’s wealth. The other 99% have 58% among them, which is terribly unfair in the eyes of the greedy among the top 1%. To be fair to all, there are numerous rich guys who are generous, altruistic and not a bit greedy. But there are enough gimmie-pigs in the top 1%, and enough greedy billionaires like the Koch Brothers, the Walton Family, Sheldon Adelson, Rupert Murdoch and company that want to be the plutocrats in a banana republic which they can then use the US military to expand around the world, that you get this constant drumbeat for spending cuts for the poor, disinvestment in infrastructure and education, deregulation of everything, and ever more tax cuts for the really rich. They are on a mission just like all the great conquerors of the past.

Some middle class dare book business and first class seats on airplanes. Imagine this. What a nuissance for the rich who do not own private jets. So the rich give money to the Tea Party and let them deal with abolishing the middle class. Problem solved. Plenty of available seats. Or not?