What has happened & what will happen to the middle class?

How much more can the middle class be squeezed? In recent years it has been the middle class that has been taking the brunt of all the financial burden. Once the consuming power and backbone of the United States, now they are just looking to survive. They are worried about their jobs, homes, & children going to college. What will happen to them if they are lucky enough to retire? This is the middle class which is also called the baby boomers; a group a majority of the population falls into. This is a group that would change the world, but the world changed them. The world made them more self centered, greedy, selfish, and less caring about their fellow man. Now of days they have opened their eyes wide because they are the downtrodden group in society.

As a group, they were the first to go to and graduate from college. Then, all of a sudden they became smarter and wiser then their un or undereducated immigrant or blue collar parents. Only now the funny thing is when they run into financial problems, it is those same parents they go to to bail them out. Why is it that those parents, of whom they were much smarter than have more money then they do? I think the answer is, because they (the parents) knew that things/items and financial security took time and discipline to achieve. Instant gratification the boomers wanted could also be equal to instant destruction. They felt that the world owed them instant success. Pay dues, ha, what was that? Well now they are paying dues, but what will be getting in return?

What can be done to rebound? Maybe it is time to go back to the old fashioned values that our truly middle class parents had. The boomers must realize that they are now in our 50's and some in their 60's, and may have to take it slow and steady. They must realize that to build financial security will take some time and very hard dedicated work. Boomers are a creative lot and must use creativity to not only secure the future but start thinking of how to make this world better for our fellow man; well into the future. They must teach their children the ways of their parents. Their children shouldn't expect to become rich overnight and think that all of a sudden they are better then everyone else. Life's experiences is something that can't be taught in school. Not all of us will be millionaires and that is not a bad thing. Riches is something much more than dollars and cents. It is not a bad thing or anything to be ashamed of to strive hard and wait your turn....

Finally what must be done is to elect officials who represent our best interests. We voted for those leaders who took shortcuts and caved into big money interests. This may be why we are having the problems we are having today. If the middle class is the backbone of this country, then the people representing them better have a backbone when taking care of their interests. So when thinking about voting for a person to be your representative, don't go for the smooth talker, or the big promise maker, but rather the person who will take your concerns at heart. Big business doesn't vote .... HMOs don't vote..... Pharmaceutical companies don't vote.... so why should they dictate what kind of representative we should have. Demand that big money is taken out of politics and get back to basics. Demand? Yes demand... Cause the middle class should be stronger then a corrupt system. Take it back.... One election at a time......

All great men come out of the middle classes.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson