Jazz for aficionados

Diminishing middle class? Yes, since 1971, the middle class has lost 11%, per a PEW report. 

7% moved into the upper class and 4% moved into the lower class. 

The Fed has been pumping money into the economy, while interest rates are near 0%.  People who know how to make money are making a killing, as they hand out money, and the middle and lower class are handing all their disposable income to the upper class, instead of investing, and we wonder why there is income disparity. Very oversimplified, I know.

Thanks! for sharing- acman3

Frogman, the only place communism exists is in Cuba, and the poor people are doing better in Cuba than they are here. Communism is about as much a threat here as the boogieman.

We fought a war in Vietnam to stop communism, and we all Know how that Turned out. Rich people profit from wars while poor people die fighting them.

Acman, do poor people have disposable income? There is a thing called a 401K that includes money which goes to the stock market that working people pay.

Politicians work for rich people as a result of lobbying in both parties. If you notice, even in this hobby, it's no longer affordable; the gear we used to by, is now priced for the rich, because that class is growing, while whatever economic class we are in is shrinking.

There is "no one" representing working class people in this country.


Have a nice day.

****the only place communism exists is in Cuba, and the poor people are doing better in Cuba than they are here. ****

O-10, sorry, but you could not be more mistaken; I would have thought that you would be more aware of what is going on around the world in countries which either still adhere to a Communist ideology or still have leanings in that direction due to their past. Now, some will get hung up on the issue of "at what point does socialism become full-fledged Communism"; personally, I don’t believe that as concerns the move away from the philosophy that made this country (US) the most important force for good on the planet, that the distinction matters.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-12-10/can-you-name-five-remaining-communist-countries-world

You really should educate yourself about what is really going on in Cuba. As a Cuban emigre with immediate family still in Cuba I can comfortably say that your statement is dead wrong. Life for the poor in this country is infinitely better than that of the average Cuban. The corruption of that regime is mind boggling. If you would like to learn more and in more detail about what the returning tourists don’t get to see (not allowed) and what the romance of the beauty of the island hides, please contact me privately and I would be glad to offer some facts based on direct experience.

Some things are too important to not discuss, imo; especially at this point in time and even on a music thread. Although it would not surprise me if some of these posts mysteriously disappear.

If the renters I have had are any indication, I would say they almost always had better TV’s, phones, computers, clothes and cars than I did. All I owned was the houses they lived in, till I sold the houses.

The extreme poor, no,