Monday, December 06, 2010

The Middle - the class position on prosperity

Why is there ONLY ONE "class" whose growth is helpful for everyone?  The truth is, the Middle Class is the only class the everyone should cultivate and care about. The rich and the poor we have with us, whether or not we want them or try to grow them.  In terms of peace and prosperity, only one class makes any difference. But exactly why is this so?


Our economy relies on strong consumers. 


The poor are unable to buy, and rich rarely do -- they have everything they really need, and the rest they have the power to take without buying.  Today, wealthy people put their wealth into off-shore accounts and engage in socially useless speculation and non-productive investments.  For example, nothing is produced and the infrastructure of society is not enhanced by a "credit default swap" or a debenture or any "creative financial product".  The rich and the poor are socially useless burdens, bless their hearts. 

Hence, the great and unique economic contribution of the middle -- they have some money, and individually they do not have much power.  The only real power they have is as consumers.

The more money consumers have, the more goods and services they buy.  As their transactions increase, the need for sensible long-term infrastructure becomes clear.  The need for roads, utilities, information, and even health care and schools, becomes obvious and self-fulfilling.  Rising prosperity creates expectations and hopes, and as families are raised, the infrastructure takes shape which cultivates more prosperity.

The Middle class is the only class that cares about infrastructure.  No one else needs hospitals and schools -- the poor need food and water, without which they would die before they could use health care and books. The rich of course, have their own medical care, and it is a historical fact that very few rich people have any personal interest in education or learning.  The rich rarely educate themselves, much less provide information of any real use to anyone else.

The poor people are the first to celebrate their long-sought extinction. We cannot have "too few" who are living hand to mouth, or exposed to the exigencies of nature and trouble.  The rich cling to their existence, and devote themselves to the extinction of the Middle Class, as if threatened by its mere existence.  The rich classes thrill to the abundance of the poor.  The rich appear to be uplifted by masses willing to serve them for pittances or for their forebearances -- for the privilege of not being beaten, or actively oppressed.

The Middle class stands alone, offering accessibility to the poor, and recovery from the rich, for the usurpations of both.

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