MEET MY OLD PAL HELEN, NEWEST MEMBER OF THE DOWN WITH TYRANNY TEAM

THE DOWNWARD SLIDE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

Howie asked me to write a guest blog for DWT. I am honored. Before I begin this piece, however, I would like to briefly digress to provide readers with some background.
Howie is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I have known him since I was seventeen, my first week of college. My first memory of him is walking into G lobby, where everyone gathered to line up for the cafeteria, and there was Howie, grabbing everyone’s attention, charismatic from the get go. No one could miss him. With his long hair held back in a skeevy headband, baggy sweater and semi unkempt appearance, H. was hard to miss. (Most students were clean cut as hell, still wearing madras shirts and penny loafers). There he was, singing and swaying, a little off tune and off beat, to an anti war song by Country Joe and the Fish that he was playing on a victrola (there’s a word from the past!). You know, the song with the line, "Be the first one on your block to have your boy sent home in a box." Howie and I soon became fast friends. For one thing, we were compadres in politics. My father, the "NY Commie" mentioned earlier on this blog, had discerned very early on the immoral and futile nature of the Vietnam War, and I had taken this position in high school. When I met Howie, this point of view was not yet popular on campus. Howie and I shared some life forming experiences. We were arrested together on Whitehall Street, at a draft protest led by Dr. Spock. My father was very proud of me! By the way, my dad had more true compassion and morality in his fingernail than our current Prez.
Now back to the topic of this piece. Being middle class myself, I have personally experienced considerable anxieties about government policies that have been implemented or proposed by BushCo and the Republican Congress. Howie has mentioned two in particular: my prior panic about a possible draft (I have two sons ages 19 and 20), which has not come to pass, and current panic about changes in tax deductions.
It is increasingly apparent that BushCo has complete disdain for the middle class, let alone the poor. The recent recommendations of the commission that was established to look into tax reform are truly frightening. To revise and simplify the tax code, the commission is proposing to reduce or eliminate deductions for mortgage interest and state and local taxes. Hello? These changes would have the effect of SIGNIFICANTLY RAISING taxes on the middle class. Isn’t BushCo’s mantra to reduce taxes? Only for his "base," the wealthy, apparently. BushCo wants to eliminate taxes on capital gains and inheritance, which would only effect people with substantial investments and money to pass along to their heirs. Basically, then, the working class - anyone who WORKS for a living – would be screwed. We would be taxed up the wazoo, while those fortunate enough to own businesses or corporations or live off of unearned income and not even work would pay little or no tax. Increasing taxes on the middle class would be a big shove downhill.
While Howie has reassured me that these changes would NEVER come to pass, as they are not politically viable, the fact that these proposals are even seriously being put forth at all is an abomination.

Unfortunately, changes in the tax code are only one aspect of many potential threats to the middle class. When you have a government beholden to enriching corporations rather than to its people, the people will surely suffer. The effects of BushCo’s policies have barely begun to hit the middle class, but they will. I only wonder whether they will be felt incrementally or catastrophically. I do know that just living these days is becoming a lot harder financially.
Take housing, for example. Most middle class people own homes and have ongoing expenses to meet. Anyone who purchased a house in the past few years is in a particularly precarious position. Current prices are very high and there has much talk about a "housing bubble" that may soon burst. As a result of lenience in borrowing by mortgage brokers, which has tremendously benefited the mortgage industry, by the way, many people have over extended themselves and have "interest only" mortgages." If the interest rates go up and the value of the houses go down, people will find themselves in enormous debt. And what will happen if they cannot carry it? Too bad! The new bankruptcy law will preclude starting fresh. People will lose their homes and be enslaved by their debt.
Another aspect of owning a house is carrying all of financial responsibilities associated with it. Wait until the heating bills hit this winter. Whereas everyone is well aware of the increased cost of home heating oil, as it is closely connected to gasoline prices, most newer homes are heated by natural gas and paying for this will be an unpleasant surprise. I have read that the cost of gas this winter will be double what it was last year. Think of all those sprawling McMansions with cathedral ceilings! My friend at work, who has a beautiful large house, told me that last year her heating bills were about $1000 a month. This year, her expenses will double. We are talking about REAL money here, just to maintain living in a house. Many Americans living the American dream are now facing huge carrying costs and will be financially squeezed by these bills. And let us not forget state and local taxes, which have also been increasing. The middle class would be lucky to keep what they have let alone improve their status. By the way, it appears that as major construction companies such as the Toll Brothers continue to build McMansions (as per the NY Times Magazine article last week), executives of these companies are busily dumping their stock: they can see the writing on the wall.
What’s next? Job security. Middle class Americans have good jobs: they pay well, have decent benefits and some offer retirement plans. Unless you are in a union, however, job security is not what it used to be. Many are vulnerable to the unemployment line. Even union workers are threatened these days by possible loss of benefits, reduced salaries and reneging on retirement plans. As more and more jobs go overseas, job security is increasingly threatened here. The gap in pay between top executives and workers is growing, now over 400 to 1 in the U.S. Earning a living wage is becoming more difficult. Should social security be mentioned here as well? Many middle class Americans rely on this income as part of their retirement finances. Fortunately, BushCo is not having much success with dismantling this program, although the desire to do so again illustrates insensitivity to working people and lack of concern for the elderly. Wall Street would really benefit, however.
The family lifestyle of the middle class is becoming increasingly vulnerable. The costs of child care, health insurance, transportation and especially college education are increasingly burdensome. Also, the cost of food is rising, due to higher transportation costs.

So where are we headed? Well, I guess it depends on the will of the American people. At this point, the middle class in poised to take a downhill slide, with a speed yet to be determined. The only way to change this direction is to boot out BushCo and the elected officials associated with it. Even then, it will take much courage and determination to face the problems of the middle class head on and make changes in policies and laws in support of working people. Let us not forget, the middle class work. We face a tremendous battle ahead.