The Middle Class Is A Progressive Bunch

Republicans in Congress and the White House like to use fear and manipulation to control the masses in their favor. After 9/11, that tactic worked like a charm and with their power they brought our society to a level where banks are closing, the economy is in peril and two wars are draining our treasury and inflating our debt to record levels. They won that power with the middle class, but as the Drum Major Institute found out, most of those people support progressive...and dare I say liberal ideas.

From DMI:

DMI’s first annual survey on the Middle Class and Public Policy reveals that America’s middle-class households are fearful families – overwhelmingly pessimistic about the direction of the country, especially the economy and high gas prices. Most have little flexibility in their own economic situations and have little if anything left over each month after meeting basic expenses. The middle class is disgruntled with the direction of the country and politicians and see little coming out of Washington that would give them cause for optimism.

Middle-class Americans do know what policies they would like to see enacted. Despite media depictions of a sharp red and blue divide, the nation’s middle class displays broad consensus on a range of public policies aimed at easing their economic squeeze: they support a universal national health insurance plan, requiring employers to provide paid family and medical leave, making it easier for employees to join labor unions and allowing bankruptcy judges to change mortgage payments to keep homes out of foreclosure. A majority of middle-class adults – whether they are Democrats, Republicans, or independents and whether they are supporters of John McCain or Barack Obama for President – believe that these policies represent good ideas for the country. Regardless of party affiliation or presidential preference, these Fearful Families think largely alike.

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Despite the overwhelming conservative and neo-con messages we have heard through the media in the last twenty or so years, people still believe in these liberal values because programs like Social Security, S-CHIP and national health insurance are things that have and will make our country stronger.

What has weakened us are the Republican policies since Reagan that have widened the income gap and decimated programs that help the least among us survive. In the world's wealthiest nation, most people believe in being good to all Americans and not just the wealthy few that too many politicians get their campaign donations from.

What Middle Class?

A strong middle class has what has made our democracy so successful in the past. In fact many political scientists say it is essential for emerging nations to have in order to make democracy work. The problem here in the United States is that the middle class is shrinking at an alarming rate. Yesterday, the Drum Major Institute held a conference here in New York City to address the issue about our own declining middle class. The fireworks came out when the potential mayoral candidates sparred over what to do about it.

From The Empire Zone:

Diane Cardwell reports today that Representative Anthony D. Weiner, who represents parts of Queens and Brooklyn, called for a tax increase on New Yorkers who make more than $1 million a year, an idea that Adolfo Carrión Jr., the Bronx borough president, derided as “a small, fractional, lunch-money income tax break.”

(snip)

Of course, worry about a shrinking middle class is nothing new. Indeed, a quick search of our archives reveals that anxiety about the economy has long been tied up with concerns about the fate of the middle class. In 1984, as the United States recovered from a recession, the economist Lester C. Thurow warned [TimesSelect] that the middle class was essential for social stability. He reasoned:

Marx’s predicted revolution did not occur because he did not foresee the rise of the middle class. The middle class had an interest in preserving capitalism and voted to alleviate the worst excesses of capitalism with social welfare programs. Their very presence gave the poor hope that they too could escape from poverty.

Do those concerns still hold true today?

You bet they do. Kudos to DMI for holding the conference and allowing the next potential mayor to say what they plan to do to help save NYC's middle class. If a winning idea can come to fruition here in the City, we might just find a plan that can work nation-wide.