The Middle Class, What Might Be Done to Stem its Demise?

Within the context of globalization and minimal disruption to the Free Market, what can be done to restore a situation where a significant portion of the population of the US is able to live well and follow the “American Dream”? Contrary to popular Right Wing opinion, there is a role for Government in the solution. We have plenty of capital in this country though it has dramatically shifted from the middle to the high end and at the moment, much of it lies dormant. We can continue paying a decent wage to people who do not compete globally. The question is what can we do for the merchants, and workers who are displaced by the Free Market? Currently, the farmers are subsidized though as the Right is pushing to reduce the benefits to workers the Left will, if it hasn’t already push to reduce the subsidies to “small farmers”.

Throughout recent history, as the markets churn, creating and destroying, one role of governments has been to see to the people who are disadvantaged in the process. If people are allowed to broadly suffer from market changes, the populous will not cooperate with the changes, the number of consumers will diminish and the markets will implode. There is also talk that industry will no longer need hard working, strong backed individuals but will primarily employ a creative workforce and one with analytical or “people” skills. When more and more of the strong-backed individuals start sinking into poverty, not only will there not be cooperation, there will be social unrest of epic proportions.

We as a nation could decide not to bust unions and continue paying good wages and benefits to the public service sectors and increase the wages paid to others in the “local” economy and allow jobs subject to globalization where we are not competitive to go elsewhere as they will anyway.

If we look around there are many things we can see, changes to which could improve the quality of life for all of our citizens, rich and poor. We can invest in initiatives that will improve everyone’s quality of life such as:
Eliminating slums
Improving facilities and activities that keep our young people off the streets and out of gangs.
Change the economic conditions so that infants can be allowed to more properly develop in a stress free, loving home.
Improve dilapidated neighborhood and public areas
Improve basic education
Increase access to education beyond the three Rs such as music, art and sports
Eliminate poverty
Improve our infrastructure
Once I heard it said that a society is judged by the magnificence of its architecture and I believe there is some merit to that observation. The bleak public building erected in the last century in the Soviet Block is a testament to this. (I was in the former East Germany a few years ago and saw buildings of that era that were nothing but huge “boxes”, very strong and functional but with no esthetic appeal whatsoever.) The general architecture in the post-industrialized era in the west is not far removed. The reasoning for this was that when life is very hard, there is no energy, resource or time for niceties.

Making these improvements in our overall quality of life can give meaningful employment to those that are displaced by the market churn. Improve labor laws, eliminating some of the excesses of labor unions and not only allow, but encourage collective bargaining to keep wages at a decent level. None of this will impact our ability to compete globally. In fact it should continue and increase our attraction to talent from across the world. Our industrialists and financiers are not negatively impacted by the flow of jobs out of the country and the shrinking of the consumer base here will be offset by the rise elsewhere. Their wealth will increase through all these shifts. We have the resources, though in the hands of a very few to do this. We now need the political will to channel these resources more for the benefit of society as a whole. We can increase taxes, particularly on the most affluent. The fear is that they will flee and take their riches with them. If we believe that we are truly “exceptional”, they will not. Eliminate duel citizenship (I have a hard time understanding how one can swear allegiance to two different countries, each with its own interests) and if they leave and want to come back impose a very high price for reentry.