What's up with every politico and the middle class

I don't get it, every politico treats the middle class like it's some wondrous and exalted group. In reality it's the mediocre people, most Americans wouldn't give a fuck about the team that finished smack dab of the middle of the MLB or NBA, so why don't politicians admit as much. People no longer strive for success, I hear so often ''I just want to be comfortable and happy'', it's depressing; my ancestors came here to do better than their parents and now everyone is happy with doing no better and no worse, what gives? I'm cognizant not everyone will become fabulously wealthy, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try though.

 
Best Response
  1. I'm first generation, so yes, I find the complacency of the average American annoying. It can be justified either way (stability vs ambition) so I won't bother.
  2. Money isn't everything...plenty of people who are excellent at something aren't necessarily rich: I come from a long line of artists/intellectuals, and I'm the first to go for $$$. Even so, I tend to gravitate towards 'interesting' work as opposed to strictly profitable work.
  3. America's middle class would easily be competitive on a number of fronts with the elite of many nations aside from pure power/money. Just to illustrate: I roomed with a Brahmin in college and had better SATs. His dad had a jet. We get along just fine
  4. Most countries don't even have a middle class. Go to to most places outside of America/W.Europe and the system is A) Warlord/dictator/fearlessLeader and B) subjects with C) small, wealthy business class
  5. What the hell is wrong with working 40/50 hours a week and then doing something else? Not everyone is a social retard who has to justify their existance with a big paycheck
    elephonky:
    Edmundo Braverman:
    Middle class = 75% of the American population.

Duh.

Get busy living
 
Edmundo Braverman:
Middle class = 75% of the American population.

Duh.

Probably more. We have invented the "upper-middle" and "lower-middle" classes so that more people can lump themselves into the group. Very few people would voluntarily call themselves upper or working class.

And to get back to the OP, politicians love the middle class because they vote. Perhaps more relevantly, prior to citizen's united, getting mainstream Americans to open their wallets was key to campaign finance. I actually think politics could get more interesting now, as candidates negotiate with the top earners and corporate interests for cash, while still pandering to the middle class for votes.

 
Edmundo Braverman:
Middle class = 75% of the American population.

Duh.

The "middle class" as politicians refer to it would probably be a much wider swathe of the population. As noted above by WCR, we now employ the labels "upper-middle" and "lower-middle", and because nobody wants to think of themselves as being either dirt-poor or high-falutin', everyone categorises themselves as "middle-class" folk.

And when 99% of the voting population belongs to a certain group of people... you're gonna pander to that group of people.

 

"...it's the mediocre people..."

We've beaten this to death ad nauseum on these boards. Just because somebody's life goals don't match up with your financial goals, does not mean they are mediocre. The only thing mediocre here is your intelligence if you're judging 75% of the American population by their financial status. Oh, and that 75% also happens to be the hard-working backbone of our country.

Maybe a little blunt, but that's the honest truth. And for most people, or even families, earning in excess of $50k/year is a pretty damn good living. It's far better than where a lot of them came from.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
D M:
"...it's the mediocre people..."

We've beaten this to death ad nauseum on these boards. Just because somebody's life goals don't match up with your financial goals, does not mean they are mediocre. The only thing mediocre here is your intelligence if you're judging 75% of the American population by their financial status. Oh, and that 75% also happens to be the hard-working backbone of our country.

Maybe a little blunt, but that's the honest truth. And for most people, or even families, earning in excess of $50k/year is a pretty damn good living. It's far better than where a lot of them came from.

This. Plenty of people live good lives, are intelligent, hard working, and career minded but not overly wealthy. I mean, come on man.

 

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