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posted by martyb on Tuesday May 23 2017, @09:16AM   Printer-friendly
from the declasse' dept.

America divided – this concept increasingly graces political discourse in the U.S., pitting left against right, conservative thought against the liberal agenda. But for decades, Americans have been rearranging along another divide, one just as stark if not far more significant – a chasm once bridged by a flourishing middle class.

Peter Temin, Professor Emeritus of Economics at MIT, believes the ongoing death of “middle America” has sparked the emergence of two countries within one, the hallmark of developing nations. In his new book, The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy, Temin paints a bleak picture where one country has a bounty of resources and power, and the other toils day after day with minimal access to the long-coveted American dream.

In his view, the United States is shifting toward an economic and political makeup more similar to developing nations than the wealthy, economically stable nation it has long been. Temin applied W. Arthur Lewis’s economic model – designed to understand the workings of developing countries – to the United States in an effort to document how inequality has grown in America.

The 2017 World Economic Forum had the answer: "The people who have not benefited from globalization need to try harder to emulate those who have succeeded," and, "'People have to take more ownership of upgrading themselves on a continuous basis.'"


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @11:53AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @11:53AM (#514143)

    Haha, so where can they offshore jobs to? In a decade or two probably back to the US if we avoid turning the world to a cinder before we go down.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @12:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @12:27PM (#514165)

    Sri Lanka is the next happening place for this. Invest money now, become part of the elites today!

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday May 23 2017, @01:30PM (3 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 23 2017, @01:30PM (#514210) Journal

    I think the new slogan could be . . .

    Hire Americans when you have a job that nobody else in the world wants to do.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @01:43PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @01:43PM (#514231)

      That's how I make my living, taking on technical challenges that no one else wants to do--because (at first look) they appear impossible. No one wants to work on projects that fail, tends to ruin your reputation. Then we succeed.

      Yes, I'm in the USA. Hasn't made me rich (didn't get that lucky), but I'm comfortable.

      • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday May 23 2017, @03:24PM (1 child)

        by LoRdTAW (3755) on Tuesday May 23 2017, @03:24PM (#514300) Journal

        You consider bussing tables, cooking food, and mowing lawns, technical challenges?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @07:15PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @07:15PM (#514473)

          You consider bussing tables, cooking food, and mowing lawns to be things that "(at first look)... appear impossible?"

          Then I imagine GP may be able to help you.