The Middle Class Is Bleeding Out—and Washington Is Holding the Knife

The Rich Got Their Bailouts—You Got the Bill Remember 2008? They told you “too big to fail” was the only way to save the economy. So they printed trillions to paper over the rot at the core of Wall Street. Fast forward to 2020, and they did it again, flooding the system with more fabricated dollars than at any point in human history. That tidal wave of easy money didn’t “trickle down.” It surged into asset bubbles, enriching the well-connected while the rest of America’s households got buried in higher costs and stagnant paychecks. And if you doubt it, look at the Pew numbers: in 1971, 61% of Americans were considered middle class. Today, it’s 51%. That’s a ten-point collapse in a single generation. You can sneer that “51% is still a majority,” but that’s the same intellectual laziness that ignored the Roman Empire’s decline until the Visigoths were pounding the gates. Side Hustles Are Not Prosperity—They’re Desperation The pundits spin this as “entrepreneurial spirit.” Let’s call it what it is: survival. Forty percent of Americans now work side hustles. Almost two-thirds of them admit that without this second income, they could not afford basic living expenses. This is not some healthy sign of a dynamic labor market. It is the last gasp of households drowning in an economic undertow created by central bankers and politicians who pretend to care about you every two years. Store Closures and Layoffs: The Hollowing Out of Main Street While the Ivy League technocrats giddily debate “the future of work,” the real economy is imploding. Retailers are closing locations at a record pace. Coca-Cola—an American institution—is shuttering plants and tossing nearly 900 workers to the curb. Intel, once a model of American innovation, is shedding thousands of jobs. These are not isolated incidents. They’re signposts on the road to a two-tiered society: a technocratic elite who own everything and an anxious underclass eking out an existence on precarious gigs. Historical Echoes: The Gilded Age Revisited If you think this is unprecedented, think again. In the late 19th century—the so-called Gilded Age—a tiny cabal of industrial barons hoarded the nation’s wealth while working families struggled to survive. The difference now is that instead of steel magnates and railroad tycoons, the oligarchs are Big Tech CEOs and central bankers. The same pattern repeats: when wealth is consolidated at the top, democracy decays, and social stability crumbles. Counterargument: “But AI Will Create New Opportunities” Tech evangelists love to chirp that artificial intelligence will “liberate” us from drudgery. They say 300 million jobs destroyed is nothing to fear because new industries will rise to absorb the displaced. This is wishful thinking bordering on delusion. Consider the Industrial Revolution. Yes, it eventually raised living standards—but not before decades of crushing poverty, violent labor conflict, and political upheaval. When Goldman Sachs predicts 300 million jobs could vanish, they’re not forecasting a smooth transition. They’re telegraphing a global economic convulsion. The Debt Bomb No One Wants to Defuse And while millions worry how to make rent, Washington is setting fire to the national balance sheet. The Congressional Budget Office says the debt will hit $54 trillion within a decade—yet no one in power has the spine to rein in spending. Republicans claim to champion fiscal discipline, but too many are just as complicit when the military-industrial complex comes calling. Democrats posture as the party of working families but cheerlead massive borrowing that fuels inflation. If you think this ends with a polite budget compromise, you’re not paying attention. Historically, sovereign debt crises end in default, currency collapse, or both. That’s the trajectory we’re on. We Are Not All In This Together If you’re one of the lucky few doing well right now, don’t congratulate yourself too quickly. Sooner or later, the same system cannibalizing the middle class will come for you. Because when 70% of the country feels financially stressed—and when half are treading water—political instability follows. History proves it. Takeaway: The Illusion Is Shattering America once boasted the largest, most resilient middle class in history. Today, that dream is dissolving under the weight of debt, corruption, and technological disruption. You can close your eyes and pretend this is a temporary rough patch. Or you can see it for what it is: the managed decline of a civilization too comfortable to fight for itself. It doesn’t have to be this way. But it will be—unless people stop swallowing the propaganda and start demanding real accountability.

The Middle Class Is Bleeding Out—and Washington Is Holding the Knife

Bill Brocius Jul 15

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