#UpperIncome
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amyalexca.bsky.social
I learned in staff writing roles at major U.S. Legit news cos—circa late 1980s-late1990s—that “Objective” reporting is defined by individual Editors + Corp Owners who viewed staffers from NonTrad (aka, White, UpperIncome backgrounds) as Nice-to-Haves. That slippery, Noblesse Oblige PoV proved Fatal😑
August 21, 2025 at 2:39 AM
algoresmilkymams.bsky.social
the trump regime could have just continued bidenomics (w/ an upperincome taxcut dressing) & ridden inflation getting to 2% & unemployment at 4% to glory. but, no, donold had to claim a reagan '84/lbj '64 mandate & get private corpos & unis to be more racist, & have the feds tariff penguins.
shoe.bsky.social Shoe @shoe.bsky.social · Dec 8
Lol
fintwitter.bsky.social FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · Dec 8
HASSETT: AFFORDABILITY GET'S FIXED WITH WAGE GROWTH
December 8, 2025 at 1:25 PM
epsteinweb.bsky.social
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#epsteinweb #efta01195077
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EFTA01195076 | EFTA01195077 millions of American families are falling further and further behind. We also don't need to see the graphs and charts favored by economist to know that wages have not really grown for more than a decade. And we definitely don't need a fortune teller to realize that in most families, their children will not live as well as they as their parents. No wonder why in the State of the Union Speech, President Obama focused on reviving the middle class, offering a raft of proposals squarely aimed at concerns like paying for a college education, taking parental leave, affording child care and buying a home. "Middle-class economics means helping workingfamiliesfeel more secure in a world of constant change," Mr. Obama told Congress and the public. Regardless of their income, most Americans identify as middle class. The term itself is so amorphous that politicians often cite the group in introducing proposals to engender wide appeal. The definition here starts at $35,000 — which is about 5o percent higher than the official poverty level for a family of four — and ends at the six figure mark. Although many Americans in households making more than $ioo,000 consider themselves middle class, particularly those living in expensive regions like the Northeast and Pacific Coast, they have substantially more money than most people. However the lines are drawn, it is clear that millions are struggling to hang on to accouterments that most experts consider essential to a middleclass life. "I would consider middle class to be people who can live comfortably on what they earn, can pay their bills, can set aside something to savefor retirement andfor kids in college and can have vacations and entertainment," said Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, a leftleaning research and advocacy group. Lisa Land, 49, is one of those who have dropped through the hatch. She gets by on her father's $1,300 monthly Social Security checks and by having her adult daughter pitch in for groceries. In the late 1960s, more than half of the households in the United States were squarely in the middle, earning, in today's dollars, $35,000 to $100,00o a year. Few people noticed or cared as the size of that group began to fall, because the shift was primarily caused by more Americans climbing the economic ladder into upperincome brackets. But since 2000, the middle class share of households has continued to narrow, the main reason being that more people have fallen to the bottom. At the same time, fewer of those in this group fit the traditional image of a married couple with children at home, a gap increasingly filled by the elderly. Even as the American middle class has shrunk, it has gone through a transformation. The 53 million households that remain in the middle class — about 43 percent of all households — look considerably different from their middle class predecessors of a previous generation, according to a New York Times analysis of census data. In recent years, the fastest growing component of the new middle class has been households headed by people 65 and older. Today's seniors have better retirement benefits than previous generations. Also, older Americans are increasingly working past traditional retirement age. More than eight million, or 19 percent, were in the labor force in 2013, nearly twice as many as in 2000. As a result, while median household income, on average, has fallen 9 percent since the turn of the century, it has jumped 14 percent among households headed by older adults. The growing prominence of older people in the middle class reflects, in part, the way Social Security and Medicare — originally set up as safety nets to protect seniors from falling into poverty after retirement — have provided a substantial cushion for them against hard times. EFTA01195077
May 13, 2026 at 2:28 AM
epsteinweb.bsky.social
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EFTA00711710 | EFTA00711724 House Republicans' Affordable Care Act replacement. The American healthcare rack would immediately in the requirement that all Americans have insurance reduce federal authority over healthcare system and provide a huge tax cut to the upperincome families. Republicans have not released a cost estimate for the proposal. But the Congressional Budget Office reportedly warned the Republicans that their proposals would lead to lost coverage for millions and higher cost for millions more. AGAIN — The American Health Care Act: — Defunds Planned Parenthood, banning federal funding that "provides for abortions" — Shuts Down private insurance coverage for abortions, for bidding spending federal tax subsidies on health plans that include coverage of abortion — Eliminates individual and employer mandates — Repeals benefits rules that required qualified plans to provide hospitalization, maternity care, mental health services and other benefits at the federal level. — Replaces income-based premium subsidies with age-based subsidies — Kills Medicaid expansion — Repeals ACA/Obamacare Some conservatives say the plan does not go far enough, calling it "Obama lite!" While Congressional Democrats say the GOP Bill would strip away vital protections for Americans. Chuck Schumer: "Trumpcare doesn't replace the affordable care act - it forces millions of Americans to pay more for less care." Schumer again: 'The House GOP plan would cut and Medicaid, defund PPFA and force Americans to pay more so insurance companies compare their bottom line." The House GOP, in a written statement, cloaked this plan with a bodyguard of outright deceit. "What we're proposing will deliver the control and choice individuals and families need to access healthcare that's right for them," the statement said. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wisc.) said the measure would "drive down costs, encourage competition and give every American access to quality, affordable health insurance." Curiously, the GOP statement says the plan embodies "President Trump's proposed healthcare reforms," although the president has never advanced a coherent set of proposals. The truth is that the GOP measure would destroy the ability of millions of Americans to access any healthcare worth the name. The Congressional Budget Office reportedly warned the Republicans that their proposals would lead to lost coverage for millions and higher costs for millions more, but the GOP is pushing ahead anyway. EFTA00711724
May 5, 2026 at 2:25 PM
ak4sb.bsky.social
ALL of the #akleg POMV draw is "free money." The PFD largely benefits middle & lower-income #AKfams; the portion used to fund govt (substitute for taxes) largely benefits #NonRez, #OilCos & #UpperIncome. PFDcuts simply shift more "free money" to the latter.
Brad Keithley’s Chart of the Week: Alaska’s Super Socialists
Some often refer to Permanent Fund Dividends (PFD) as “socialist” and those who advocate for them as “socialists.” The basis for the claim is that PFDs come from “unearned” Permanent Fund earnings,…
buff.ly
February 16, 2026 at 7:01 PM