I've read reports that many Americans who were once considered rich have lost their homes and many are now forced to sleep in their expensive cars parked in the city's corners and these people have been labeled America's "New Poor".
Is the American middle class disappearing? I have friends living in California who tell me the situation is becoming dire. During recent years, the gap between the rich and poor has increased at a staggering pace, systematically wiping the existence of the middle class from America. Income inequality in the US has reached a stage where only one percent of Americans own as much as 37 percent of the total national wealth. An average CEO earned 30 times as much as an ordinary worker in 1950, today he earns 300 times as much.
The official unemployment figure is 9.6% but real unemployment is reported to be over 20%? (Real unemployment = people without jobs but don't qualify for unemployment benefits, therefore are not counted in official figures).
One in eight adult Americans and one in four children now survive on government food stamps. These are unbelievable numbers for the world's richest nation!
I think most of the worlds western population will steadily lose their wealth to the level seen in 3rd World Asian countries. The average Thai will be as well off as the average American. What do you think?
