The Middle-Class is becoming the Working Poor

Today is more based on personal opinion on a day that could be better than a news story, which is a bit of a change. I'm currently am working a new job at Tech Tattoo in King of Prussia Mall. It's a great job, I love it, and I wish more people would take advantage of getting something cool like their cellphone engraved. Sadly, that isn't the case.

I'm currently making more here per hour than at any other job I've ever had. Despite this, I am having a harder time living than ever as well. This is due to a few reasons, but for now, I'll focus on the one that we can all agree with, and that is that aside from the job market being so tough now, the overall economic situation in this country for the working class is far from good.

The average working person now has to deal with paying more for everything then they did even 3 years ago. This goes from everything from mortgage rates, gas prices, home heating bills, and simply eating. The price of milk, bread, meat, and nearly all things edible has risen over the last 3 years. It's safe to say that, in the same time, it's rare that everything in a dollar store is a dollar now.

The middle class in this country have less chances to not only get jobs, but to get good jobs. While working in a factory may have always been looked upon by those seeking a better life, it is these same exact jobs that helped to support millions across the country make a decent living. These same jobs are now being exported ad-nauseum overseas to other countries. It is becoming harder and harder to not only find something made in America, but also to find a person who helped to make it as well.

Our dependency on gas has made us slaves to oil, forcing us to suffer rising prices for gas, plastics, heating our homes, and increasing the cost of living on a whole dramatically.

It is rare to find someone living in this country not living from paycheck to paycheck who isn't among the rich. This is because of various factors from cost of living, to bills, to oil prices, to simply not being able to save money for the future due to those demands. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people working 2, 3, even 4 jobs to help just get by and pay the bills!

A college degree doesn't come with the same promise as a job it once did; Even those who went to college can find themselves stuck working at Wal-Mart.

The fact of the matter is, it seems it has become increasingly impossible to live the American Dream than ever before.

Most available jobs are in the retail and fast-food markets, and from there it is becoming increasingly difficult to attain even office jobs and anything higher. The need for more manufacturing jobs in this country must be realized once more! Even with a constant need for construction jobs, these jobs are still few and far in between if your not in a union, and getting into one has become tougher and tougher.

The fact of the matter is, Slayer had it right: "I hate this shit economy/It might as well be sodomy". The Middle Class has become the Working Poor.