THE COLLAPSE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS
Dear Friend,
As gas and oil prices soared and as the nation slipped into recession, I made a request to Vermonters on my e-mail list. I asked them to tell me what was going on in their lives economically. That was it. Frankly, I expected a few dozen replies. I was amazed, therefore, when my office received over 600 responses from all across the state, as well as some from other states. This small booklet contains a few of those letters.
It is one thing to read dry economic statistics which describe the collapse of the American middle class. It is another thing to understand, in flesh and blood terms, what that means in the lives of ordinary Americans. Yes, since George W. Bush has been in office 5 million Americans have slipped into poverty, 8 million have lost their health insurance and 3 million have lost their pensions. Yes, in the last seven years median household income for working-age Americans has declined by $2,500. Yes, our country, for the first time since the Great Depression, now has a zero personal savings rate and, all across the nation, emergency food shelves are being flooded with working families whose inadequate wages prevent them from feeding their families.
Statistics are one thing, however, and real life is another. The responses that I received describe the decline of the American middle class from the perspective of those people who are living that decline. They speak about families who, not long ago, thought they were economically secure, but now find themselves sinking into desperation and hopelessness.
These e-mails tell the stories of working families unable to keep their homes warm in the winter; workers worried about whether they’ll be able to fill their gas tank to get to their jobs; and seniors, who spent their entire lives working, now wondering how they’ll survive in old age. They describe the pain and disappointments that parents feel as they are unable to save money for their kids’ college education, and the dread of people who live without health insurance.
In order to try and break through the complacency and isolation inside the Washington Beltway, I have read some of these stories on the floor of the Senate. It is imperative that Congress and the corporate media understand the painful reality facing the middle class today so that we can develop the appropriate public policy to address this crisis.
Let me conclude by thanking all of those people who have so kindly shared their lives with me through these letters. I know that for many of you this was not an easy thing to do.
Letters from Vermont and America:
For a downloadable booklet of complete letters click here.
“We have at times had to choose between baby food and heating fuel.”
“By February we ran out of wood and I burned my mother's dining room furniture.”
“Not spending those ten hours at home with my husband and son makes a big difference.”
“I want to drop everything I am doing and go visit him.”
“We also only eat two meals a day to conserve.”
“My husband and I are very nervous about what will happen to us when we are old.”
“The pennies have all but dried up….Today I am sad, broken, and very discouraged.”
“I don't go to church many Sundays, because the gasoline is too expensive to drive there.”
“At the rate we are going we will be destitute in just a few years.”
“I am just tired….I work 12 to 14 hours daily and it just doesn't help.”
“Now we find that instead of a feeling of comfort, we have a feeling of dread.”
“Some nights we eat cereal and toast for dinner because that's all I have.”
“Insurance costs continue to rise causing some to forgo insurance to pay for groceries.”
“Dentistry is expensive and people are opting not to come to the dentist.”
“How devastating it has been for folks who travel great distances to get to their cancer treatment.”
“I feel as though I am between a rock and a hard place no matter how hard I try.”
“I have been forced to go back to work.”
“We would like to not have to worry about where our next meal will come from.”
“My husband and I followed all the rules…. Slowly, though, we have sunk back to the 'poor' days.”
“It costs me so much money in gas that my wife and I live on $6 per day to eat.”
“How much more of a hit can people take? The future looks extremely bleak to me.”
“I am now living out of my car.”
“Our life style has drastically changed in the past 12 months.”
“My mortgage is behind, we are at risk for foreclosure, and I can't keep up with my car payments.”
“We are barely staying afloat.”
“I wonder some times if we should try to follow our dreams - decide to have children?”
“People say, ‘Cut back.’ "
“Does anybody have a solution? Does anybody in Washington care?”
For a downloadable booklet of complete letters click here.
Do you have a story you would like to share? If so click here.
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