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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: j g cordes who wrote (8571)	10/19/1998 7:17:00 PM
From: mrknowitall	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13994

j g, re: "There's been little middle class gain from Reagan forward." What do you consider "middle class?" The answer to that question will make your comment answerable. Mr. K.

To: j g cordes who wrote (8571)	10/19/1998 11:14:00 PM
From: jbe	Respond to of 13994

<OT: American Middle Class> jg, I am probably not the person to ask on this one. <gg> I have spent so much time looking at countries where the people live so much worse than we do here in the States, that it is hard for me to talk about the "suffering" of the American middle class. Perhaps we whine too much? More seriously, however, the widening of the gap between the very top and the very bottom, documented by that news item you posted, should perhaps be of greater concern to us. It seems to me that could be a greater threat to the "endurability of American democracy" than stagnation in middle-class income. Even more seriously, there is one thing that I think could be a major problem for the middle class, however defined. And that is the still escalating cost of higher education. To a large extent, only the very rich and the very poor, with scholarships based on need, can afford to go to private colleges and universities. There are very few merit scholarships for middle class students. Even the public universities are becoming prohibitively expensive. It's hard enough to put one child through; what do people do who have three or four or even five children to educate?? I could be all wrong about the situation -- my own kids are long out of college, and thank God, I have no more bills to pay. But if I am not wrong? jbe