Money is Beginning to Change Hands
In recent years the United States has been experiencing one of the greatest transfers of wealth that it has ever seen. Retirees, who are leading the country as far as wealth are beginning to hand their money down through their familial generations and many middle class Americans are finding themselves richer
It goes without saying that the lives of over 76 million Baby Boomers will be transformed with the estimated 40.6 trillion dollars changing hands. This has the potential to boost the economic status of families for generations to come.
At the same time we are also hearing about the disappearing or shrinking middleclass. What this means to you depends on how you perceive the statement. Some may view it as indication that we will be made up only either very poor or very rich people.
If there is no middle class, does that mean we will only have the very rich and the very poor? As detrimental as that may sound, it is important to avoid classification labels and look at the real picture.
Does this Affect You?
If you are one of those people who see themselves as working middle class than this information may be frightening. You may also need to reconsider the way you classify people and how you feel you fit in to all of this. The way you look at your class standing has a lot to do with how well economically you will do.
If the aforementioned information has you feeling frustrated and aggravated thinking that while the rich get richer, you will only get poorer - then think again. Perhaps another way to look at this is that more and more middle class Americans are moving up the ranking and that is why the middle class seems to be fading away. Dont be too quickly convinced that this wealth transfer and shrinking middle class is all loom and doom for you.
Define the Middle Class
Does anyone really know exactly what the middle class is? Of whom, specifically is it comprised? And to what, or to whom, will we compare this group? Are we comparing this group and their lifestyle to those on the streets of Calcutta, India? Or to those in America a couple of decades ago? Or to those in the below-poverty level segment of our society? And to determine what middle class is, do we compare the number of things owned today compared to things owned twenty years ago? (Did you need a computer, DVD player, second car, or a cell phone twenty years ago?)
What I am trying to do is get you to focus on your thinking. If you are using outside mediums to determine what middle class means to you than you will undoubtedly feel persecuted by rich and wealthy millionaires taking the whole kitty. Your thinking quite effectively dictates your behavior and your ability or inability to see yourself as one of the rich.
Is the Middle Class Really Shrinking?
There are many economists who are not convinced that there really is a shrinkage in the middle class. The viewpoints depend largely on which parameters the economist uses to define middle class. Some define middle class by income brackets or occupational categories. The truth is that many economists say for certain that there is no real shrinking middle class theory.
Consider this:
Fewer people today live in households with incomes between $30,000 and $100,000 (a reasonable definition of "middle class") than in 1979.
The amount of persons earning more than $100,000 has risen from 12 to 24 percent during the same time period.
While that looks good for the middle class the same research suggests that households making less than $30k per year are remaining static.
That being the case, it means the "decline" of the middle class came from people moving up the income ladder, not the other way around.
Married couples have seen median income raises of 25% since 1979.
Take a minute and think about what your knee jerk response to things is. When you hear news about a shrinking middle class do you immediately throw up your hands and figure there is no use in trying, or are you able to see through the hype and figure out the truths for yourself.
If indeed there is this massive wealth transfer, it can mean there are millions of people with discretionary income to spend on your products or services. (What if you had a product to help them invest wisely?)
So before you give up, thinking that a shrinking middle class will put you at the bottom of the barrel envision it meaning that you are actually moving up to the next level of economic status.
In recent years the United States has been experiencing one of the greatest transfers of wealth that it has ever seen. Retirees, who are leading the country as far as wealth are beginning to hand their money down through their familial generations and many middle class Americans are finding themselves richer
It goes without saying that the lives of over 76 million Baby Boomers will be transformed with the estimated 40.6 trillion dollars changing hands. This has the potential to boost the economic status of families for generations to come.
At the same time we are also hearing about the disappearing or shrinking middleclass. What this means to you depends on how you perceive the statement. Some may view it as indication that we will be made up only either very poor or very rich people.
If there is no middle class, does that mean we will only have the very rich and the very poor? As detrimental as that may sound, it is important to avoid classification labels and look at the real picture.
Does this Affect You?
If you are one of those people who see themselves as working middle class than this information may be frightening. You may also need to reconsider the way you classify people and how you feel you fit in to all of this. The way you look at your class standing has a lot to do with how well economically you will do.
If the aforementioned information has you feeling frustrated and aggravated thinking that while the rich get richer, you will only get poorer - then think again. Perhaps another way to look at this is that more and more middle class Americans are moving up the ranking and that is why the middle class seems to be fading away. Dont be too quickly convinced that this wealth transfer and shrinking middle class is all loom and doom for you.
Define the Middle Class
Does anyone really know exactly what the middle class is? Of whom, specifically is it comprised? And to what, or to whom, will we compare this group? Are we comparing this group and their lifestyle to those on the streets of Calcutta, India? Or to those in America a couple of decades ago? Or to those in the below-poverty level segment of our society? And to determine what middle class is, do we compare the number of things owned today compared to things owned twenty years ago? (Did you need a computer, DVD player, second car, or a cell phone twenty years ago?)
What I am trying to do is get you to focus on your thinking. If you are using outside mediums to determine what middle class means to you than you will undoubtedly feel persecuted by rich and wealthy millionaires taking the whole kitty. Your thinking quite effectively dictates your behavior and your ability or inability to see yourself as one of the rich.
Is the Middle Class Really Shrinking?
There are many economists who are not convinced that there really is a shrinkage in the middle class. The viewpoints depend largely on which parameters the economist uses to define middle class. Some define middle class by income brackets or occupational categories. The truth is that many economists say for certain that there is no real shrinking middle class theory.
Consider this:
Fewer people today live in households with incomes between $30,000 and $100,000 (a reasonable definition of "middle class") than in 1979.
The amount of persons earning more than $100,000 has risen from 12 to 24 percent during the same time period.
While that looks good for the middle class the same research suggests that households making less than $30k per year are remaining static.
That being the case, it means the "decline" of the middle class came from people moving up the income ladder, not the other way around.
Married couples have seen median income raises of 25% since 1979.
Take a minute and think about what your knee jerk response to things is. When you hear news about a shrinking middle class do you immediately throw up your hands and figure there is no use in trying, or are you able to see through the hype and figure out the truths for yourself.
If indeed there is this massive wealth transfer, it can mean there are millions of people with discretionary income to spend on your products or services. (What if you had a product to help them invest wisely?)
So before you give up, thinking that a shrinking middle class will put you at the bottom of the barrel envision it meaning that you are actually moving up to the next level of economic status.
About the Author:
Rob Walcher is an expert in the direct sales industry. He shot to the top in two different direct sales companies in a matter of 18 months and has become known as the Ten-Figure Guru. If you want to learn how to get comfortable with a few more zeroes in your income and work directly with Rob click here
