\nAn idea one often hears is how much harder it seems to be, nowadays, to be middle-class. Back in the 1950s, for instance, many people seem to believe it was much easier to become middle class, and remain there.<\/p>\n
\nI wasn’t around in the 1950s, but believe that may well have been true. For instance, I do believe that the idea of working hard to get ahead worked in a more straightforward way, back then. One might wonder what’s changed, from then to now.<\/p>\n
\nOne change that seems hard to miss is the percentage of gdp represented by government spending. For instance, in the US, government expenditure seems to have been around 23 percent of gdp in 1950, while in 2023 it was about 36 percent.<\/p>\n
\nOne might wonder, is it thirteen percent harder for the middle class now, than in 1950, in the USA? Or is it more like fifty percent harder, if one simply looks at the 2023 figure divided by the one from 1950?<\/p>\n
\nYou be the judge.<\/p>\n
Source:<\/p>\n
imf.org<\/a><\/p>\nJack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane,<\/a> Campbell River, BC.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Self-tutoring about political and economic trends: the tutor mentions an observation. An idea one often hears is how much harder it seems to be, nowadays, to be middle-class. Back in the 1950s, for instance, many people seem to believe it …<\/p>\n