Carl, I agree with you on many points and many younger people today simply DO NOT realize we have lost so dammn much freedoms in this nation... The purchasing power of the former middle class was great for many decades but NAFTA and other political events destroyed that slowly over 20-30 years now...
America WAS all about the middle class as we, for a period of time, were approx. 80% of the US population- all working hard at blue collar, living wage industrial/manufacturing jobs whereas part of your long term employee benefits was company supplied medical plan for entire family... ALL of that is gone today sadly...
I also agree with old Ron Paul regarding parity of US dollar and being away from gold standard since 1974, today, our dollars are so worthless, it takes so many more dollars to purchase cheap products even in just the last 10 years, than it used too, and most of those purchases simply do not last- so you are financially enslaved to keep replacing those with newer cheaply made products, etc etc etc... Just eats everyone's wealth/monies from them like never before...
Utilities (at least here in NC) today are really monopolies in disguise, rates extreme everywhere, and our State gas tax like the highest in entire USA and they want to increase it again !!
