PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog
Is the Sun Setting On the U.S. Middle-Class?
You have to hand it to Americans; despite inexorable proof to the contrary, a surprisingly large number of them refuse to admit that the sun is setting on the middle class. Now, that’s not just HGtransecon’s observation. It’s also the implied, if not stated conclusion of a very recent Heartland Monitor poll, which is conducted quarterly and is sponsored by the insurer Allstate and the National Journal. And what they found is some pretty alarming stuff. Essentially what the researchers found was that the U.S. middle class, which for the longest time was the world’s personification of optimism and upward mobility, is a very different story here in the second decade of the twenty-first century. Middle-Class Americans No Longer Dream of Getting Ahead The dream of getting ahead is almost as prevalent as the hope that disco returns. No, getting ahead has become one of those things for the wealthy. For those out there like HGtransecon’s writers, it is the fear of falling behind that occupies our time and energy. The poll above found a similar prevailing attitude among Americans in the ever-shrinking middle-class as did we. The poll found that 59 percent of those responding – a group of [...]
NC NAACP President, 16 Other Protestors Arrested Outside NC Senate
Source: Charlotte Observer (Thanks KoKo for a better version of this story) NC NAACP president, 16 other protestors arrested outside NC Senate Published: April 29, 2013 Updated 5 hours ago Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/29/2859057/17-arrested-outside-nc-senate.html#storylink=cpy Perri Morgan, Associate Professor at Duke University School of Medicine, is escorted by police to a Division of Prison Inmates Transfer bus following an act of civil disobedience condemning the Republican legislature’s agenda Monday, April 29, 2013, outside the N.C. Senate chamber. Seventeen people including N.C. NAACP President Rev. William Barber were arrested. TRAVIS LONG — tlong@newsobserver.co Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/29/2859057/17-arrested-outside-nc-senate.html#storylink=cpy General Assembly Police Chief Jeff Weaver warned the protesters to disperse three times before arresting them. Most protesters left, but 17 refused to move. The protestors sang “We Shall Overcome” and other civil rights-era songs as Raleigh police officers put plastic zip ties on their wrists and led them away. Weaver said the protesters arrested will likely face charges of disorderly conduct, second-degree trespass and violation of building rules, all misdemeanors. At one point, Republican state Rep. Michael Speciale, a New Bern Republican, poked his head around a hallway corner to watch the demonstration. He suggested the action won’t make difference in the lawmaking. “They [...]
