I am a marketing consulting guy.
It's my job to keep my nose into the wind and see if I can figure out what the future may have in store for my clients...
and me.
And frankly, the wind has a bad smell to it.
I am worried about that class of consumers known as the American Middle Class.
They are the folks that don't make a lot of money; do pay a lot of taxes; and raise most of our kids.
(The kids are important because they are watching what happens to their parents and how that affects them.
) You already know about the mortgage "crisis.
"You have probably heard suit and tie folks say there is nothing to worry about, these loans shouldn't have been made in the first place.
You may know that Citigroup changed top management because of loan problems.
You may have heard Countrywide is doing a soft shoe.
You may have heard the term "bailout.
" But bailout for who?Will the middle class get to keep their houses?Unknown.
Will the big banks who made these screwy loans be bailed out?Probably.
Will any of their well-to-do management go to jail? No.
This mess has been brewing for a long time.
Taxes are too high.
Spending is out of control.
Lawmakers adjust things like the bankruptcy code in the bank's favor.
Credit card companies follow the fraternity plan that if one card gets behind then all cards get to charge excessive interest rates and fees.
Some banks sell off their bad card debt, which they never used collection methods available to them within the statue of limitations, to bloodsucker companies who hound people daily even though the statue has long since passed.
Interest rates continue to grow while those people continue to call, ignoring collection rules set by the Federal Trade Commission.
The maximum fine is only $1,000 and in the high interest collection world, that's a drop in the bucket.
They buy those old debts for pennies in the first place.
So what does all of this mean to a marketing guy like me?Trouble.
The working middle class is being turned into the working poor.
That means fewer car purchase, fewer home purchases, fewer TV's.
Their money is going to the "get by" guy.
And clearly, Congress could care less.
States could care less.
Counties could care less.
Cities could care less.
The tax pressure continues to grow to the point that the car payment is less of a factor than the tax and license payment to put the new car on the street.
And that doesn't include filling it with $3.
00 plus gas.
It's time to refocus on what the American Dream should really be.
Should we reward those practices which push the middle class down or should we clear some of these hurdles so the middle class can move up?It's time to regulate interest charges, late fees, and harassment collection practices for beyond the statue of limitations debt.
It's time to bring down taxes or find a way where common people can finance those taxes at a reasonable (cheap) interest rate.
It's time for the Federal Trade Commission to get out of the money-man's bed andgo to the dentist and sharpen those government regulator teeth.
It's time the political structure in this country felt some major heat.
And let's get serious about public assistance.
If we require the middle class to take a urine test to keep their job, isn't it only fair that those getting public assistance be required to take a urine test to get a check? Those checks don't come out of thin air.
They come out of taxes on people who work one, two and sometimes more jobs to keep their lives going.
Yes, the wind has a nasty smell in it.
And from this marketing guy's point of view, if we are going to save the American dream and the American middle class, every politician in this country should open the office window and take a good long whiff.
It's my job to keep my nose into the wind and see if I can figure out what the future may have in store for my clients...
and me.
And frankly, the wind has a bad smell to it.
I am worried about that class of consumers known as the American Middle Class.
They are the folks that don't make a lot of money; do pay a lot of taxes; and raise most of our kids.
(The kids are important because they are watching what happens to their parents and how that affects them.
) You already know about the mortgage "crisis.
"You have probably heard suit and tie folks say there is nothing to worry about, these loans shouldn't have been made in the first place.
You may know that Citigroup changed top management because of loan problems.
You may have heard Countrywide is doing a soft shoe.
You may have heard the term "bailout.
" But bailout for who?Will the middle class get to keep their houses?Unknown.
Will the big banks who made these screwy loans be bailed out?Probably.
Will any of their well-to-do management go to jail? No.
This mess has been brewing for a long time.
Taxes are too high.
Spending is out of control.
Lawmakers adjust things like the bankruptcy code in the bank's favor.
Credit card companies follow the fraternity plan that if one card gets behind then all cards get to charge excessive interest rates and fees.
Some banks sell off their bad card debt, which they never used collection methods available to them within the statue of limitations, to bloodsucker companies who hound people daily even though the statue has long since passed.
Interest rates continue to grow while those people continue to call, ignoring collection rules set by the Federal Trade Commission.
The maximum fine is only $1,000 and in the high interest collection world, that's a drop in the bucket.
They buy those old debts for pennies in the first place.
So what does all of this mean to a marketing guy like me?Trouble.
The working middle class is being turned into the working poor.
That means fewer car purchase, fewer home purchases, fewer TV's.
Their money is going to the "get by" guy.
And clearly, Congress could care less.
States could care less.
Counties could care less.
Cities could care less.
The tax pressure continues to grow to the point that the car payment is less of a factor than the tax and license payment to put the new car on the street.
And that doesn't include filling it with $3.
00 plus gas.
It's time to refocus on what the American Dream should really be.
Should we reward those practices which push the middle class down or should we clear some of these hurdles so the middle class can move up?It's time to regulate interest charges, late fees, and harassment collection practices for beyond the statue of limitations debt.
It's time to bring down taxes or find a way where common people can finance those taxes at a reasonable (cheap) interest rate.
It's time for the Federal Trade Commission to get out of the money-man's bed andgo to the dentist and sharpen those government regulator teeth.
It's time the political structure in this country felt some major heat.
And let's get serious about public assistance.
If we require the middle class to take a urine test to keep their job, isn't it only fair that those getting public assistance be required to take a urine test to get a check? Those checks don't come out of thin air.
They come out of taxes on people who work one, two and sometimes more jobs to keep their lives going.
Yes, the wind has a nasty smell in it.
And from this marketing guy's point of view, if we are going to save the American dream and the American middle class, every politician in this country should open the office window and take a good long whiff.
Source...