To the Editor:
Mr. Newell literally amazes me. He seems determined to define my beliefs. He ignores what I actually write and twists it to fit his own definition of my beliefs which are completely contrary to what I actually believe in.
My recent letter was about reaching for a balance in our political system and avoiding the imbalances that created the rise in communism and he twisted that into saying that I loved the communist systems of Cuba, Russia, and China.
He continually states his opinions like they were facts although research into many of them reveal they are factually untrue. One in his last letter that claims that the middle class is shrinking because most of them are moving up is literally laughable if it were not such a tragedy.
Most people realize that statistics can be used by both sides to support their own point of view. Please check out the U.S. Census Bureau statistics at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html and you will discover that since 1978 the percentage of working people who live below the poverty rate has grown 4% with the number in dire poverty situations growing 1.6%. Check out the PEW Research Foundation studies at http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/706/middle-class-poll and you will discover that the number of workers with middle class incomes (30 t0 100K) has fallen. At the same time both upper and lower household incomes have increased. The study determines that upper income households have increased not because of wage gains but because more households now have multiple workers. They go on to look at several economic factors and state that those in the middle have been making progress in absolute terms while falling behind in relative terms.
Today more adult children live at home and more families have both parents working than ever before and household debt has also risen dramatically. I do not think these realities bode well for a growing or even stable middle class. Though I am sure Mr. Newell will think otherwise.
Jo Davis,
Shawnee
