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 Michael Medved

Middle Class: Defined by Values, Not Money

June 5, 2012 @ 11:59 am

In this election, both political parties claim to champion the cause of the "middle class", but they define the term very differently. Democrats categorize people based on the money they bring home, so they believe that poor people will automatically become middle class if they're given more cash.

Republicans, on the other hand, emphasize middle class values, including traditional notions of faith, family, hard work, and personal accountability. These values fostered the middle class prosperity that made America the envy of the world. But Democrats claim to promote fairness by attacking crucial middle class values - proposing to take more money from people who earned it and to give it to people who didn't.

The real "war on the middle class" is actually an assault on those values that offer the nation our only reliable road to recovery.

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Comments (11)


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  • messiah101 wrote...
    Medved you seem to have forgotten that the GOP has attempted to redine the Wealthy
    June 5, 2012 2:02 pm
    By saying that having a few million doesn't mean your wealthy.Yep we middle class folks understand the GOP are on our side and want to help us all they can but the part I have a problem with is that our class is making less and the wealthy class is making more.But of course our frinds at the GOP will work harder to rid our nation of those nasty Unions that are to blame for most everything
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    In other words, the $million income people can cut wages and benefits as much as they want....
    June 5, 2012 3:54 pm
    but we'll all still be "middle class", because being middle class is just a matter of being a good American, voting Republican, and has nothing to do with money........

    Good one, Mr. Medved.

    I wonder if you really believe that?

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  • messiah101 wrote...
    Make that REDEFINE the Wealthy
    June 5, 2012 4:11 pm
    SBT
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    sustainable, EARNED income is a monetary component that defines 'middle class'.
    June 5, 2012 3:31 pm
    Beyond that, it's virtually all values and attitude. $30,000 can be 'middle class' to some while some others may think themselves poor at $130,000.

    But, I agree, you can't make a person anything at all just by giving money. It's all in the person.

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  • Drool wrote...
    Those Very Same Values....
    June 5, 2012 5:56 pm
    ....existed in the Industrial Revolution but the folks at the bottom were taken advantage of by those at the top. The GI Bill had more to do with creating a strong middle class (along with some good old fashioned income redistribution) than any particular values. The only values one sees right now from those controlling the Republicans is one of entitlement and not one of giving back to the great country that helped them get there. Off shoring money is a perfect example of that sense of entitlement.
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