Are you better off than 32 years ago?

Dave Starr, Las Vegas

Sunday, July 8, 2012 | 2:01 a.m.

Candidates for president ask, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Today it’s more appropriate to ask, “Are you better off than you were 32 years ago?” We have had Republican administrations, starting with Ronald Reagan, 20 of the past 32 years. We started with his trickle-down economics, which didn’t work, but Mitt Romney wants to give it another try. What does it take to convince Republicans to give up on failed policies? Please do not suggest the erosion of the middle class began with President Barack Obama; it did accelerate under George W. Bush.

The past 32 years have been dedicated to the wealthy and corporations. The middle class has been neglected. Did the middle class destroy itself? For the middle class, it’s been stagnant wages, longer hours, and watching plants close and jobs shipped overseas. People in the middle class have learned how to survive, if they have a job, in an environment where employers have all the advantages and keep employees worried about keeping a job. The result is employees are working harder for less wages and employers are getting wealthier and more demanding of their employees. This work environment appears to have become the norm.

The middle class has been swindled by their employers and by the Republican politicians. The Republicans are counting on the middle class again to be uninformed and vote for them in 2012, only to continue the middle class’ 32-year downward spiral.