WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Americans are notably sour about the economy today.

And they don’t believe things are going to improve anytime soon. In the latest Gallup poll, the public, by a staggering 85 percent to 11 percent, said economic conditions are currently getting worse rather than better.

But it’s not just the short-term direction of the economy that’s bothering the public; it’s the general difficulties of getting ahead in today’s economy and the very real possibility that one might actually fall behind.

In a major poll conducted by the Pew Research Center and just released as part of the aptly named report, “Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good Life,” 69 percent said that, compared to 10 years ago, it’s easier to fall behind today.

Just 11 percent think it is harder to fall behind.

The public believes the middle class, in particular, is having a harder and harder time keeping up.

In the same survey, by 79-12, the public said that, in the last five years, it has become more, rather than less, difficult for middle class people to maintain their standard of living.

That’s the Bush economy for you.

Middle-class folks have a fear of falling, while hedge fund managers make billions of dollars annually.

That’s deeply wrong and needs to change.

Read more @ www.tcf.org

Comments from Examiner Readers

2:54 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 17, 2008 re: "Douglas Elmendorf: Tackling the mortgage mess"

Examiner Reader said:
The notion that deadbeats should get renters' tax money because "homeownership encourages responsible citizenship' is insane. My decision not to enter the real-estate market the last five years was based on responsible citizenship. The people who bought with no money down and interest-only loans are not, and never will be, responsible. "Homeownership' is not a virtue. It's elitist to say so. And untrue. In SF, the Bayview has one of the highest levels of owner-occupied properties, and it's a cesspool of violence.

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7:31 AM MST on Wed., Jan. 2, 2008 re: "Jordan Ballor: Tithing is about giving, not getting"

BennyFactor said:
As Christians really study the new Covenant and early Christian history, we find that tithing was required onlty in the old Covenant, where Priests were solely responsible for interceding and praying to God on behalf of all Jews. Priests were required to share excess tithes with the poor and were forbidden from any and all ownership. But, in the new Covenant we have Jesus to replace the priests and we can talk to Him ourselves. This is why institutional tithing was not practiced for the first 800 years of Christianity. Now, and particularly in America, church is just another capitolist (worldly) entity and callings have morphed into careerism, requiring salary and benefits, but no taxes or accountability. Likee the drug trade, the only way to save the church from careerist leaders is to take the Prophet motive out of it, teach the truth that soliciting tithes is out of Christian order. Then we will cease to attract church leaders in need of worldly self-enrichment and ego-stroking.

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12:25 AM MST on Thu., Dec. 6, 2007 re: "Independent Institute: Blame political parties, not the voters, for bad leaders"

Examiner Reader said:
No License if you dont vote... End of story

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3:19 PM MST on Wed., Nov. 28, 2007 re: "The Hoover Institution: No Child Left Behind�s unpredictable future"

Examiner Reader said:
NCLB was doomed from the beginning. Education in the 1950's was completely dummed down to accomodate the desegregation of the public schools and to make sure the black students were not overwhelmed by the white schools' advanced curriculums. What should have occurred at that time was to start integrating the schools beginning with Kindergarten. The old reliable method of teaching would have continued thus at the end of the senior year of high school, the diploma would represent a real 12 year education instead of a high school diploma in this day and age only representing the equivalent of a sixth grade education at the most. Compared to today's standards, my 1952 high school diploma is equivalent to a four year college degree. Common sense was not the rule when desegregation took place.

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4:44 AM MST on Wed., Sep. 12, 2007 re: "Philip H. Gordon: The Bush administration is fighting the wrong war"

Examiner Reader said:
It is amazing how the wearers of the tinfoil hats protect yourselves from sunburn,just stick your head down a hole,and let the world and reality pass you by. The trouble with your naive "Chamberlin "like "attitude is that when Osabama etal.,arrive on our shores, as they surely will if we tuck tail and run, is that your ilk will be the first to go. Your lack of social and moral values will excite his need to slowly saw off your heads to improve his surroundings!

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9:32 AM MST on Wed., Aug. 15, 2007 re: "Matthew Spalding: A way forward for Bush regarding immigration"

Examiner Reader said:
Your Aug. 15 �Scoop� remind us that Cameron Diez was making Chinese propaganda in Peru, at the time of the last immigration debates in congress in June/07. Latin Americans won�t pay to see her movies, no chin-chin and no moral support.

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