[wildengineer]

PG could have saved us all some time if he led with #9 in his original post. Most of my family and friends are struggling to keep up with cost of living increases and these aren't considered poor people by government standards. If this trend of stagnant middle class wages continues long enough things will get ugly.

I am a supporter of redistributing wealth at the top for expanded education opportunities, which is why I do believe making the connection between income inequality and poverty is important. I don't understand why as a people we've accepted paying out of pocket for an education. We used to expect that public education provided everything you required to achieve a middle class lifestyle.