News, Etc.

OWS is now at a crossroads. It is unlikely it can be effective without clear leadership.
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The middle class is turning into the middling or muddling class as it is getting squeezed harder and harder.

One of the people profiled in this article is a Reno car salesman who recently lost his job. He's now sharing a mobile home with his mother-in-law.

Then this year, after the car dealership he worked for went bankrupt and he lost his job, they had to leave that apartment and move into his mother-in-law's single-wide trailer.
Along the way, they have sold off their possessions. Today, the sports car is gone; so is much of their furniture. They sold their Apple computer recently for $150.

Ticknor checks in every day at 5:30 a.m. with a temp agency. "You hope they have a job for you," he says. He has worked for minimum wage as a receptionist, cashier and manual laborer.

"The biggest word is humbling," he says. "It does a mental thing on you. I used to make big money. I was like a big shot. …You take it for granted."

I am surprised he gets anything working for a temp agency there. Years ago, there was lots of work, but now it is basically dried up.

I'll bet he looked down on those "bums" who drew UI and received food stamps and other public assistance.

But for the grace of God go I and all that...