Priorities for Developed Nations: "Can the Middle Class Be Rebuilt?"

In Quest, we have been reading economic recommendations for "Developing Countries" (Hartmann & Blass, 2007, p. 101 - 104), but as recent history amply demonstrates, developed nations could also do much better. Today's discussion topic in The New York Times' Room for Debate section is on this topic, with the title "Can the Middle Class Be Rebuilt?" (2011). The six contributors offer their suggestions on what can and should be done to improve things for middle class Americans.

You might find these an interesting complement to our last reading in Quest. Are the recommendations similar to those of the World Bank for developing nations? Which opinions do you agree with? Which do you disagree with? Why? Are there any common themes amongst the suggested policy changes?

And then there is the question of whether any of these suggestions, however sensible and right, is likely to be adopted by the governing politicians, or even accepted by the people. If you agree that some of the suggested priorities are right, do you also think that those policy changes are likely to be implemented? How would you implement them? Do the same considerations apply to your own country?

__________

References

Can the Middle Class Be Rebuilt? (2011, September 7). The New York Times. Retrieved September 8, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/09/06/can-the-middle-class-be-rebuilt

Hartmann, P. & Blass, L. (2007). Quest 3 Reading and Writing (2nd. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.