The Middle Class Comeback: Women, Millennials, and Technology Leading the Way

by Munir Moon

Overview

In a time when the one-percenters seem to have it all, author Munir Moon builds a case for the average Joe in his eye-opening new book, The Middle Class Comeback. So take heart and take control of your fears with Moon's informative--and ultimately inspiring--look at the middle class.

Moon, a former financial-industry executive and current business owner, uses his years of expertise to paint a portrait of the middle class that is not nearly as grim as the media would have you believe.

While it is true that the middle class has been consistently squeezed while facing higher costs in health care, housing, education, and taxes, there are many positive developments that spell hope for those making a moderate income.

With clarity and insight, Moon details the ways in which the middle class is setting itself up for a comeback. This includes the increasingly strong presence of women in society; the rise of technology that will both create high-paying jobs and inspire different ways of approaching basic societal pillars; and the imminent takeover of the millennials, a generation that is poised to tackle our nation's problems in a whole new way.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940155329374
Publisher:	Munir Moon
Publication date:	07/08/2018
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Moon spent 8 years in the financial industry, starting at Chase Econometrics and ending in the Savings and Loan Association during the 1980s. He was a first-hand observer of the financial crisis in the 80s, which resulted in the demise of the Savings and Loan industry to be repeated in 2008 in a different form. Moon is the president of Bertech, a Southern California-based small business that has been recognized three times as one of the top 500 fastest-growing small businesses by Inc. 500. Moon is a contributor to The Huffington Post and LAprogressive.com. He is married with three sons and lives in Los Angeles County, California.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1
1. THE MIDDLE CLASS 6
2. WOMEN LEADING THE WAY 20
3. TECHNOLOGY 31
4. MILLENNIALS 40
5. JOBS AND THE NEW ECONOMY 48
6. UNITED STATES HEALTHCARE SYSTEM 57
7. HOSPITALS 68
8. DOCTORS 74
9. DRUGS 81
10. HEALTH INSURANCE 89
11. MEDICARE 96
12. UNITED STATES EDUCATION SYSTEM 102
13. K-12 EDUCATION 110
14. HIGHER EDUCATION 117
15. STUDENT LOANS & HOUSING 125
16. UNITED STATES TAX SYSTEM 131
17. PERSONAL TAXES 138
18. CORPORATE TAXES 145
19. THE BELTWAY BEAST 152
20. INDEPENDENT MOVEMENT 162
21. CONCLUSION 172
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 174
END NOTES 175

Editorial Reviews

"A diagnosis of American middle-class woes and a hopeful blueprint for its revival. ... It's a thoughtful, lucid study, and it's refreshing to see an unflinching discussion of the middle-class difficulties that doesn't surrender to fatalistic despair. ... As a brief primer on the state of the middle class, this is a valuable contribution to public debate. ... A sensible, bipartisan analysis of the future of a major segment of American society." - Kirkus Reviews

"Munir Moon's perceptive book, The Middle Class Comeback, offers a realistic but decidedly optimistic view of the future of America's middle class. ... The Middle Class Comeback is smart, succinct, and easy to read, yet it proactively addresses some of this country's most pressing problems. In a relatively short work, Munir Moon has done an admirable job of focusing on the three key factors that he believes will lead to the resurgence of the middle class." - Foreword Reviews

"The Middle Class Comeback gives concrete reason for hope and a path forward through continued innovation and political engagement. ... As he provides a sweeping history of how social and political processes have traditionally been addressed across the board, Moon notes: "The nation needs a new definition of engagement." Diane Donovan, Senior Editor, Midwest Book Review

"An insightful, detailed and yet simple read that breaks down the main social and economic challenges Americans are facing, and the new opportunities that are paving a way for the middle class to prevail once again. ... Munir Moon's assessment of the situation is realistic, unbiased, and relevant to the current times. The Middle Class Comeback could not have come out at a better time and it will continue to be relevant for the foreseeable future." - Readers' Favorite

From the Publisher

2016-07-15
A diagnosis of American middle-class woes and a hopeful blueprint for its revival. The embattlement of the middle class has, more than ever, become a recurrent theme in political discourse, especially since the catastrophic housing crisis of 2008. Moon (The Beltway Beast, 2014), a businessman and former financial-industry executive, attributes the group’s distress to a combination of stagnant wages and aggressively climbing costs, including those of health care, education, and an endless litany of taxes. Not content to gloomily dwell on bad news, the author finds promising reasons for hope, as well. For example, he notes that although women continue to lag behind their male counterparts in wages, that gap is steadily closing; their participation in the labor force continues to increase, and they constitute a bigger share of college graduates than ever before. And although it’s become commonplace to pillory millennials for their immaturity, Moon instead sees a savvy class of political entrepreneurs, ready and able to challenge the status quo. Finally, he asserts that the breakneck pace of technological progress is not only going to usher in new opportunity and a dramatic lowering of costs across the board, but also has the potential to transform the very structure of the economy, especially regarding health care: “A new paradigm shift is underway where decentralized and sharing models with emphasis on personal accountability is [sic] evolving that will make healthcare accessible and affordable for all.” The author plots out some sensible, if less-than-detailed, reforms, some of them economic, such as tax reform, and some of them political, such as revised term limits for politicians. It’s a thoughtful, lucid study, and it’s refreshing to see an unflinching discussion of the middle-class difficulties that doesn’t surrender to fatalistic despair. Sometimes Moon even seems too optimistic; for instance, he doesn’t address the ways in which increased technological sophistication could hurt the middle class, as whole professions get replaced by machines. Ultimately, the discussion of possible future reforms is simply too broad, and the book ambitiously covers too much ground for such a relatively slim volume. However, as a brief primer on the state of the middle class, this is a valuable contribution to public debate. A sensible, bipartisan analysis of the future of a major segment of American society.

Kirkus Review