Is the Middle Class Being Destroyed on Purpose?

Originally published at: https://peakprosperity.com/is-the-middle-class-being-destroyed-on-purpose/

Does it seem like it’s getting harder and harder to get by and make ends meet? Not only is that actually true for the average family or person, but it’s also happening on purpose.

The Middle Class is being systematically dismantled, through a combination of reckless monetary and spending policies at the macro level, but also at the micro level by predatory insurance and private equity practices.

In 1960, the average household spent 22.5% of income on housing, healthcare, and tuition; today, it’s 37%, a 68% increase in the share of income required to have a roof over one’s head, access to medical care when needed, and education. In other words, the bare minimum.

The average household is now being squeezed from all sides. By rising property taxes and insurance on one side, by crushing student debts on another, and by private equity shenanigans on another.

Add it all up, and Americans are going deeper and deeper into debt as they attempt to keep their noses above the rising inflationary waters. In Q2 2025, Household debt rose by $185 billion, with mortgage debt ($131 billion) and auto loans ($13 billion) leading the increase. Credit card debt now exceeds $1 trillion, and student loans are often non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.

But the really infuriating part? So-called “private equity” has been operating as effective mini-regional monopolies in such areas as HVCA, cement, plumbing, and veterinary services.

The scheme is, a given private equity firm will buy up all of the HVAC companies in a region, keeping the names to camouflage the operations as family-owned small businesses, and then hiking the fees across all of the firms at once so that you cannot escape the 300% price hikes.

Don’t like the price at once firm? Call another. Oh no! They’re just as high!!

Just as mysteriously, Home insurance costs have surged of late, with the firms blaming Climate Change. The problem? None of the data supports the idea that storms are any more frequent or violent.

Instead, replacement costs have gone through the roof, in part driven by private equity, which it would not surprise us to learn is owned in part by the insurance companies themselves.

Scams nested within scams wrapped within schemes, all designed to squeeze every last dollar out of helpless families.

And government regulators? They are nowhere to be seen or found.

What’s the answer?

Step 1 is to be aware of the scams and schemes.

Step 2 is to realize what you can control and what you cannot.

Step 3 is to take action to build resilience and financial freedom.

To avoid becoming roadkill, this is what we each must do. So, to answer the question in the title, yes, the middle class is being intentionally destroyed.

In part 2, for subscribers, I go into the mathematical inevitability of monetary/financial collapse due to a hidden feature of banking which has been actively suppressed by the bankers themselves, but which has recently been made public.

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We avoided student debt. The local Community College is practically free. We told the kids they needed to sell us on why they needed to go elsewhere based on their passion for a particular path. The “not sure yet” major is supported at the CC. My first is now maxing out a 401k to company match and has a Roth. I suggested buying land after her savings builds a little longer.

Two nights ago a mother invited me to discuss high school and college options with her teens. I discussed avoiding debt as much as reasonable. And that having a good work ethic and low or no debt could place them ahead of peers with greater debt even if the other’s degree seemed more prestigious. Having a debt payment the size of a mortgage likely means they won’t be investing, saving and building equity anytime soon.

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Even after five years of Covid deathly deceit, even thirteen years after my first viewing of the original Crash Course, and all that we have learned since, I still can’t quite integrate the intentional yet idiotic, persistent and devastating abuses of power by so many of those people and organizations I formerly trusted. It’s undeniable yet every so often the brain stalls out. Having to assume that those with power will try to use it to my detriment - having THAT as my base position now just seems surreal sometimes. WTF kind of world is that? But:

“You will own nothing and be happy.”
“Western values will be tested to the breaking point.”

Not to mention my own observations of the unhinged lying, death-dealing and (oddly), tech-fantasy future utopia imagining that these entities dish out…

It’s an important value for me to deal with what’s real, as much as I have capacity for. That’s why I’m here, 'cause Chris and his posse are pretty good at facing into the wind. This podcast is a fine example of that.

Thanks
Susan

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Chris, I remember you saying way back when, possibly when you and Adam were a team that home ownership should be viewed as a liability and not an asset. There are so many hidden costs that home owners seem to forget. Such as years of interest on the home loan, property taxes, home insurance, home repairs, maintenance and upkeep. That’s why I rent and live 3 blocks from the beach for $850 month.

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I like the beard Chris! Keep it!!

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“Capital” (the Oligarchy) systematically hoovering up small businesses to control prices in a local market … we can revisit the game “Monopoly” to see how that turns out. Hotel on Boardwalk - expensive. There’s a reason that game was created, way back when. It sounds like we’re back to that situation now.

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The whole thing is basically targetted towards the goal of breaking down the old order of things so that our wonderful globalist overlords can replace it with a ‘better’ system. Better for them, that is. It’s basically what all of the crap we are currently dealing with is aimed towards - destruction of the old so they can make something new, to serve their purpose.

With regard to the middle classes and wealth … even though the middle class have basically funded governments since forever, the globalists know that you can’t have a somewhat financially independent middle class with aspirations and goals. They need to grind everyone who’s not them down into a pool of worker drones (with a few middlemen to handle the masses like politicians, ‘law’ enforcement and of course the lying media).

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I suspect you could maintain a house for less than your rent. And typically all the overheads of a landlord get fed into the monthly rent.

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Is Monopoly not a basic, simplistic form of capitalism? How does Monopoly end—every single time?

Makes you wonder what the intent was of the game’s creators…a warning?

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Wow, this hit home for me. I just had a beloved pet of many years euthanized a week ago. It was a terribly hard thing to do. And to add to the pain and difficulty of the decision, I was shocked by the price. Which they made me pay in advance. Now I’m curious, if I had said I didn’t have the money, would they have offered me some form of extortionate financing? Just like the guy in the video who works in the oil industry, I could afford it. But I was left wondering, how many other people can’t?

I just looked up if the emergency animal hospital I went to offers financing. Why yes, yes they do. And oh, hey, check out the terms…

“For new accounts as of 5/30/24: Purchase APR 32.99%. Penalty APR 39.99%; Minimum Interest Charge is $2. Existing cardholders: See your credit card agreement terms. Subject to credit approval.”

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Several Christmases ago my dog got into some chocolate. As we sat at the ER a young woman brought in a cat in a basket. I knew that cat wasn’t going to make it and I could tell this girl couldn’t afford what was coming. I quietly pulled out some cash and anonymously paid a good chunk of the bill. Through the vet I received a thank you note from the girl. It sits on my mantle every Christmas. My dog lived through the chocolate but has since gone over the rainbow bridge.

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Prof Jiang said “empire eats its children”… this is the visible part of it, society is glad to push more debt and spending on young people, which destroys any family plans. Not sustainable. Also direct result of debt maths problem that someone must spend, but there isnt enough money to pay loans(interest was not added in money creation).
Is this 500 year old problem in western economies? Maybe there was debt papers in tulip mania in 1600s. This is root cause of low fertility.

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FYI. The much respected CPM Group has stated categorically that there is no silver deficit and demonstrates it with market data. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcEVhhZZo8Y “A Secret Plan To Reset The Gold Price? What Investors Need To Know."

Considering no one who could pay the bill would accept those payment terms, that leaves someone who cannot pay the face value of the bill. To grind down another human like that is evil.

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Ah. Jeff Chritian’s outfit. Let me just say that he’s been in the pocket of the bullion banks for a long time. I have that on good information.

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I think the best answer to your questions about rent vs. buy is “it depends.” If you can rent a nice place 3 blocks from the beach for $850/month there seems little point in buying. The landlord faces all the taxes, insurance, upkeep costs and work, while you have an affordable place to live. However, in areas I’ve lived, the amount you’re paying as a rental price is unheard of in anything resembling recent times. Usually rents in areas people want to live and can get work are almost comparable to the amount they’d pay for mortgage, taxes, insurance and some basic maintenance. YMMV

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I know someone who recently borrowed some money for car repair $1500 financed with $80 every two weeks for 52 payments.
54×80 equals $4320 in payments.
Also, have you seen Tony Robbins, encouraging investments in private equity?
Do we keep investing in that which is destroying our lives?

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Rings like backing the bully, because he’s winning, doesn’t it?

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Replying to myself to be clear: I’m not saying you should always buy a house - a lot depends upon your circumstances/future plans and current house prices.

But if you are planning to live for a long time in the same place, it definitely makes sense to consider buying if the monthly mortgage is close to what rent would cost.

Yes, there are overheads to owning but all those same overheads will be factored into what a landlord will charge a tenant in rent. Additionally, there is far less danger of a sudden hike in your monthly payments vs renting where a landlord may (and usually will, these days) decide to hike the rent annually.

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In my area, not really. I live in a neighborhood where homes start at $800K and homes selling for a few million is the norm. Now if you are suggesting moving to another area, then that is possible. But don’t forget that there are hidden costs with home ownership. As I mentioned earlier, interest on the loan etc.

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