subject: How The Recession Is Affecting The Middle Class [print this page] The recession has brought a trying time for many Americans; thousands of jobs have been cut or downsized, small businesses are struggling and many middle-classed, college-educated Americans are seeing financial losses they would never have expected. In fact, in the past ten years, the face of bankruptcy has slowly changed from lower-income families to more middle-class filers.
The problem with the shift is that many Middle-class Americans have never experienced financial hardship and may not know when to file, or may be too proud to even think of bankruptcy. With unemployment rates still staggering and small businesses s closing one by one, its obvious that many more Americans have had to consider filing for bankruptcy.
Many middle-class Americans have college educations and sometimes more than one degree. They are hard-working and very employable, but when larger businesses began closing their doors, many of these Americans were left with no job prospects and a middle-class lifestyle to sustain. Many have house payments, car payments, and some even send their children to private schools. Even for those Americans with a decent savings stored up, being underemployed, or worse, unemployed can easily drain away those savings that took years to build.
Many unemployed Americans cant understand how the recession is effecting them; they took the right path to an education, bought homes and cars, worked hard, and now cant seem to land any kind of job. It can be extremely frustrating to admit that the recession can take a toll on your lifestyle.
A lot of middle-classed Americans consider their home their greatest investment, since they pay the balance down slowly over 30-years. They can borrow against the value of their home in certain situations, making it a smart investment in the long-run. Thats why the housing crisis has effected homeowners tremendously, especially the middle-class, who dont have as many outside investments. When the housing bubble burst, many peoples home values dropped drastically, but their mortgage balance remained the same. So each month they are paying down their debt on an asset thats consistently losing value.
Lastly, many middle-class Americans have quite a bit of debt. According to the Federal Reserves July 2011 report, the average American household has over $15,000 in credit card debt. Add that to the lost jobs and dropping property values and you can find yourself financially overwhelmed very quickly. Theres hope yet, in the form of bankruptcy. What once was a taboo and undesirable option has now become a liberating experience for the financially burdened. If you've thought about filing for bankruptcy, please call an experienced San Antonio bankruptcy attorney to help you decide what's best for you.
