My Crystal Ball is Cracked

I seldom write about personal things. But I think I have to now. My wife and I have four grandboys. Two in high school, one in middle school, and one in grammar school. They are all smart as can be. They do very well in school. I will be surprised if all of them don't end up with advanced degrees in college. But I honestly fear for them more than I can express. 

When they complete their education they will not be entering the world that I grew up in. The next four years, unless something changes, will alter this country in ways that we could  never have foreseen. We have always been a three class society. But the lines were blurred and people were upwardly mobile. If they got an education, worked hard, and didn't mess up, they moved up. One could literally start in the mail room and end up on the board of directors.

If my crystal ball works, in the future we will still have a three class society. But the lines will harden. The differences will become larger. Upward mobility will be rare. There are the rich and there are those with power. Those with power are seldom poor. Power is a commodity. The rich and the powerful will take control of the upper class as it was back in the nineteenth century. They will do this because there will not be enough "good" jobs to go around. Higher education at the best schools will be so expensive that it will be the ticket, once again, into the elite upper classes under the control of the rich and powerful.

Business will be so ravaged that good middle class jobs in the private sector will be limited in quantity. There will be so much competition that wages will go down. Prices always go down in a buyer's market. The sought after jobs will be the middle tier government jobs at any level available. Of course, federal is preferred. These government employees, although middle class, will be pampered because they will represent the voting bloc that will keep those controlling the country in power. One does not vote against their employer.

The poor will be in better straits than ever before. Not that the life of the poor is terribly desirable. But if you are willing to lower your standards and take what the nanny government offers, you will have a roof over your head, something to eat, a TV to watch, and plenty of time to enjoy life. Not my choice, but then, for some.........

This is the world I fear my grand kids and their kids, and maybe even their kid's kids will inherit. I fear that the next four year of insane spending, poor tax policy, terrible international relations, and weakening the military will alter America so badly that a generation or more will be needed to take us back from the abyss. As I said, my crystal ball has a crack in it. So maybe I'm reading it wrong. I do so hope that I am. But I fear that I have nailed it.