Where do you stand? I'm at the low end of the 25% tax bracket for singles. I'm currently stable, not struggling financially and have a small amount saved for emergencies. My current financial status can be attributed to being fortunate enough to have an excellent full-time job and having my house and vehicle paid off. I am still paying down student loans. If I were paying rent or had a house or car payment my situation would be vastly different. In my opinion there isn't much separating the middle class from the working poor anymore.
If all the money extorted from the masses in the form of taxes was actually directed back into the well being of the masses and there was more accountability for tracking how that money was actually spent (e.g. the missing 6.5 trillion from the Defense Dept.) we might actually have a pretty darn great nation. Instead what we have is a state of continual illegal war that benefits only a handful of war profiteers. The on going depletion of human capitol and our potential as a nation is blatantly obvious. Year after year Americans begrudgingly sign on the bottom line to avoid huge penalties and potential jail time while the lawlessness of 30+ years of illegal and unconstitutional acts of war continues. Personally, I don't want to give another dime to pay for war. I'd rather feed the hungry. When will we say enough?