"...If an economic meltdown happens only to the middle class and poor, does it make a sound?"

Apparently not officially.

So Ian Welsh:

The RNC is asking for 2.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years. Assume Obama and Dems split the difference (remember, Obama wanted a freeze already, anyway). 1.25 trillion.

The effects of that on the US economy, such as it is, will be catastrophic...

Times are bad, they will get worse, especially as this type of austerity is happening in virtually every western country. Expect both high inflation in what you actually need (food, for example) and high unemployment (the return of stagflation), whatever the “official” rate of inflation says...

Because, there are always more choco-rations.