Behold, the Incredible Shrinking Middle Class

by   |  October 11, 2006

What good is economic growth if working families don’t see the benefits? In spite of what pundits might tell you, America’s middle class is in its worst shape in years as families struggle with rising expenses and stagnant wages. According to a recent report from the Center for American Progress, our so-called economic “recovery,” currently in its fifth year, has more families struggling to pay for medical care, housing, transportation and their children’s education than ever. While they barely cope, corporate profits are soaring. The trend is especially pronounced among typical middle-class families – dual income couples who earn between $18,500 and $88,030 a year. From 2001 to 2004, the proportion of middle-class families that has saved three months’ worth of income fell from 28.8 percent to 18.3 percent. Not only are they increasingly unable to save for a rainy day, but they are also borrowing at record levels to maintain their day-to-day consumption. The economic trends signal a path leading straight to this fictional article from the satirical newspaper The Onion where the middle class is depicted as a museum piece and described as “the socioeconomic category that once existed between the upper and lower classes.” The ongoing trend can be averted on November 7 when working families will have a precious opportunity to take back Congress and elect representatives that have their (and not big business cronies’) best interests at heart.