I wish the Dems and liberal pundits would use the term "working class" rather than "middle class."

[Peregrine Took]

Its much more all encompassing. There are many working poor/blue collar families out there (I came from one)who need help and are far from in the middle class.

[Hoyt]

1. Good point. I think the same when I hear politicians say "middle class."

[yeoman6987]

10. Typically they use Middle class because

The poor get welfare assistance and the rich get loopholes. The Middle Class get nothing. The Working Class would include rich and poor since they work too.

[Brickbat]

2. But then they'd have to talk about working class issues.

[BlindTiresias]

3. The choice of words is specific and intentional

They do not give a crap about the working class, they really are just talking about working professionals/small business owners.

[RiverLover]

4. "Working People" used to BE the "Middle Class", mainly anyways,

When we had plenty of factories and unions.

But here's one guy who said this this week~

Elizabeth Warren is a true champion of working people with the right vision and leadership to keynote this critical summit," Trumka said in a statement. "Senator Warren knows how to protect Main Street from Wall Street, fight for jobs and rebuild the American Dream. She has a defined set of values and unlike many politicians, she actually sticks by those and fights to implement them. That’s exactly what this summit is all about."

http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/12/elizabeth_warren_aflcio_national_summit_on_wages.html

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Agreed. I always classify myself as "working class".

I am not poor, but I am not skating through life either. When I think of "middle class", I think of the people who are doing well, but are not "wealthy". In my eyes, it is those people who can afford to golf, and send their kids to private schools (even if they are not the most expensive ones), and buy those nice new houses in the better neighborhoods.

There are a lot more of us who are "working class". We cannot afford to eat if we don't work every week. We get ulcers about utility bills as opposed to the credit card bills because we bought too many $200 shoes last month. Agh.

[BillZBubb]

6. I believe some years back surveys showed Americans,

by a wide margin, considered themselves middle class.

Politicians adopted it because then is was the most inclusive.

Maybe, given the shrinking middle class, using working class would be better. But, as someone above stated, then the Democrats would actually have to address working class issues head on.

[Kalidurga]

7. Then they might have to talk about 3 and 4 income households

where for every adult there are two jobs.

[Dont call me Shirley]

8. We should all begin using the phrase "working class" every time we want to say "middle class" I will

[grahamhgreen]

17. Or working folks.

[TheKentuckian]

9. I can't stand it because it is nonsense starting at like 16k and now extending to 400 thousand or so

I consider a trick to herd the population to support the interests of the upper crust.

[kelliekat44]

11. I agree with you 100%. nt

[Jesus Malverde]

12. Typically it's not really middle class.

Its a "middle class lifestyle" funded by debt. Most people have few assets that would make them really truly middle class.

[daredtowork]

13. I hate the "shrinking Middle Class" meme

This has been the rallying call for years, but the problem is it doesn't rally people to anything except outraged editorials: the "shrinking middle class" just doesn't get alarmed enough to actually do anything to stop from shrinking. All they do is complain about it.

But on top of that there is the insidious implied "other" of the lower class. You can't have a "middle" class without that implied "lower" class: the class of people that you are superior to, better than, and can lord it over just by virtue of your display of a successful lifestyle. The lower class are the modern stand in for servants: they do the manual labor. They serve the food. They take care of your personal bodily needs. They park your car. They sweep the streets. They clean the office. They take care of the kids while the middle class mom works. They take the service positions.

The lower class enables the middle class. And they should just be grateful they have a job. While "we" are rethinking this country's tax structure, and what "we" can afford during the GOP Congress, "we" will probably decide not everyone is meant for college. Someone has to fill all those lower class roles. We don't want those immigrants coming to take American jobs in dish-washing and retail-cashiering. We need an American lower class to take those jobs and hold aloft a healthy and happy middle class: that's how we will measure the strength of America as a Nation!

For Christ's sake, why does no one from High Academia to the NYT Punditocracy see how FULL OF SUCK that idea is???!!!

Seriously? We the people NEED to exploit and prey on a lower class to be "America"?

Dudes. No.

And by the way, those you are positing as your lower class servants hear what you've been saying.

[Drunken Irishman]

14. There is a difference between working class and middle class, tho.

They certainly overlap at a point - but working class generally refers to blue collar workers who are a lost job away from working poor. They probably own their home, and generally live in central or working class neighborhoods of American cities and a few suburbs. Middle class folk, tho, often live in the suburbs and further from the central city of a U.S. city. They often work white collar jobs and aren't nearly at the door of poor as those working class folks.

Growing up, I was working class - not middle class. You could tell the difference. My grandparents, though, were middle class - and you could tell.

[Odin2005]

15. Americans are brainwashed to believe that they are all "Middle class"...

...and that the the term "working class" is Treasonous Commie Talk.

[grahamhgreen]

16. Good call.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

18. The middle class is where my parents hoped their children would end up

The middle class is where we were supposed to have some security, and where you weren't supposed to have to work three jobs to make ends meet.

We were the first generation to get there.

[lonestarnot]

19. I agree. Much better definition, description and affinity of association for the working class,

and peeps that work for a living.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

20. Both terms are essentially meaningless and vacuous, so I'm not sure it matters.

If you want to communicate meaningful information, rather than make high-sounding speeches, you need terms like "those earning less than $25,000 per year" or "married couples with a joint income between $50,000 and $75,000", I think.