Middle-Class Americans Now Officially Less Than 50% Of Population - Pew Research Center

[hatrack]

Middle class Americans are now outnumbered by those above and below them and are "falling behind financially", according to new analysis of government data by the Pew Research Center.

The beginning of 2015 saw 120.8 million adults living in middle-income homes, compared with 121.3 million Americans living in lower and upper income households, a significant shift that "could signal a tipping point."

According to Pew's report, the 21st century has seen "middle-income Americans" fall behind financially. The median income of middle income households fell by 4 percent between the year 2000 and 2014, while median wealth – assets minus debts – fell by 28 percent between 2001 and 2013.

EDIT

It finds that "the hollowing of the American middle class has proceeded steadily for more than four decades," and that the share of Americans residing in middle-income homes "has fallen from 61 percent in 1971 to 50 percent in 2015."

EDIT

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/10/middle-class-americans-no-longer-majority.html

[smirkymonkey]

1. K&R

This is the most important issue in this race right now! Income inequality. While people are getting all twisted about what that moronic blowhard Trump is saying, they are ignoring the real reason that people are frightened and insecure. Financial insecurity is the reason that people are so easy to manipulate by blaming all our problems on scapegoats like Mexicans or Muslims. It's easier to blame and hate them than it is to go up against the rich and powerful who are the true architects of our misery.

We are paying too much attention to the symptoms and not the root causes. Wake up people!

[Octafish]

2. New Deal Diamond being replaced by Feudal Pyramid.

Hooray for Dixie.

[jwirr]

3. Okay that answers my question. I was going to ask why the

DLC and the 1% would want to get rid of the middle class since they are the ones who did most of the buying that made the 1% rich.

But the answer is they do not need them anymore.

[avaistheone1]

4. Makes sense.

[Octafish]

6. Buy Partisan Wealth Management

When bank de-regulator par excellence Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas left office he found a job as vice chairman of Swiss bank, UBS. He would bring on board former President Bill Clinton, who signed the repeal of Glass-Steagall, a bill Gramm had spearheaded through Congress. Their successor, the pretzeldent George W Bush, also would come on board, not a reward for bailing out all the banksters that made off with the $16 trillion or whatever unaudited amount of the US Treasury.

http://financialservicesinc.ubs.com/revitalizingamerica/SenatorPhilGramm.html

I hate to bring bad news, but that is the reality of the situation facing Democracy in the USA.

[jwirr]

7. I know. We are in a really bad spot and if we can fix it, it

will take a long time.

[mmonk]

5. Everybody is so with economics these days.