Middle-class families, pillar of the American dream, are no longer in the majority, study finds

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: LA Times

The nation's middle class, long a pillar of the U.S. economy and foundation of the American dream, has shrunk to the point where it no longer constitutes the majority of the adult population, according to a new major study.

The Pew Research Center report released Wednesday put in sharp relief the nation's increasing income divide, which is certain to be a central issue in the 2016 presidential race. It also highlights how various economic and demographic forces have eroded long-held ideals about maintaining a strong, majority middle class.

Many analysts and policymakers regard the shift as worrisome for economic and social stability. Middle-income households have been the bedrock of consumer spending, and many liberals in particular view the declining middle as part of a troubling trend of skewed income gains among the nation's richest families.

Median-income voters, particularly non-college-educated men, are also at the core of billionaire Donald Trump's surprising surge in the Republican presidential campaign. His supporters' sense that their once-secure middle-class standing is in danger of slipping appears to be fueling much of the anger against the government and immigrant groups.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fi-middle-class-erosion-20151209-story.html

[Arugula Latte]

1. And there it is.

[Betty Karlson]

2. It's a 1 % dream coming true. eom

[rpannier]

3. In dire economic times people get worried

Extremes are often best at exploiting it depending on circumstances
The Bolsheviks rode economic chaos to power, as did the Nazi Party

People view the establishment with distrust and go looking for organizations that tell them what they think/want to hear

[smirkymonkey]

22. Exactly!

This is why Trump is getting the support he is getting! People are feeling scared and insecure and along comes the right wing with a scapegoat and they latch on to it because it gives them something to direct their anger at. However the real source of our fear and insecurity is that we are getting majorly screwed over by the rich and powerful and feel helpless to do anything about it.

[pansypoo53219]

4. this isn't what the reagan democrats thought they were getting for tax cuts & screwing the poor.

[mdbl]

7. this was the first thing that came to my mind too

What a load of crap those reagan supporters swallowed.

[blackspade]

10. I was teen and I knew.

It only became more obvious.
Paying attention to the world around you isn't rocket science.

[AnnetteJacobs]

23. But it becomes harder when swimming in a sea of propaganda and distractions

[Lodestar]

5. If the middle class is NOT the majority then who is?

I agree the middle class is disappearing, but they are still the
majority as far as numbers go. The 1% may have more economic
power but they don't have the numbers.

[Quantess]

6. That would all depend on how middle class is defined.

When I look around, I'm seeing mostly people struggling to make ends meet.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Their definition:

Pew defined middle class as households earning two-thirds to twice the overall median income, after adjusting for household size. A family of three, for example, would be considered middle income if its total annual income ranged from about $42,000 to $126,000.
...
A Gallup survey this spring showed that just 51% of U.S. adults considered themselves middle or upper middle class, with 48% saying they are part of the lower or working class. As recently as 2008, 63% of those polled by Gallup said they were middle class.

They think 120.8 million adults are now middle class, and 121.3 either 'lower' or 'upper' - and it looks as though that's divided about 69 million lower class, and 51 million upper.

[Maeve]

13. There ISN'T a majority

There is a plurality, a group larger than others, but not a majority. We used to be a country of mostly middle class plus some rich and some poor (like a bell curve). We're moving toward a rich/poor split, with fewer in the middle.

[restorefreedom]

16. that is exactly what is happening

probably going to be moving towards this...just what the 1% want.

[Truprogressive85]

8. The American Dream is dead Thank you Voodoo economics

Pew defined middle class as households earning two-thirds to twice the overall median income, after adjusting for household size. A family of three, for example, would be considered middle income if its total annual income ranged from about $42,000 to $126,000. Pew analyzed data from the Census Bureau and the Labor Department, as well as the Federal Reserve

[cstanleytech]

9. Ohhh, all I need to do is come up with another $32,000.00 and I can be in the middle class? Nice.

Now what did I do with that printer *ponders*..........................kidding.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. Are you in a 3 person household?

Remember that the definition is about household income and takes size into account. For a single person household, the lower-to-middle threshold is $24,000.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-class-is-losing-ground/

[cstanleytech]

32. Nope, sadly that's well above me. nt

[seabeckind]

11. A picture is worth a thousand words.

From a different thread:



Your tax dollars at work building that 1%.

[hatrack]

12. "What a SURPRISE!", said no one ever . . .

.

[Igel]

17. The trend's been clear since the '90s.

The middle's being hollowed out. More are moving from middle to upper than from middle to lower. Middle's still a plurality, though.

Most assume that "middle being hollowed out" means "middle class is becoming impoverished." That wasn't true when the NYC said it in text with a contradictory graphic a decade or more ago, still not true.

The reasons are straightforward and it's a secular change (meaning "occurring over a long term&quot . There are reasons for the bottom layer occupying a larger portion of the demographic pie, but nobody likes talking about them very much. Changes in family structure, who does well in high school and then goes on to graduate college, geography ... All sorts of things. (In historical linguistics this would be called a "conspiracy," a bunch of not necessarily related changes that appear telic.)

[ananda]

15. And destined to sink further with Trump..

.. pulling them down.

[MissMillie]

18. Holy Moley...!!!!!!

REALLY???????? (/sarcasm)


Here's the thing... there are some that still believe in "trickle down."

The U.S. economy has, for quite some time, been driven by people being able to buy things.

How can you buy anything, when you're having a hard time paying for housing and food?

[The2ndWheel]

20. A middle class is not the norm

It's managed to exist in a certain context that isn't easily replicated.

[Coventina]

24. This is sadly true.

And it was one of America's greatest achievements that we had it for so long.

[The2ndWheel]

27. An achievement is some ways

Right time, right place in other ways. Like most of life really. Find/see/stumble into an opportunity, take advantage of it. Eventually the variables involved change, since existence isn't static, and then life adapts, or doesn't, to the different environment.

Human society has many more abstract rules that we have to follow, which makes those adaptations more difficult. In some ways we have more options available to us to adapt, in another ways we have a much more narrow set of possibilities.

[Arugula Latte]

34. I believe it could have been sustained had we had different priorities.

Had we funded education, healthcare, and infrastructure instead of military contractors and had we not gutted taxes on the wealthy and had we not allowed Republicans to mostly kill the unions it would have been a much different story. We could have had a society where there was not such a massive disparity between the egregiously wealthy and everybody else.

[jeff47]

25. This can totally be fixed with some tax credits!!!!!

[leftyladyfrommo]

26. I used to be middle class.

But now I think I am just plain old poor.

It doesn't bother me very much because all my friends are in the same boat. We all lost everything in the 2 stock market crashes and then the recession.

[840high]

29. I lost my whole IRA.

[leftyladyfrommo]

30. You are not alone.

I did everything right. I saved all that I could and invested it as wisely as I could. I should have been fine.

But shit happens.

[840high]

33. Same here. Worked hard, saved, scrimpted and then

boom - all gone.

[lovuian]

28. It means a Depression is coming and Capitalism is dying

you need people with incomes to buy anything

America's economy has reverted to the days of the Robber Barons and monopolies
The Worker will rise up

which means a Great Depression is on it's way....and the economists know it

[MisterP]

31. but the important thing is that the yuppies and the gentry have a McMansion

big enough for a gift-wrapping room!

[Arugula Latte]

35. Also, they NEED to have more bathrooms than bedrooms, laundry on every level,

an outdoor kitchen, and a "mudroom" the size of a warehouse!

Otherwise ...