Middle class has been shrinking for decades

[BridgeTheGap]

Well, the economists finally made it official this week: We're in a recession. And, guess what? They said it began a year ago.

If you're like the three-fourths of Americans who consider themselves to be "middle class," this probably didn't come as a surprise. Many people feel as if they've been losing economic ground for years. That's because many of them have been.

America has been a generally prosperous nation since World War II, achieving the highest overall standard of living in the planet's history. The reasons are many, including advances in technology and global economic trends that have made goods cheap and available. Americans have been innovative, entrepreneurial and they have worked hard. At times, the nation has made significant public investments in physical infrastructure, such as highways, and social infrastructure, such as schools.


But the pain being felt in this recession has brought new attention to a trend economists have been watching for years: The rich really are getting richer, the poor really are getting poorer and the middle class has been shrinking steadily since the late 1970s.

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/613414.html

[county worker]

1. I thought I would never hear these words again. I'm in my 60's and I thought the country

would never see a return of the middle class in my life time. In some way I think we can thank the conservatives for the shrinking middle class and it's likely come back. The last 7 1/2 years have really opened people's eyes.

snip:
Growing the middle class and returning the economy to health again will require more public investment. And it will mean creating smart policies to address demographic trends such as an aging population and inequities among growing minority populations.

A strong middle class is central to America's self-image, but the way to keep it strong is hotly debated. Crouch breaks it down into two basic philosophies, which he describes as the John Wayne view and the Little House on the Prairie view. One symbolizes rugged individualism; the other, the idea of "take care of yourself, take care of your family, but also watch out for your neighbor."

"We've got to get off this idea that John Wayne is who we are in America," Crouch said. "Basically, we're a country which was built on people helping each other. This society cannot afford to have winners and losers. We've got to make everyone a winner."