Why is a middle class important?

Politicians typically see the middle class as something to create with the gains of economic growth. But in fact, the opposite is the case: The middle class is the source of economic growth. A strong middle class provides a stable consumer base that drives productive investment.

What is the shrinking middle class?

The share of American adults who live in middle-income households has decreased from 61\% in 1971 to 51\% in 2019. This downsizing has proceeded slowly but surely since 1971, with each decade thereafter typically ending with a smaller share of adults living in middle-income households than at the beginning of the decade.

What happens when there is a decrease in middle class?

Road map to the report In drawing comparisons over time, households that were in the lower-, middle- or upper-income tier in 2014 are compared with households in those tiers in 2000.

Why are we losing the middle class?

The middle classes are getting squeezed particularly hard by the rising costs of education, health care and housing. Real, disposable incomes for the middle class have not grown since the middle of last decade, while incomes for the top 10\% are hitting new highs, the OECD calculates.

What would happen if the middle class disappeared?

Aristotle pointed out that if the middle class disappears, then the poor will become the majority. The poor tend to be less educated than the rich, and they tend to struggle just to make ends meet. If the poor are the majority, then in a democracy they will vote to take away the money from the rich!

Is the middle class less likely to act unjustly?

They are accordingly less apt than the rich or poor to act unjustly toward their fellow citizens. A constitution based on the middle class is the mean between the extremes of oligarchy (rule by the rich) and democracy (rule by the poor).

What percentage of Americans are middle-class?

The total population of the middle class in the U.S. has remained fairly stable since 2010 (51\% of American adults lived in middle-class households in 2019, which is the same as 2011). 1  However, income disparity continues to increase in the U.S.

Is middle-class life more expensive than it was 20 years ago?

Knowledge@Wharton: There’s a great statistic at the outset of the book: Middle-class life is 30\% more expensive than it was 20 years ago. What is the greatest concern regarding this problem of affordability in America?