Who is the middle class today?

I loved being on public radio's The Takeaway this morning (listen here)! For a full hour, we discussed the middle class. What does it mean to be a middle class American? Has the middle class fundamentally changed since the recession hit? Is President Obama doing enough to help the middle class, and is his message getting across to them?

One topic we discussed: Where did the middle class come from? According to Pulitzer-Prize-winning Brown University history professor Gordon Wood, who joined us on the show, in the 18^th century the middle class was called "the middling sorts," a group stuck between the aristocracy and the lower orders. Fascinating! (I *wish* I'd taken a class with Professor Wood when I was at Brown.)

On the show, we jokingly asked listeners if they have middle class membership cards. The truth is, there are no clear qualifications for who belongs to the middle class. One way we can define it is by hard numbers: The typical American household lives on $50,000 a year, which is amazing when you consider how expensive it is to buy a home, pay for college, and try to sock away savings.

Today's middle class, as compared to previous generations, finds it hard to afford the lifestyle they want – as the "American dream" expands, it also moves further out of reach. Families typically used to live on one income, but now they often need two, which means the added need for two cars and childcare. On top of those added expenses, prices for health care and college have gone up dramatically. Trying to attain, and maintain, this lifestyle, no matter what the cost, has left the typical American household $7,000 in debt. So really, the middle class has become the indebted class.

Listen to the show and tell me: Are you part of the middle class? What do you think defines the middle class? What more should be done to help this group?



Comments

[E.G Student Loan Settlement]

Unfortunately the middle class is vanishing as I type this post. Three more years and it will be gone completely