The shrinking middle class

For years, the middle class was the American Dream. It was the place where many American families lived comfortably, saved modestly, and on special occasions had the ability to splurge. However, in recent years the middle class has struggled. As the cost of living is on the rise, the standard wages are not moving at the same rate thus making it more challenging for the middle class to maintain their position let alone move up, causing the middle class to shrink.

Rising Cost of Living

A big problem with the shrinking middle class is due to the fact that the cost of living is on the rise and our economic growth is not able to support. When the middle class initially began losing jobs to other countries, big business leaders along with Republicans and Democrats assured the middle class that the end result would be a higher standard of living for everyone but such was not the case. Outsourcing continues to rise and there just aren’t enough jobs readily available for the middle class. Add in the ever-increasing cost of living and one can see why the middle class struggles so much.

With each passing year, things get more expensive. One bill goes up $3.00, another goes up $5.00 and another goes up a mere $.50. While that may not seem like a lot initially, tallying up these increased costs among electric bills, cable bills, grocery bills, and leisurely activities does add up and it is effecting the middle class due to the fact that wages are not increasing relative to the increasing cost of living. According to Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, “Wages and income are flat. Transportation, child care costs, and healthcare costs are going up and your income isn’t ...

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... a more rapid pace that the minimum wage rate.

Because families are now feeling the squeeze, many families now have two parents working full-time jobs compared to families of the 1970’s. Back then, one income was enough to support an entire family. It’s just not feasible anymore.

Can the Middle Class Be Saved?

Clearly the facts do not lie. The middle class is struggling to maintain itself and if nothing is done, it will surely plummet. While the middle class itself is partly to blame with it’s excessive wants and desires, Washington is also partly to blame due to the fact that the cost of living is rising exponentially higher than the rate at which people are being paid. Unless the standards wages start increasing at a comparative rate to that of the cost of living, the middle class will continue to struggle to maintain it’s position, thus causing it to shrink.