US Middle Class Falling Behind

The US economy is in an impressively long recovery. That’s somewhat natural considering the depth of the Great Recession. The recovery in general is impressive, but the details reveal inequality. In the last forty years, upper incomes have effectively risen 100%. In the same time, middle incomes have risen 40% and lower incomes have only risen 32%. At the same time, housing, healthcare, insurance, and education costs have risen dramatically, which is a major issue for those with no discretionary income. Financial inequalities are becoming stark enough that billionaires are recommending higher taxes for the wealthy. The 120 billionaires,

“claimed the wealth gap had hit crisis level, resulting in erosion of trust within societies, increased resentment and the undermining of basic social cohesion…”

With pressure from above and below, change may happen; but in the meantime, the financial inequality trends are unsustainable and destabilizing.

“Middle Class Income Growth Is Lagging The Rich And The Poor” – Brookings