Is the middle class disappearing?

[wolfcat87]

Some believe the middle class is disappearing. Do you? If you say the middle class is shrinking, then where are the former middle class people now? 🤔

Yes

No

Other

Updates

+1 y

The answer is that while the middle class is still 50% of the population, it has shrunken from being nearly 65% of the population. Where are they going? They are moving equally to upper class and lower.

[slatyb]

I can only talk about the United States, where it does feel like the middle class is disappearing. I grew up in a working-class neighborhood -- the men were a mix of blue-collar union workers and low-level professionals. They were able to graduate high school and get a union job in manufacturing, buy a house, support a wife and family on a single income. Their children could attend college if they were so inclined, graduating debt-free as public universities were heavily subsidized by the state. They had a defined benefit pension plan and were able to retire on their pension and social security. The country was not so polarized. Management and labor lived in the same towns, attended the same churches, bowled in the same leagues.

That was the middle class. Today life is much more difficult for many. In many locations housing is far more expensive than it was. Most of those union jobs are gone, lost to automation and globalization. The country is more divided politically and economically. Bright high school students from small towns go away to college and move to large cities, leaving the less talented behind, out of sight, out of mind.

Now due to automation and globalization those union jobs are mostly gone. College tuition is many times more expensive and many students are graduating with considerable debt.

[JacobJordan]

Absolutely. The world is beginning to become black and white. By this I mean rich people and poor people. The grey zone is disappearing and quickly

[OhMyMan]

Which one are you?

[JacobJordan]

@OhMyMan I would fall under wealthy

[TenderFantasy]

Sadly, it feels like the "BUNS of the Hamburger bread is getting thicker" while the Meat/Ingredients inside the sandwhich are getting smaller/thiner.

[wolfcat87]

That is accurate

[loveslongnails]

It's not just a percentage change, it's also about what it takes to maintain even a middle-class existence. Used to be you could manage that on one income in the USA and other parts of the world too. Nowadays, you sure can't do that readily in the USA. Most families on single incomes are hovering around the top of the "low-income" line.

[OhMyMan]

It has shrank from about 61% to 50% over the last fifty years. Of those 10% roughly 7% has gone from middle class to rich. About 4% has gone from middle class to poor.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/04/20/how-the-american-middle-class-has-changed-in-the-past-five-decades/ft_2022-04-20_middleclass_01/

[DJB72]

The "middle" class emerged in the last century. Before that it was only the elite and serfs. If the WEF gets their way, that's where we'll be in about 30 years. Communism created it by force and now the global elites have realised that unless they control land, food, health and education the middle will become a force that will eradicate them.

The French Revolution was too early so Napoleon was able to replace the royalty with a new form of it. His defeat and the redistribution of power in France laid the groundwork for where we are now. Royally fucked.

[bingbongbangbung]

Pretty sure communism forced everyone except the elites and their most loyal servants to be upper class, while everyone else was poor as shit; and no, Idc about modern communist countries like China and Vietnam, since they merged socialism with capitalism.

[DJB72]

That's what I meant 🤦 it was supposed to say "eliminated" not "created"

[sawno]

Yes because to have a healthy middle class you need to be able to get housing for an affordable price the middle class can afford. We lack that currently so the middleclass can't get a foothold and then has to waste money on things that don't benefit them in the long run such as expensive rental housing.

[love_conquers_lust]

It’s being split. A new one will emerge from the upper echelons and the cycle will repeat itself.

[NathanDavis]

nope, that's not how it works... it is not as simple as that

[exitseven]

yes, homelessness is at an all time high and so is credit card debt. Between high gas and food prices and inflation the middle class is getting squeezed out of existence. In just the last 3 years the average American family has lost over $7000.00 per year in diminished purchasing power and higher prices.

[wolfcat87]

Homelessness is actually lower when looking at nationwide numbers than the 90's/early 2000's.

[exitseven]

www.pbs.org/.../chronic-homelessness-is-at-an-all-time-high-heres-why-it-continues-to-climb
And this is NPR and they are basically an hour long commercial for the democrat party.

[wolfcat87]

usafacts.org/.../

[wolfcat87]

Even if we reached historic highs number wise, we still have not topped the historic percentage of homeless compared to the population size, since the population has grown since we hit similar numbers before.

[exitseven]

yes, I guess if you look at it like that.

[loveslongnails]

Of course it is, and you can MOSTLY thank good 'ole Ronnie Reagan and the Heritage Foundation for that.

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

I saw a video recently, and hardly no one knows what is the middle class anymore.

Over 50% of Americans if I remember correctly who don't have at least $1,000 in savings consider themselves middle class. LOL

[RingOfFire]

...

[Anonymous]

Yeah and mostly poorer
Remember you'll own nothing and be happy

[Jennz6]

No more middle class

[OhMyMan]

Are you rich or poor?

[Jennz6]

@OhMyMan I’m in the lower class

[OhMyMan]

awww sorry. What do you do for a living?

[Anonymous]

Definitely. And will continue to disappear.

[Pterodon]

Under Biden yes