Stemming Middle-Class Decline
Stemming Middle-Class Decline

Author: Nancey Green Leigh

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-04

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1351488104

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Are Americans as well-off as they used to be? The answer affects everything from product markets and housing sales to social tranquility and presidential (and local) elections. This volume examines what is happening to the American middle class. In a detailed and comprehensive analysis, Nancey Green Leigh tracks changes in the pattern of income distribution over a twenty-year period. While earnings have increased, there is a widening gap between what middle-level earnings can purchase and the cost of a middle standard of living.Due to the fact that this decline has not been experienced equally in all regions, separate analyses are reported for urban and rural locations, major census regions, and the largest states. To identify which workers have been most affected, Leigh compares earning trends by race, gender, educational level, industry of employment, part- or full-time status, and fringe benefit recipiency. Rejecting short-term and demographic explanations, Leigh links the decline of the middle class to economic change and industrial restructuring.Leigh concludes her work by examining planning and policy prescriptions to improve the prospects of members - and aspiring members - of the middle economic class. She documents the decreasing ability of middle-level earners to purchase a middle standard of living and attributes the decline in part to failures in planning. Failures of planning, she observes, have contributed to the growing divergence between middle-level earnings and the middle standard of living. Stemming Middle-Class Decline provides comprehensive data and trends on workers, communities, regions, and the nation that all policymakers and government officials should read and examine with care.

Stemming Middle-class Decline
Stemming Middle-class Decline

Author: Nancey Green Leigh

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 9780882851495

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Are Americans as well-off as they used to be? The answer affects everything from product markets and housing sales to social tranquility and presidential (and local) elections. This volume examines what is happening to the American middle class. In a detailed and comprehensive analysis, Nancey Green Leigh tracks changes in the pattern of income distribution over a twenty-year period. While earnings have increased, there is a widening gap between what middle-level earnings can purchase and the cost of a middle standard of living. Due to the fact that this decline has not been experienced equally in all regions, separate analyses are reported for urban and rural locations, major census regions, and the largest states. To identify which workers have been most affected, Leigh compares earning trends by race, gender, educational level, industry of employment, part- or full-time status, and fringe benefit recipiency. Rejecting short-term and demographic explanations, Leigh links the decline of the middle class to economic change and industrial restructuring. Leigh concludes her work by examining planning and policy prescriptions to improve the prospects of members—and aspiring members—of the middle economic class. She documents the decreasing ability of middle-level earners to purchase a middle standard of living and attributes the decline in part to failures in planning. Failures of planning, she observes, have contributed to the growing divergence between middle-level earnings and the middle standard of living. Stemming Middle-Class Decline provides comprehensive data and trends on workers, communities, regions, and the nation that all policymakers and government officials should read and examine with care.

The Shrinking Middle Class
The Shrinking Middle Class

Author: Emanuel Collado

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2010-03-22

Total Pages: 125

ISBN-13: 1450219675

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The middle class of our society has an important roleacting as the glue that holds the upper and lower classes together. But what will happen if the middle class crumbles? The Shrinking Middle Class is a comprehensive study of the economic meltdown and its long-term effects on the middle class. Emanuel Collado is a self-made businessman who focuses the results of his extensive research into a trend first detected in the 1980s. He provides fascinating case studies of middle class families, alarming statistics, and causes of the current economic crisis that both the United States and the world face. As Collado compares past decisions with current issues, he offers explanations for why America has such a disparity in our society and where the social fabric is being skewed to expand at both ends and grow thinner in the middle. Not so long ago, being middle class meant a reliable job with good pay, a home, access to health care, good education for youth, and a dignified retired life. Collado provides an in-depth look into why the United States is becoming a two-class society and what we can do now to prevent it from happening.

The Coming Class War and How to Avoid It
The Coming Class War and How to Avoid It

Author: Frederick R. Strobel

Publisher: M.E. Sharpe

Published: 1999-05-07

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9780765638526

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Strobel and Peterson offer a clear, accessible analysis of the worsening distribution of income and wealth in America. In addressing the decline of the middle class, the authors determine that the middle class has not only continued to shrink, but that the majority of economic benefits have become concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. There is a close analysis of the linkage between economic and political power, as well as the increasing inability of the growing lower and shrinking middle classes to voice their economic views in Washington. The result is a uniquely American form of class conflict, which adds to our historic racial tension, and new clashes along gender and generational lines. Widening income disparities further split society. Single issue politics often emerge as a refuge for those voters unwilling or unable to deal with these complicated and seemingly insoluble issues. To prevent further class conflict in the coming quarter century, the authors outline strategic changes in policy, including a plan to strengthen social security. Anyone with an interest in current economic issues and problems will find this book helpful in understanding how the worsening income and wealth distribution came about, the consequences inherent in this situation, and suggestions for the future. Frederick R. Strobel is the William G. and Marie Selby Professor of Economics at the New College of the University of South Florida in Sarasota. This is his second book on middle class decline. He has written numerous articles on economics and economic policy, which have appeared in a wide variety of business and professional journals, including Business Week, Chicago Tribune, and American Banker. Wallace C. Peterson is the George Homes Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. This is also his second book on middle class decline. He is the author of many other works on economic policy, including the award-winning newspaper column Money in America. He is the past president of several academic associations, including the Midwest Economics Association, the Association for Evolutionary Economics, and the Association for Social Economics.

(Not) Keeping Up with Our Parents
(Not) Keeping Up with Our Parents

Author: Nan Mooney

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780807011386

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Drawing on more than a hundred interviews with people all across America,(Not) Keeping Up with Our Parentsexplores how stagnant wages, debt, and escalating costs for tuition, health care, and home ownership are jeopardizing the finances and futures of today's educated middle class. Despite this sobering reality, Nan Mooney offers concrete ideas on how we can arrest this downward spiral.

The American Middle Class [2 volumes]
The American Middle Class [2 volumes]

Author: Robert S. Rycroft

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2017-05-12

Total Pages: 1087

ISBN-13: 1610697588

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What is the "American Dream"? This book's author argues that contrary to what many believe, it is not achieving the wealth necessary to enter the top one percent but rather becoming members of the great middle class by dint of hard work and self-discipline. Americans of all classes consider themselves to be "middle class." There are Americans who by any objective standard should be considered poor who would insist they are middle class, just as other Americans who should be considered wealthy also insist they are middle class. Thinking of yourself and being thought of by others as middle class is the "American Dream" for tens of millions of people. But an enduring problem of the American middle class is the worry that the "Dream" is coming apart—that forces are lurking in the shadows waiting to steal their progress and throw them back into "poverty." This thought-provoking reference explores a disparate multitude of issues associated with being middle class in America. It addresses a range of questions and subtopics, including the meaning of the term "middle class"; how middle class status is expressed by both the majority and the various minorities that make up the American mosaic; what economic pressures are bearing down on the middle class; and how economists and others attempt to make sense of the economic issues of the day. Readers will also better understand how political institutions and public policies are shaping the way the middle class views the world; how labor, housing, education, and crime-related issues have influenced the development and growth of the middle class; the norms of the middle class versus those of other classes in society; and the role of culture and media in shaping how members of the middle class view themselves—and how they are viewed by others. This two-volume set provides a comprehensive look at the American middle class that supports student research in economics, social studies, cultural studies, and political history. The content supports teachers in their development of lesson plans and assignments that directly align with the Common Core State Standards and the recommendations of the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSS) with respect to all ten NCSS themes.

AMERICA'S SHRINKING MIDDLE CLASS
AMERICA'S SHRINKING MIDDLE CLASS

Author: VAHAB AGHAI, Ph.D.

Publisher: Author House

Published: 2014-08-29

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1491870761

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What does a middle class nation do without a middle class? An abundance of evidence suggests that we here in the United States are about to find out. America's Shrinking Middle Class documents trends that have been building not just since the Great Recession, but for over four decades. In 1970, the share of U.S. income that went to the middle class was 62 percent. By 2010 that figure had fallen to 45 percent. In that same year, the median income for middle class Americans had gone from $72,956 to $69,487 a decline of nearly 5 percent in just one year. A shrinking middle class would mean a shrinking economy and an America dominated by a growing lower class. Life would be less comfortable, less prosperous, and less secure. With less money coming in to government and businesses alike, tax burdens would become onerous. One example: Obamacare. It could cost the average taxpayer nearly $6,000 in extra taxes and create a total of 20 new taxes or tax hikes. For a weakened and shrinking middle class, it could be a fatal blow.

The Riches of This Land
The Riches of This Land

Author: Jim Tankersley

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2020-08-11

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 1541767845

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A vivid character-driven narrative, fused with important new economic and political reporting and research, that busts the myths about middle class decline and points the way to its revival. For over a decade, Jim Tankersley has been on a journey to understand what the hell happened to the world's greatest middle-class success story -- the post-World-War-II boom that faded into decades of stagnation and frustration for American workers. In The Riches of This Land, Tankersley fuses the story of forgotten Americans-- struggling women and men who he met on his journey into the travails of the middle class-- with important new economic and political research, providing fresh understanding how to create a more widespread prosperity. He begins by unraveling the real mystery of the American economy since the 1970s - not where did the jobs go, but why haven't new and better ones been created to replace them. His analysis begins with the revelation that women and minorities played a far more crucial role in building the post-war middle class than today's politicians typically acknowledge, and policies that have done nothing to address the structural shifts of the American economy have enabled a privileged few to capture nearly all the benefits of America's growing prosperity. Meanwhile, the "angry white men of Ohio" have been sold by Trump and his ilk a theory of the economy that is dangerously backward, one that pits them against immigrants, minorities, and women who should be their allies. At the culmination of his journey, Tankersley lays out specific policy prescriptions and social undertakings that can begin moving the needle in the effort to make new and better jobs appear. By fostering an economy that opens new pathways for all workers to reach their full potential -- men and women, immigrant or native-born, regardless of race -- America can once again restore the upward flow of talent that can power growth and prosperity.

Rethinking the Income Gap
Rethinking the Income Gap

Author: Paul Ryscavage

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published: 2011-12-31

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1412812461

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The ethical question implied by discreparcies between the distribution of income and the economic foundations of our country is at the heart of much of today's political debate. The answer according to the left—and often the mainstream media—would require major changes in the way our economy functions so as to further redistribute income among households. Higher tax rates on the upper middle class and rich, more restrictive corporate regulations (including higher taxes), more centralized economic planning, in short more governmental intervention into the free market, would all be in our future—and their deleterious effects would soon begin working their way into American life, according to Paul Ryscavage in Rethinking the Income Gap. This book is written by an economist who has spent his career studying and analyzing income inequality. News reports of mushrooming fortunes, most recently among CEOs and hedge fund managers, alongside reports of a struggling middle class and an intractable poverty class, have been common topics for the nation's media. Ryscavage asserts that the media has misused many of the facts surrounding the increase in income inequality. He calls for a reexamination of the facts and what they mean and do not mean—and ultimately shows that, contrary to media reports, income inequality can no longer be used as a measure of economic fairness. He also writes that, notwithstanding the economic downturn of 2008, the "real" news that the media have not reported is the expansion in recent decades of our nation's middle class, especially the upper middle class. Ryscavage argues that we must reexamine what the income gap means. Its relevance as a measure of economic fairness has diminished significantly in recent years. Instead, the income gap is now linked to a variety of economic problems confronting the nation and used as a rhetorical device for stirring up social concern and advancing political agendas. Rethinking the income gap is overdue. This book does just that.