Middle class hollowed out? Kind of. Unhappy? It depends . . .
Progressives like Bernie Sanders and Michael Moore are fond of excoriating the rich and powerful for the “hollowing-out of the middle class.” What they fail to mention—either for lack of information or for political expediency—is that, money-wise, more families are leaving the middle class on the upside rather than the downside. There’s plenty of evidence for this. Check out the following, which is similar to other reports, but I especially like it because it is based on Pew research findings:
https://qz.com/1005068/the-upper-middle-class-is-the-new-middle-class/
A larger segment of the middle class, it seems, is rising into the highest and upper-middle class than is falling into the lowest class (the lower middle has remained unchanged), and the net effect, dollar-wise, of “hollowing out” appears to be a positive. Is this a Good Thing? After all, can’t money buy happiness?
Continue reading “Hollowing out of the Middle Class: a Second Look”