longer.blue

The middle class is dying and the numbers prove it. If there were any question about the destiny of American families under Trump and the Republicans, The Pew research Center, a non-partisan ‘fact tank’ that informs the public about the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping the United States, has dispelled all of them. The findings, simple and stark, show a transitioning of wealth so distinct and so targeted it may never again get back into balance. Under an administration comprised of millionaires, billionaires, and plutocrats enriched either by wealth accumulated from either untaxed corporations, or, more insidiously, millions upon millions acquired by rigging the oil markets to take advantage of the fluctuation in price caused by their machinations. Either way, it is them, or us. There is no longer any middle ground. The trend is clear, under continuing Republican rule we will soon be a nation of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, of effective peonage not financial autonomy, -- two tiers where once there many – with nothing remaining from the middle class but the shadow of freedom and a wisp of nostalgia. See this – Boldface mine: Middle Class The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank, found that 51% of Americans were in the middle class in 2023, down from 61% in 1971. The bigger shift is in who holds the income. According to Pew, middle-income households took home 43% of all U.S. household income in 2022, compared with 62% in 1970, while upper-income households’ share rose from 29% to 48%.