[throwaway1748]

Not sure why this comment wasn't upvoted higher. Inflation has effectively been a slow-moving tax increase to the middle class, as tax brackets don't change with the decreasing value of the US dollar. A $100,000 salary in 2018 was equivalent to a $65,000 salary in 2000, meaning much more of one's 2018 income is pushed into the higher 25% bracket rather than the lower 15% bracket.

[novalis78]

Also coincides nicely with the demand on families to go from one partner working and able to sustain a family of 4-5 (lots more kids in the 50s/60s) to both parents having to work and smaller family size over the past 50 years.