Interesting hypothesis. Thanks for the article. I will have to stew on this. It doesn't seem to jibe with the all angst about class that people seem to be feeling.
Some hypothesis I’ve read believe that because the upper middle has grown so much and is so visible, middle class people don’t feel as middle class.
More people have moved up than down. However as the nation has become more wealthy a greater share of the wealth has gone to upper middle than below them.
I think there’s so many dynamics at play here and it isn’t 100% cut and dry. For instance, there are more single parent (or single person) homes. Divorce isn’t socially unacceptable anymore and young people are waiting longer to get married. Do people lose the efficiencies of 2 earners in a household and possibly the class bump?
I’m not an expert on this but the data does show growth in the middle class by growing the upper-middle and a shrinking poverty class.
More people have moved up than down. However as the nation has become more wealthy a greater share of the wealth has gone to upper middle than below them.
I think there’s so many dynamics at play here and it isn’t 100% cut and dry. For instance, there are more single parent (or single person) homes. Divorce isn’t socially unacceptable anymore and young people are waiting longer to get married. Do people lose the efficiencies of 2 earners in a household and possibly the class bump?
I’m not an expert on this but the data does show growth in the middle class by growing the upper-middle and a shrinking poverty class.