Annotated Bibliography: The American Middle Class

The article “The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans” was featured on The Atlantic website. It was published in the May 2016 print issue of the magazines under the heading Business. The article was written by Neal Gabler. This 6,800-word article was written about the both the personal financial struggles of the author and general financial struggles of the American middle-class that are so often masked. According to the author, the article was inspired by a statistic published by the Federal Reserve Board: “47 percent of respondents said that either they would cover the expense by borrowing or selling something, or they would not be able to come up with the $400 at all.”

As McAdam and Kloos write, “the country is now more starkly divided in political terms than at any time since the end of Reconstruction and more unequal in material terms than roughly a century ago and greater, even, than on the eve of the Great Depression” (McAdam and Kloos 4). An increase in inequality has only given rise to protest groups such as Occupy Wall St that protested the rising inequality between the 1%

Although the American economy is improving from the great recession , the middle class is shrinking, a problem for a consumerist based economy where the middle class makes up the consumerists. Every industry has a place in today’s world, however some industries are losing importance while others

Paul Krugman author of the article “Confronting Inequality” stresses the inequality of our social classes in the United States, he uses statistics to demonstrate the staggering consequences of this inequality within our social classes. Krugman emphasizes the fact that a majority of our wealth is owned by about one percent of the population, which is leaving the middle and lower class at an extreme disadvantage. One example Krugman uses is education; children that have wealthy families, have a higher percentage of finishing college than those of lower income families, proving the statement that Krugman was accentuating, “Class-inherited class- usually trumps talent.” The parents within this middle to lower class have been exceed their financial

(1) In “America’s Wealth Gap ‘Unsustainable’ According to Harvard Study” (September 8th, 2014), Richard Valdmanis acknowledges THAT the economic gap between the richest and its middle and lower classes is accumulating and numerous people are affected by this dilemma. (2) Valdmanis supports his acknowledgement by referring to the study done by Harvard Business School on surveying the effects of the gap on people, economy, and institutions; moreover on how it affects the hope of thriving citizens and struggling citizens to their extremes. (3) Valdmanis’s motive is to present and describe the dilemmas and effects the economic gap has caused on the society and economy IN ORDER for the readers to recognize the crisis and get an idea of what is

McClelland’s article “RIP the Middle Class” was published September 20th 2013 in a salon, which is an online news site that publishes pieces that includes fearless commentary and criticism point of views. McClelland’s Rhetorical statement is that big automotive cities are diminishing which is a result of losing; which as of a result of this causes the middle class to lose. The rhetorical statement that McClelland indulges to the audience is to be persuaded by the aim which is once known as the “blue-collar aristocrats” to the “blue-collared” workers. Whom struggle to pull in a national median title of “middle class.” The time era that this has taken place started in the 1970s, remembered by Americans as the “Decade That Those Forget” which blue-collared workers prospered in the middle class economy.

Reading through RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013, it became fairly obvious that the author, Edward McClelland, was presenting a thesis idea that consisted of promoting the middle class through examples of its prime time when middle class thrived. McClelland made the point clearly as he repeatedly provided examples ranging from the glory days of the assembly line industry that had provided high paying jobs for many people, to presidents who attempted to keep business within the United States to promote home grown jobs. He was especially focused on the point that the middle class was shrinking due to a large discrepancy between the wealthy and the rest of society as capitalism achieves its goal of padding the wealthiest and keeping the middle

The middle class is working harder than ever, but yet they are not getting anywhere. The top 1 percent should stop saving and they are not generating enough for the economy, we need spending in order for the economy to run smoothly. A stable economy is a strong middle class and I totally agree with Robert Reich because the middle class actually spends their money! 70% consumer spending is from the middle class according to Reich. They are actually benefiting the economy and unlike the top 1 all they do is save.

“The policies of the Reagan and first Bush administrations, which openly favored the rich, abetted a secular trend already in motion, causing inequality to increase measurably between 1981 and 1992.” (Loewen, 215) The wealthy already had their advantage when they gained their wealth. The wealth they had helped greatly in the process

The wealthy continue to grow as they get more of everything and the lower class continue to get less. The average wealth has increased over the last 50 years, but it has not grown equally for all. “ Families near the bottom of the wealth distribution (those at the 10th percentile) went from having no wealth on average to being

1) Watch: The Shrinking Middle Class: Coping with Loss and Defining the Middle Class (summarize, what 's your opinion?) Studies show that 85% of respondents would agree that it is harder to live in the middle class today than it was in the past. Family income for the entire middle class has been gradually dropping since 1950s all the way to present time. In order to fix this economic problem according to the opinions of Mark Levine, a Pacifica Radio Host, is to raise the taxes on the rich instead of making the poor pay more.

Wealth and Inequality in America Inequality The inequality in America has increased over time; the gap between the rich and the poor has become a problem that many Americans don’t see. Inequality is the extent of income which is distributed unequally among the citizenry. The inequality of the United has a large gap between the poor and the rich making it unfair to the population, the rich are becoming wealthier and the poor remain poor. The article “Of the 1%, By the 1%, For the 1%”, authored by Joseph E. Stiglitz describes that there is a 1 percent amount of American’s who are consuming about a quarter of the United States income in a year.

The publisher of this article is very well know in reference to the affairs of the middle class, and would be considered creditable source. Contributor, G. (2013, October 24). The Rise And Fall Of The Middle Class In America. (SB, Ed.) Retrieved June 21, 2015, from Liberal America.org:

Before the early 20th century, the definition of poor was much different than the modern definition of poverty. For example, in prior centuries, if a family had a roof over their heads and could afford any food, they were not considered poor. However, near the beginning of the 1900s, the definition of poor was changed to promote consumerism, and the population was convinced that if they didn’t have excess goods and gadgets, then they were poor, even if all of their basic necessities were fulfilled. This led to an economy based on consumerism, with people buying more and more excess items in an attempt to be seen as and feel rich.

In the twentieth century, one third of Americans were employed in agriculture whereas today, only 2% are (Metcalf). This is one of the effects that technology has on society. Situations like this cause an impact on income distribution because of the large number of jobs being taken away. The middle class in the U.S. has dropped by four points nationally, according to an article from Pew Research Center. This is partially due to the influence of technology on work; the middle class is decreasing because technology is capable of the medium-skill jobs.