Courtesy of Mish.
The Pew Research center ponders The Lost Decade of the Middle Class.
Since 2000, the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some—but by no means all—of its characteristic faith in the future.
These stark assessments are based on findings from a new nationally representative Pew Research Center survey that includes 1,287 adults who describe themselves as middle class, supplemented by the Center’s analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
Median Income
Median Net Worth
Fully 85% of self-described middle-class adults say it is more difficult now than it was a decade ago for middle-class people to maintain their standard of living. Of those who feel this way, 62% say “a lot” of the blame lies with Congress, while 54% say the same about banks and financial institutions, 47% about large corporations, 44% about the Bush administration, 39% about foreign competition and 34% about the Obama administration. Just 8% blame the middle class itself a lot.
Who Is To Blame?
Three Lost Decades!
Median net worth is back to a level first seen in the 1980s. By that measure, the US has had three lost decades. Wow.
62% Blame Politicians, Only 8% Blame Themselves
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