The Middle Class Decline

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The Middle Class Decline sometimes referred to as "Middle Class Squeeze". Is the decline of Middle-class neighborhoods, in the nation's largest metro areas. From 1970 to the end of 2005 they have declined approximately 17%. shrinking at more than twice the rate of the middle class itself.

[edit] History

It's happening, all over, in prosperous, mostly white middle-income cities where unemployment is low and a vibrant downtown has been preserved. In Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia the suburbs have shrunk by 21 percent since 1970, being replaced with lower-income neighborhoods.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development notes that the "U.S. has the most inequitable distribution of income of all the industrialized nations and the middle class is in serious decline"; The Economist writes that "since the 1970s, economic inequities have mushroomed". The top income quintile is doing great, the middle quintile is declining (not in numbers, but in income). While Economic Productivity rose in the 1980's and 90's, wages and benefits remained flat. This ratio is relevant, wages must keep up with Inflation to maintain the 'status quo' lifestyle. During 1983 to 1992, the top 1% of households net worth increased from 34% to 42% of all household wealth; the bottom 80% dropped from 18% to 15% (the top 20% in 1989 controlled 85% of all household wealth).