According to a new book by Alissa Quart titled: Squeezed – Why Our Families Can’t Afford America – the fault lies not with you but rather in a ‘system failure’.
*middle class has been defined by some statistics as households earning between $45,000 to $125,000 per year (depending on region)
However, defining ‘middle class’ can be very difficult. It depends who you ask and how data is interpreted.
For example; middle class can be dependent upon household size; age; education; career; region; state or county you live and the year the data is researched. The definition of middle class was different in 2015 than in 2018).
Some point to aspirations such as: owning a home; taking an annual vacation; and going to college as ‘symbols’ of middle class America.
About 62% of people in America define themselves as ‘middle class’ according to a Gallup poll.
The U.S.Census reports that an income of $59,000 per year is the midpoint in the U.S.
Statistically the ‘midpoint’ of ‘middle class’ has been defined as between the 30th and 80th percentiles (Those mathematicians out there please do not get upset!)
The median is a point between the highest and lowest and some data claims that middle class means between 2/3 and twice the median income in the U.S. (Are you confused yet?)
Pew Research identified middle class income (before taxes) as between $42,000 and $125,000
Urban Institute identified middle class in the same period at between $30,000 and $100,000 annual income before taxes.
No matter how middle class is defined and by whom; there is a sense that the middle class is being squeezed by more demands on their finances.
In an interview of Ms. Quart and her book with The Guardian – “The book takes you on a journey across an America where social mobility has stalled and the presumptions of middle-class life have disappeared.”
You can access the interview via the link: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/20/alissa-quart-squeezed-interview-struggling-middle-class
Whether you agree with Ms. Quart or not, if you are feeling “squeezed” out of what you expected would be a comfortable lifestyle… then know that you are not alone.
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