The Lost Decade of the Middle Class
As the 2012 presidential candidates prepare their closing arguments to America’s middle class, they are courting a group that has endured a lost decade for economic well-being. 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.
The Rise in Residential Segregation by Income
Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center, answers questions on the Center’s study showing an increase in residential segregation by income in the nation’s largest metro areas.
Map: Residential Income Segregation
Residential Income Segregation Maps of Top 10 U.S. Metro Areas
Growing Share of Americans Live in Income-Segregated Neighborhoods
Upper- and lower-income Americans are more likely now than 30 years ago to live in economically segregated neighborhoods, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. Residential segregation by income has risen in 27 of the nation’s 30 largest metropolitan areas since 1980, with the big three in Texas — Houston, Dallas and San Antonio — leading the way.
Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years
Americans values and basic beliefs are more polarized along partisan lines than at any point in the past 25 years. Party has now become the single largest fissure in American society, with the values gap between Republicans and Democrats greater than gender, age, race or class divides.
For the Public, It’s Not about Class Warfare, But Fairness
Income inequality has become a major issue in the presidential campaign.
It’s About Fairness, Not Class Warfare
Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut writes in the New York Times while Americans are hearing more and more about class conflict, there is little indication that they are increasingly divided along these lines. Their concerns are about policies that give everyone a fair shot.
Rising Share of Americans See Conflict Between Rich and Poor
A new Pew Research Center survey finds that two-thirds of the public believes there are “very strong” or “strong” conflicts between the rich and the poor — an increase of 19 percentage points since 2009.
No Consensus About Whether Nation Is Divided Into ’Haves’ and ’Have-Nots’
The public is divided on the question of whether the U.S. has become a society of economic ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,” with 52% saying it is incorrect to think of the country this way while 45% say such a division exists.
Wealth Gaps and Perception Gaps: A Paradox of the Great Recession
When the real estate market melted down, those hit hardest by the sharp drop in household wealth were blacks and Hispanics. But even while their wealth was being decimated, the political reaction among the nation’s minorities has been surprisingly muted.
