5 takeaways about the American middle class
The middle class has long been the country’s economic majority, but our new analysis finds that’s no longer true.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground
After more than four decades of serving as the nation’s economic majority, the U.S. middle class is now matched in size by those in the economic tiers above and below it.
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Latin America’s middle class grows, but in some regions more than others
As a whole, Latin America enjoyed solid economic growth in the first decade of this century, with a fall in poverty, a decrease in income inequality and a rise of its middle class.
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China’s middle class surges, while India’s lags behind
China and India both succeeded in slashing poverty from 2001 to 2011. But while that contributed to a rapidly growing middle class in China, it did little to increase the number of Indians who could be considered middle income.
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6 key takeaways about the world’s emerging middle class
During the first decade of this century, the world experienced a dramatic drop in the number of people living in poverty and a significant rise in the number who could be considered middle income, but the majority of the global population remains low income.
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A Global Middle Class Is More Promise than Reality
The first decade of this century witnessed an historic reduction in global poverty and a near doubling of the number of people who could be considered middle income. But the emergence of a truly global middle class is still far from fruition.
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Most Say Government Policies Since Recession Have Done Little to Help Middle Class, Poor
Survey Report The public makes sharp distinctions about which groups have benefited – and which have not – from the economic policies the government has put in place since the start of the recession. Majorities say that large banks, large corporations and the wealthy have been helped a great deal or a fair amount by […]
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Are Americans ready for Obama’s ‘middle class’ populism?
Trends in public opinion are in line with Obama’s agenda: The priority given to deficit reduction has slipped somewhat, while public support for rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure has increased.
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America’s ‘middle’ holds its ground after the Great Recession
The share of Americans who live in middle-income households has held steady since 2010 – a flat trend that might actually be good news.
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Chart of the Week: U.S. middle class no longer the world’s richest
A New York Times chart illustrates disparities in income growth between the U.S. and other advanced economies.
