How important is the american middle class to our economy?

[Cancel 2018. 3]

i've always believed it is quite important. this guy thinks so as well.

Can I say this any more simply? The earnings of the great American middle class fueled the great American expansion for three decades after World War II. Their relative lack of earnings in more recent years set us up for the great American bust.

Starting around 1980, globalization and automation began exerting downward pressure on median wages. Employers began busting unions in order to make more profits. And increasingly deregulated financial markets began taking over the real economy.

The result was slower wage growth for most households. Women surged into paid work in order to prop up family incomes -- which helped for a time. But the median wage kept flattening, and then, after 2001, began to decline.

Households tried to keep up by going deeply into debt, using the rising values of their homes as collateral. This also helped -- for a time. But then the housing bubble popped.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/consumer-spending-economic-recovery_b_1591454.html

 

[The Dude]

Globalization increases the benefit of college/trades. Dems would rather have an increasing median wage than an increasing pie.

 

[NOVA]

Globalization increases the benefit of college/trades. Dems would rather have an increasing median wage than an increasing pie.

Trouble is....without an increasing pie, all that happens is shared poverty to some degree, stagnation.....

 

[The Dude]

Trouble is....without an increasing pie, all that happens is shared poverty to some degree, stagnation.....

Ah, your not going to argue global trade doesn't increase the pie! Are you