America did not ask to be divided into warring camps of red and blue. Across the country, people have far more in common than anyone would guess from the polarized politics of recent decades. Most Americans hope to achieve and hold onto a middle-class standard of living. That means, among other things, a job that pays enough to support a family; a safe and stable home; good schools for our children and the chance to help them go to college; health care that doesn’t bury us in debt; a dignified retirement; and time off work for vacations and major life events.
We want these things not only for ourselves but for one another, because a large and stable middle class turns out to be the foundation of our wellbeing as families, as communities, and as a nation. Middle-class societies, as political thinkers from Aristotle to Thomas Jefferson have pointed out, are more socially cohesive than those divided by extremes of wealth and poverty. Concentrations of wealth threaten to turn economic power into political power and subvert democratic institutions. Poverty and economic insecurity leave people too caught up in their day-to-day struggles to engage with public and community affairs.
The American middle class did not arise by accident. After World War II, businesses, workers, and government forged a social contract that helped bring about an era of unprecedented growth and the rise of a middle class that was the envy of the world. Since the 1970s, our social contract has eroded. Fewer jobs provide health insurance, and the coverage is often riddled with gaps. Reliable pension plans have become rare. In the absence of a strong labor movement, employers play fast and loose with hard-won worker rights.
The overwhelming majority of Americans still see themselves as middle class. But most also feel the effects of our frayed social contract. It has become more difficult to maintain a middle-class standard of living, Americans say. It is easier to fall behind.
More: http://www.drummajorinstitute.org/library/report.php?ID=75
