“The middle class has been declining — we just haven’t recognized it fully,” LISEP Chairman Gene Ludwig told CBS MoneyWatch. “It’s really dangerous because it’s the kind of thing that leads to social unrest, and it’s not fair.
The gap between what Americans earn and how much they need to bring in to achieve a basic standard of living is growing, according to a new report.
The analysis, from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), looks beyond whether people can afford daily necessities like food and shelter to consider whether they have the means to pay for things like the technology tools necessary for their jobs, higher education, and health and child care.
LISEP tracks costs associated with what the research firm calls a “basket of American dream essentials.” The group says its Minimal Quality of Life index provides a truer picture of how Americans are faring than standard economic data, such as the nation’s gross domestic product and jobless rate. The index captures the annual change in the typical costs facing low- and moderate-income households who are looking to maintain a basic quality of life.
The findings? For the bottom 60% of U.S. households, a “minimal quality of life” is out of reach, according to the group, a research organization focused on improving lower earners’ economic well-being.
I have been hearing this from my kids for awhile now, it seems most of their friends are in this death spiral. This will ultimately hurt the US. We are already seeing the population shrinking, this is not a good sign for the future.