The Middle Class has always been a very "American" idea, as it depicts the average household and the model American family. The Great Recession, however, took a big toll on the nation and eliminated nearly 8.7 million Middle Class jobs. This decrease brought about a significant drop in the number of Middle Class Americans, bringing the number down to nearly 40% of Americans in the lower middle to lower class, as opposed to only 25% before the recession. This decrease not only effects the household income, but the household mentality, as the Middle Class is more or less a "way of life." This way of life is seeing a slow incline after the recession hit, but it will take years for everything to be back to normal and the American Middle Class to be reestablished.
To me, it seems that the Middle Class is directly related to the American Dream, a dream of a stable, suburban family, not living paycheck to paycheck. It hurts me to see so many Americans struggling to make it through these hard times, but I see the statistics, and know better times are on the way. This gives me hope that one day the legendary American Middle Class will be restored, and possibly even more may enter into the class with stable jobs and families. So, what do you think? Is the Middle Class more than an income category, and will it be restored soon?
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/04/02/more-americans-see-middle-class-status-slipping/7220635/
