http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-class-is-losing-ground/

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2015/12/ST_2015-12-09_middle-class-03.png

“Over the same period, [1971-2015] however, the nation’s aggregate household income has substantially shifted from middle-income to upper-income households, driven by the growing size of the upper-income tier and more rapid gains in income at the top. Fully 49% of U.S. aggregate income went to upper-income households in 2014, up from 29% in 1970. The share accruing to middle-income households was 43% in 2014, down substantially from 62% in 1970.2

“And middle-income Americans have fallen further behind financially in the new century. In 2014, the median income of these households was 4% less than in 2000. Moreover, because of the housing market crisis and the Great Recession of 2007-09, their median wealth (assets minus debts) fell by 28% from 2001 to 2013.”

This is a long term trend, averaged out over the entire population for about a half-century. It is due to economic and social conditions, both global and national, not necessarily due to any political party or philosophy. The world is changing. In my opinion, this is an unavoidable trend, its history. We can engage in policies to mitigate the worst effects, but we can’t make it go away. We did better than our parents, but our kids will not have it as good as we did.

So why haven’t we noticed? Why do we need Pew to tell us this? Because most of us, (and the people we hang out with who are probably a lot like us), have spent the most prosperous period of our lives getting prosperous and becoming successful while the country as a whole has been getting poorer (well, at least the middle and lower class has). In my case, I graduated from college in 1971, retired in 2010), for the last four decades I was in my peak earning years. So were most of the people I knew. Although the country as a whole was experiencing an economic decline, we were prospering and didn’t notice. Well, I DID notice, but I was a hippy, I always knew something was wrong, even if I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

We’re starting to notice this now, as a generation, now that we are reaching the end of our productive years, and we can see how our children are faring, and compare them to where we were at the same age.

This is why Trump and Bernie are doing so well. On both right and left, people know things are unraveling. They just can’t decide who’s at fault. And they don’t want to admit that maybe no one’s at fault.