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    Middle-Income Economics and Middle-Class Attitudes

    This posting describes and links to a new report, “The Lost Decade of the Middle Class,” that combines income data from the Census Bureau, wealth data from the Survey of Consumer Finances and findings from a new survey to paint a portrait of diminished finances and muted hopes.

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    The Lost Decade of the Middle Class

    Chapter 1: Overview As the 2012 presidential candidates prepare their closing arguments to America’s middle class, they are courting a group that has endured a lost decade for economic well-being. Since 2000, the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some—but by no means all—of its characteristic faith […]

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    Video: Lost Decade of the Middle Class

    Since 2000, the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth and shed some — but by no means all– of its characteristic faith in the future. Our new report explores how middle-class Americans view themselves, as well as their outlook on the future and on the presidential candidates who are […]

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    One Recession, Two Americas

    For a narrow majority of Americans (55%), the Great Recession brought a mix of hardships, usually in combination: a spell of unemployment, missed mortgage or rent payments, shrinking paychecks and shattered household budgets, but for the other 45% of the country, the recession was largely free of such difficulties.

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    The Global Middle Class

    Views on Democracy, Religion, Values, and Life Satisfaction in Emerging Nations

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    Middle Class, By the Numbers

    The plight of Middle Americans has been much invoked by candidates from both parties this election year. Who are these folk? Here’s a self-portrait painted in statistics.

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    America’s Four Middle Classes

    There isn’t one American middle class; there are four. Each is different from the others in its attitudes, outlook and financial circumstance—sometimes in ways that defy traditional stereotypes of the middle class.

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    The Middle Class Blues

    When it comes to anxiety about family finances, an old truism applies: Where you stand depends on where you sit. Or, more precisely, on where your house or apartment sits.

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    Blacks See Growing Values Gap Between Poor and Middle Class

    African Americans see a widening gulf between the values of middle class and poor blacks, and nearly four-in-ten say that because of the diversity within their community, blacks can no longer be thought of as a single race.