The ideal portrait of a middle class household in the United States usually consists of a steady income, a sizable house, a few cars, yearly family vacations, and weekend outings. This image is rooted in the stereotypical family of the 1950s–a nuclear family residing in the suburbs. Until recently, being middle class in the United States was still reminiscent of that post-war generation of American families. But things have changed, and dramatically so. The middle class is shrinking rapidly, with more people moving down the income ladder. Read on to learn more about the status of the middle class in America and the reasons for its decline.

How to Define the Middle Class

There is no universal definition of middle class, but households that make enough money to live comfortably, take vacations, indulge in entertainment, and save for retirement and college funds can be broadly considered to fit the bill. However, the description of “middle class” can include a broad range of figures, depending on the chosen measurement.

The most common measure used to define middle class is income. The New York Times  has chosen 50 percent above the poverty level ($35,000) for a family of four as the lowest threshold and $100,000 as the highest income for a middle class family. Pew Research Center presented middle class as households ranging from those who make two-thirds ($40,667) to twice ($122,000) the median income. The U.S. Department of Commerce gives a more narrow range, from $50,800 to $122,000. Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau considers middle class families to be those who fall between $20,600 and $102,000.

Other possible measurements could include occupation, education, social values, or some combination of the above. In addition, regional cost of living is often taken into account when categorizing American households. Interestingly, those who make less than $20,000 or more than $150,000 a year still sometimes consider themselves a part of the American middle class depending on where they live and the expenses they have. Essentially, the cohort is almost impossible to define, as each household has different needs. While some can manage to save for retirement on $20,000 a year, other families that may have an income over $100,000 have to pay larger medical or college bills, resulting in zero savings.

How is the American middle class changing?

The U.S. Census Bureau started to track household incomes in 1967. With some ups and downs, the overall income levels tended to increase over the earlier decades. However, starting in 2010 the American middle class has begun to shrink. As of now, 61 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 36 percent don’t contribute anything to retirement, and more than 40 percent work in low-paying jobs in the retail and service sectors.

People ages 30 to 44 are less likely to be middle class, while those who are 65 years and older are more likely to be middle or upper-middle class. As many baby boomers are working past their retirement age, and most of them receive Medicaid and Social Security benefits, households containing those who are 65 years and older are the fastest growing share of the contemporary middle class. The number of adults in middle class households decreased from 61 percent in 1970 to 51 percent in 2013. At the same time, the number of adults who now live in upper-income households has gone up from 14 percent in 1970 to 20 percent in 2013. The share of younger adults, ages 18 to 29, who live in middle class households has fallen dramatically, with more of them moving to the lower class due to staggering unemployment rates.

In addition, family status is an important factor in association with income distribution among the American population. Two-adult households are more likely to be upper-middle class due to the fact that both adults are working, thus increasing the overall family wealth. One-adult households are disproportionately lower income for precisely the same reason. The traditional vision of American middle class families–two adults and children–is now on the decline, constituting only a quarter of middle class households. Some of them surely increased their income, moving to the upper-middle class, probably due to the increased number of women in the workforce.

White Americans are more likely than black Americans and Hispanics to live in middle- to upper-income families. In 2013, half of Black households and 43 percent of Hispanic households were lower income.

Location wise, the number of middle class households has decreased in the Northeast, especially in such states as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Overall, the dynamics of the middle class in America are changing. In 1967, 53 percent of households were middle class families; in 2010 that share decreased to 43 percent, with some people moving up or down the income ladder.

Why is the American middle class changing?

The middle class in the United States is shrinking for a broad range of reasons that collectively influence the changing dynamics of middle class membership.

The Great Recession 

First and foremost, the Great Recession of 2008 resulted in lower incomes, high unemployment rates, and increased numbers of home foreclosures. It’s estimated that the median net worth (the amount by which assets exceed liabilities) was at $120,600 in 2007; after the recession this number dropped to $77,300. Due to long-term stagnation in wages, median household income has decreased from $56,080 in 1999 to $51,017 in 2012. Simply put, after 2008, many middle class families became lower-income families.

Creation of Low-Income and Part-Time Jobs 

In the aftermath of the 2008 housing market collapse, many middle-income jobs were lost. In response, low-income jobs were created, adding little wealth to American households. Employment in low-skill jobs increased 110 percent between 1980 and 2009, while available middle-skill jobs have risen only 46 percent. At the same time, more and more Americans are working part time as they cannot obtain full-time employment. In 2012, more than 2.5 million Americans were working part time, the highest number since 1993. Clearly, proliferation of low-income and part-time jobs resulted in the overall drop of middle class incomes. Watch the video below to learn more about low-paying jobs in the United States.

The Growing Income Gap

But not all middle class families moved down the income ladder. On the contrary, some households’ incomes skyrocketed instead. The gap between high-income Americans and everybody else reached its apex during the years following the Great Recession. Simply put, the wealth of upper-middle-class households has increased, while middle- and lower-class families’ incomes have declined or didn’t change at all. The upper class is earning roughly 50 percent of the overall national income and is holding 83 percent of all U.S. stocks. At the same time, lower- and middle class families hold only seven percent of the liquid financial assets, and own less than one percent of the country’s wealth.

While the number of millionaires in the United States has increased 16 percent since 2009, the number of children who live in poverty accounted for 21 percent of all children in 2010, the highest percentage in the last 20 years. The growing income gap is especially evident as the wealth of middle class families has diminished, while upper class families experienced significant boosts in their earnings. Watch the video below to learn more about income gap in the United States.

Shift of Jobs Overseas

As multinational corporations are looking to minimize expenses while maximizing  profits, they are shifting their operations overseas. This prompts significant reductions in employment opportunities inside the country as corporations are hiring less in the United States and more in the less-developed parts of the globe. The reason for this is very simple: there are fewer regulations and labor is cheaper. In addition, American companies don’t have to adhere to minimum-wage requirements or pay benefits to the overseas workers, significantly reducing their expenses. It’s estimated that from 1999 to 2008, American companies hired 2.2 million people in other countries, while scrapping 2.1 million positions inside the United States. Not only is it more expensive and difficult to conduct business in the U.S., it’s also much cheaper and more convenient to run a large company abroad.

Increasing Use of Technology in the Workplace

Not only do middle class Americans have to compete with overseas workers, but now they have to compete with computers and machinery. As the use of technology in the workplace rapidly grows, more and more middle class jobs disappear. Now, computers are doing the same jobs that humans used to do decades ago, depleting middle class employment opportunities. Essentially, technology is replacing human labor as computers can complete tasks faster, cheaper, and with more accuracy than human employees. Starting in 2010, the number of people employed as telephone operators, word processors, and typists has declined 63 percent. The share of travel agents has decreased 46 percent, while the number of bookkeepers has plunged 26 percent. In addition, such jobs as check-out cashiers, bank tellers, ticket agents, and secretaries are on the decline, as many businesses use computers instead of employing workers.

One of the recent examples of job technology taking over is “bookBots,” an innovative project at North Carolina State University. Instead of human librarians who retrieve books as students request them, robots are programmed to find requested books, now located within 18,000 metal bins, instead of traditional library shelves. Thus, many middle class jobs are already unavailable to humans due to the reduced costs associated with computerized services and ease of use for consumers. Many professions could become completely extinct due to technological advances and innovative approaches in the workplace.

Decline of Labor Unions

Besides the fact that the American economy is shifting overseas and some professions are going extinct due to the increased use of technology, fewer workers inside the United States are earning union salaries. Historically, labor unions were the most influential advocates for workers’ rights, and unionized workers were the backbone of the American middle class. Now, fewer jobs are unionized, prompting a large-scale decline in the influence and power of American labor unions. In 1983, one in five workers was part of a union; today this is true of only one in ten workers. Unionized workers’ median monthly salary is $10,000 more than that of their non-unionized counterparts. With the decline in labor unions, fewer American workers are earning middle class salaries. Watch the video below to learn more about labor unions and their importance for the middle class.

Increases in ‘Out-of-Pocket’ Expenses and Rising Debt

Middle class households are those families that, besides living comfortably, are able to save money. Many middle class Americans have to pay their college tuition without financial assistance, which is available to lower-income families only. Health insurance is another “out-of-pocket” expense that can be rather costly, as only those who have very low or no income are eligible for government assistance. In 2001, two thirds of American middle class families were able to accumulate savings; in 2010, less than 55 percent were saving money for retirement or their kids’ education.

A large portion of middle class income is going toward paying off student loans and maintaining medical coverage rendering it difficult to save for retirement or to buy a house. Some middle class households are deep in debt. In 1992, the median level of debt for middle class families was $32,200; by 2010 it increased 161 percent, reaching $84,000. The economic pressures that middle class households face today result in downward mobility and accumulation of debt.

Restored Payroll Tax Rate

In 2009, President Obama introduced a temporary measure to stimulate the economy by cutting the payroll tax, which finances Social Security and Medicaid by taking a percentage of income from both employees and employers. Before 2009, the payroll tax constituted 6.2 percent of income; after the changes, middle class Americans received a two-percentage-point break, resulting in a payroll tax of 4.2 percent instead. In 2013, the payroll tax cut expired and middle class households began to receive $84 less in their monthly paychecks, which is around $1,000 in yearly tax withholdings. As lower- and middle class families were the ones who enjoyed the two-percentage-point break the most, they are now the ones who are suffering the most.

Higher Food Prices

Food prices have increased globally and in the United States. On average, there’s been a 6.4 percent hike on most food products, while the price of some essentials such as meat, milk, and eggs is 16-22 percent higher than in previous years. Nevertheless, the income of middle class families is staying the same, constraining food shopping for many middle class households. The median income is increasing only one percent a year, making it difficult to keep up with rising food prices without moving down the income ladder.

Conclusion

The dynamics of the middle class in the United States are changing. Some of the above reasons for the middle class downturn are more serious than others, but all are collectively responsible for the decline in its traditional form. At the same time, technological advances in the workplace are inevitable and most likely  will continue to erase traditional service jobs and create new occupations, shifting the middle class around.

 Resources

Primary

Pew Research Center: America’s ‘Middle’ Holds Its Ground After the Great Recession

Additional

Sen. Bernie Sanders: The Middle Class in America is Radically Shrinking. Here Are the Stats to Prove it

The New York Times: The Shrinking American Middle Class

CBS Evening News: Food Prices Soar as Income Stands Still

CNN Money: America’s Middle Class: Poorer Than You Think

CNN Money: America’s Disappearing Middle Class

DailyNews: Can Smart Machines Take Your Job?

Forbes: The U.S. Middle Class is Turning Proletarian

Huffington Post: Four Reasons It’s So Hard For the Middle Class to Buy a House

The New York Times: Middle Class Shrinks Further as More Fall Out Instead of Climbing Up

CNN Money: What Happens if the Payroll Tax Cut Expires

Pew Research Center: Are Americans Ready For Obama’s ‘Middle Class’ Populism?

PBS Frontline: The State of America’s Middle Class in Eight Charts

TIME: A Brief History of the Middle Class

USA Today: Middle Class a Matter of Income, Attitude

Valeriya Metla

Valeriya Metla is a young professional, passionate about international relations, immigration issues, and social and criminal justice. She holds two Bachelor Degrees in regional studies and international criminal justice. Contact Valeriya at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Changing Dynamics of the American Middle Class appeared first on Law Street.

Hey loves! How’ve you been? Did ya miss me?

I know, I know, it’s been awhile. I’ve left you hanging. But I’m back now, and after the past few weeks of doom and gloom left in the wake of the Hobby Lobby catastrophe, I’ve got some slightly lighter fare up my sleeve for you all.

Have any of you heard of Google Code School? It’s pretty rad. Basically, Google and Code School — two separate companies — teamed up to offer coding and development classes for folks working in technology. More rad, they announced that they’d be giving out vouchers for free classes to women and minorities — two groups that aren’t as well represented in the tech industry, in large part due to lack of access.

My best friend shared the news with me when Business Insider broke it earlier this summer, and both of us were pretty pumped.

We’re women! We work in technology — sort of. Doesn’t everyone kind of work in tech, nowadays? Our jobs are almost completely dependent on the Internet, so improving on our very rudimentary knowledge of coding would be hugely, wildly useful.

So, my friend and I followed Business Insider’s prompting and signed up for Code School. It was a pretty straightforward application, as user-friendly as all things Google tend to be. We gave our basic identifying information, confirmed that we were, in fact, WOMEN, a.k.a. qualified for said vouchers, and provided a little mini-essay about why we wanted to learn more about coding.

Easy enough.

Unsurprisingly, neither of us was accepted. Probably about a zillion other people applied for Code School, and Google can only give out so many vouchers for free classes. We understand, Google. We forgive you. (Sort of.)

That’s where the story should end, right? Apply to Code School, get rejected, walk away with our womanhood and lack of HTML coding fully intact, right?

You would think so.

But! The plot thickens. In applying for Google Code School, my friend and I were both also clandestinely enrolled in a strange, mysterious mailing list. It’s now terrorizing our inboxes a few times a week.

Has anyone here heard of the Levo League? It’s fucking ridiculous.

On its website homepage, Levo League claims to be a community “dedicated to your career success.” It’s geared toward professional women and offers tips for progressing in your career, weekly video chats with mentors, and job listings. To be fair, some of the mentors are pretty awesome — it counts women like Sandra Fluke among its ranks, and even a healthy smattering of men, like Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton. (HONY, we love you.)

But, I didn’t come across Levo League because I was excited to hear Sandra Fluke tell me how to stick it to asshats like Rush Limbaugh. Nope. I came across Levo League because it sent me this wildly — almost laughably, absurdly — infuriating email.

Subject line, “How to Dress Professionally for Your Body Type.”

Seriously? This is the awesome advice you’re dishing out to professional women about how to boost their careers, Levo League?

How about, PUT PROFESSIONAL CLOTHES ON YOUR BODY. Boom. Done. You’ve dressed professionally.

Because, seriously, isn’t that what men do? Show me an article telling men how to hide their beer bellies and elongate their legs at work. Can’t find any? Yeah. That’s because a man’s professional worth isn’t measured by how tastefully he shows off his pecks or how skillfully he can cinch his waist.

Articles like this do nothing to help women boost their careers. If anything, they contribute to a culture that devalues women’s contributions in the workplace, reminding us all that our main function is ornamental. We’re only as valuable as we are attractive.

Despite Levo’s obvious effort to be a wee bit less objectifying than most attempts to sort women into shapes — they define body types not by fruit, but by adjectives like “petite,” “curvy,” “athletic,” the ever diplomatic “column,” and the always obnoxious “plus-size” — this is still nothing but sexism and body-shaming, cloaked in kindly advice.

Instead of instructing curvy and plus-size women on how to appear thinner and more petite, and dishing to athletic, column, and petite women about how to appear shapelier, why don’t we just tell all the women to love their damn bodies and pour more brain power into their actual work than into their wardrobe?

Think about all of the awesome, wonderful, revolutionary things women could be doing if they weren’t so busy worrying about whether their peplum top is making their hips look too big.

Think about all the time and brainpower we’d collectively save if we thought less about if our pants are just the right length for our curvy/athletic/column-shaped legs (each type requires a different length, apparently), and more about our actual jobs.

These kinds of advice articles — all of them — do nothing but distract women from doing valuable, wonderful things by reminding us that we have a thousand other things to worry about. Were you feeling confident and secure in yourself for a minute there, sweetheart? Stop that shit right now, take all of the energy you were previously dedicating to positive innovation and self-love, and redirect it toward fretting endlessly about all of the insecurities our patriarchal, consumerist society has manufactured for you.

Not to mention, this particular article assumes that all of the women it’s addressing are cis-gendered, feminine, and upper-middle class. Levo League, like so many other women-in-business organizations, fails to address the needs of queer folks, gender-non-conforming people, butch women, poor women, or working class women.

In other words, Levo League is really only interested in helping the women who need help the least. They’re not about inspiring and facilitating a mass revolution, where all the women collectively rise up and improve their lots in life. They’re about helping already privileged women amass even more privilege.

Levo League, you’re not helping. You’re just perpetuating the same damn problems that keep women disadvantaged at work in the first place.

Knock it off.

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Hannah R. Winsten (@HannahRWinsten) is a freelance copywriter, marketing consultant, and blogger living in New York City. She hates tweeting but does it anyway. She aspires to be the next Rachel Maddow.

Featured imaged courtesy of [Andre Benedix via Flickr]

Hannah R. Winsten

Hannah R. Winsten is a freelance copywriter, marketing consultant, and blogger living in New York’s sixth borough. She hates tweeting but does it anyway. She aspires to be the next Rachel Maddow. Contact Hannah at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Levo League’s Advice to Working Women: Look Prettier appeared first on Law Street.

In the workplace, there are certain parameters of acceptable behavior that are common knowledge, and then it is up to a given company’s discretion to set additional rules. For example, a big-time global firm by the name of Clifford Chance recently sent out an office memo on how to act appropriately within the workplace to its American offices. Parts of the memo were aimed seeming exclusively at women, and overall the piece was a rather impressive display of sexism.

The memo was entitled “Speaking Effectively” and contained 150 pieces of advice on various types of presentation skills. Some of the tips were pretty benign and gender-neutral, such as to bring notes to presentations, make strong eye contact, timing speeches, and using pauses effectively. However, others were clearly aimed at women, and can be considered patronizing at best.

The five-page memo is broken up into a number of categories, and each category seems to contain an extra tip for women. Some of my personal favorite lines:

• “Pretend you’re in moot court, not the high school cafeteria.”
• “Your voice is higher than you hear. Think Lauren Bacall, not Marilyn Monroe.”
• “Don’t giggle.”
• “Don’t hide behind your hair.”
• “Don’t take your purse up to the podium.”
• “Wear a suit, not your party outfit.”
• “Understated jewelry, nothing jingly or clanky.”
• “No one heard Hillary the day she showed cleavage.”
• “If wearing a skirt, make sure audience can’t see up it when sitting on the dias.”
• “Make sure you can stand in your heels, not trip, don’t rock back on them.”

None of these tips could be construed as anything but specifically aimed at female attorneys. Stating that Lauren Bacall, an American actress known for her “distinctive husky voice and sultry looks,” is a more appropriate voice role model than a different actress is condescending. Demeaning our former Secretary of State Clinton’s outfit choices is uninspired—no one would ever make an equal comparison to our male politicians. And overall, this memo treats female attorneys as though they are teenagers, and reduces their high educational attainment and worth to their physical and verbal appearances.

The worst part about this memo is the way in which these tips are presented, not the tips themselves. As someone who has competed in public speaking activities for many years, and who is constantly charged with teaching other young women how to present, some aspects of these are grounded in reality. The issue is that they’re not just for women, they’re tips for men too. Everyone should know that there’s an appropriate professional voice and personal voice. Both women and men should speak differently to their friends than their coworkers. But by comparing women’s voices to celebrities, and not making a similar comparison for men, is where this memo veers into grossly inappropriate territory.

As much as we would like to think differently, women are still at a disadvantage in the workplace. While estimates of its actual value range from 77 cents – 91 cents, the gender pay gap does indisputably exist. Furthermore, we constantly are hearing case after case of sexual harassment—from San Diego Mayor Bob Filner’s rampant inappropriate behavior, to a recent revelation that unpaid interns aren’t necessarily protected from sexual harassment.

Then there are memos like this one from Clifford Chance. It differentiates between men and women, and while it cannot necessarily be legally defined as sexual harassment, it is absolutely discriminatory. As long as women are treated like children while being told how to behave appropriately in the work place at a prominent firm, workplace equality will remain a struggle.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Steve Wilson via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Commonsense Etiquette or Blatant Sexism? appeared first on Law Street.