where did the middle class disappear to?
87543
From where I see it most of it has disappeared into one or the other of the two.  We have very little middle ground anymore.  While many people  may be making the trip upward an awlful lot of the middle class has disappeared into the poorer class and have never moved anywhere so they do not even realize that they have done it.  The gap between the Rich and Poor is getting larger and larger with each new day.  Too many people have felt like they are from a throw away economy the way different job's have just disappeared with nothing to replace them with.  We live in a two income economy and wihout two incomes most families are not making it unless they are from the upper half of the scale.  As for me I am retired and have not figured out where I fit in yet.
836059
The industrial revolution was under way.  \n\nConsiderable numbers of people had moved into urban areas (More than half the population was urban)\n\nGreat Britain was at war with France.
839351
Middle class values include a desire for social respectability, material wealth, and an emphasis on the family and education. That so much reminds me of the late and great Ronnie Barker: "I look up to him because he is upper-class. I look down on him because he is lower-class. I am middle-class."  Great comedian.  (Oh, and by the way, I'm a cross between working/middle class - don't care tuppence about the first two values above, but the second two are very important to me, and as for socialising, I just go with the flow!).
624962
NO... they are creating a society of Rich and Poor just like in Mexico... The rich are getting richer by using the immigrants for cheap labor.. the poor are getting poorer.. and the middle class is almost non existent... That is why Mexico is like it is... and that is what we are becoming. Hope everyone is happy about that.. The middle man is a goner... :(
989055
Nope, economy class only.  I say whatever countries they are from, transport them to the furthest corner of their own countries so it is harder for them to turn around and try to return to the USA.  Don't worry about trying to get them back to their home towns, they can find their ways there, themselves.
800067
even after those "tax cuts for the rich", the people classified as rich pay a much larger percentage of their earnings than the "unfortunates"(poor) and middle class.\n\nI posted something on this a while ago, i  believe the rich pay around 33 percent earnings where the middle class pay average of 22-27 percent,and the "less fortunates" pay 5-10 percent.  (these numbers are off memory, but I'm sure they are close)\n\nThat is AFTER those tax cuts.
320295
It's not forgotten in fact it's one of the riches countries....There is just a huge gap between the poor and the rich. The rich are extremely rich and the poor are extremely poor. They don't have a true middle class.
1163086
History shows when you destroy the middle class the economy and state will fall as well.  This is why the roman empire fell.  There can not be black and white meaning poor and rich.  Look at the depression.
322735
Middle class\n\nNOUN: \npl. bourgeois \nA person belonging to the middle class. \nA person whose attitudes and behavior are marked by conformity to the standards and conventions of the middle class. \nIn Marxist theory, a member of the property-owning class; a capitalist.
574685
Poor workers still take more from the system, education, health, etc. then their taxes put in, even if they pay income taxes.  The middle class pays most of the benefits through taxes.  That is why all countries limit how many people without economic resources can come in, regardless of how hard they work.  The problem is that the employers aren't held accountable for those costs as they should be.\n\nImmigrants need to stand in line and come in legally.  The reason the line is so long is because our middle class so highly subsidizes services for the poor. We can't pay for the poor of the entire world.\n\nAnd if our people are so lazy, how did we come up with the sort of economy they are so desperate to join?  We pay them, don't we? And we work hard for that money.\n\nThey really tick off people who might be sympathetic when they steal our services, ruin the education for our kids that we, not they, pay for, then say we are lazy.
81565
It disappeared, maybe?
194977
India has a population of over 1 billion. Define common? I was there on vacation and the poverty is terrible. If the person is "middle classs" common then they need to use their abilities/brains/abilities to push forward their progress. Now is a time of importance for India. They have to use all their resources cause everyone is looking at them.
134811
In a nutshell: It was a period of dramatic transition when our country went from an agrarian economy to on industrialized one. What that means is, instead of most people working on farms growing and making most of what they needed, urban life became more the norm; with people working in factories and the like and purchasing most of what they needed.
15724
not an easy answer, I would recommend reading "The Status Seekers" by Vance Packard, or the scaled down version (it is just selections from the book) "American Social Classes in the 1950's", edited by Daniel Horowitz
556516
The middle class is where society depends on to keep the world going. No middle class no world
297402
Excellent observation.\n\nPretty soon there will be only very wealthy and poor individuals/families.  There is no job security anymore so how can anyone buy a house or other objects related to the "American Dream"?  The American dream has evolved into a nightmare.
920952
middle class. not rich... but not poor...