Death of the Middle Class: Latest Census Data Finds One in Two Americans Are Poor or Low-Income

The middle class is dying – right here, right now. With jobs being shipped by the tens of thousands to oversees slave labor camps, wages in the U.S. dropping, and prices for basic needs like electricity and food approaching record levels, Americans who once enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world are finding it increasingly difficult to just get by.

As has been argued for many years, there will, in the very near future, exist only two classes in America – the rich and the poor – with the middle class being completely wiped. The latest census data further reiterates the point and indicates that 50% of Americans are living well below the benchmarks of a middle class life style.

Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans – nearly 1 in 2 – have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that’s shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government’s safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.

“Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too `rich’ to qualify,” said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty.

“The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal,” he said. “If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years.”

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Given the fiscal state of our federal and state governments, further cuts and austerity measures are all but guaranteed, which means that 50% is just a prelude for what’s to come.