i would say working class means "not having to choose between health, clothes food and rent". in fact not having enough to cover those is a pretty good definition of poverty.

I do agree that 300/dinner and so on is choosing an expensive middle class lifestyle. But the authors argument stands - a "decent" lifestyle (non poverty) and a "middle class" lifestyle have all got more expensive without us noticing - and pay has not kept pace.

Personally I think there is something wrong with inflation measures. I should do some research but the annual 2% target or whatever is missing a lot - we should be referencing weighted decade long averages or something.

for example I found an old pub prices menu from my year of birth - a pint of well know brnad lager was 5pence. It is now heading for 5 pounds in similar outlets - that's a 100x inflation leap in my lifetime.

if inflation at 4% was shown as double the price by the time your kids reach college then it might have more "real" impact