Re:America Is Regressing into a Developing Nation for Most P...
by bko on Saturday June 22, 2019 @03:33PM
(#20251293)
I think the problem is as you stated comparing middle class in a relative way. If you apply US income standards to other countries, the portion of the other countries population that's living in middle drops significantly.
> When the Western European countries the Center analyzed are viewed through the lens of middle-class incomes in the U.S., the share of adults who are middle class decreases in most of them. The greatest decline is in Italy, where the middle-class share in 2010 falls from 67% under that country’s national income standard to 44% under the U.S. income standard. In other words, 44% of Italians had the same standard of living as 59% of Americans who were in the middle class in 2010.
The research is a bit old, but I couldn't find a more recent source. I imagine the relationship hasn't changed much as US has experienced significantly growth since 2010 relative to Europe.
> When the Western European countries the Center analyzed are viewed through the lens of middle-class incomes in the U.S., the share of adults who are middle class decreases in most of them. The greatest decline is in Italy, where the middle-class share in 2010 falls from 67% under that country’s national income standard to 44% under the U.S. income standard. In other words, 44% of Italians had the same standard of living as 59% of Americans who were in the middle class in 2010.
The research is a bit old, but I couldn't find a more recent source. I imagine the relationship hasn't changed much as US has experienced significantly growth since 2010 relative to Europe.
[0] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/05/through-an-...