Middle Class and the Fading American Dream

Working at a job that keeps your family comfortable enough to own a home, pursue education and have reliable transportation and healthcare were once attainable goals of the middle class. But as we look around at the country today, we see more and more Americans being squeezed by the rising costs of the same things that once felt rightfully within reach. 

After recovering from the Great Recession in 2007-2009 the U.S. has enjoyed 10 years of a bull-market economy, but the median income of middle-class households in 2016 is about the same as it was in 2000. Any financial gains that have been experienced have been modest in comparison to higher-income households, creating an ever-widening disparity between the groups. 

With the stagnating wages and growing income disparity, policy makers struggle on how to define, or redefine, the American middle class. Growing struggles with eviction and restrictive building codes, a lack of point-to-point transit amid an urban sprawl, and high health insurance deductibles and surprise billing prompt new discussions about what it takes to stay ‘middle class’ in the 21st century.

Featuring

Jennifer Carlson, Associate VP External Relations & Advocacy OSU Wexner Medical Center and Health Science Colleges

Michael Pires, Project Manager, John Glenn College of Public Affairs

Laura Koprowski, Executive Director, Ohio Public Transit Association

Hosted by Edward [Ned] Hill, Ph.D., Professor of Economic Development at The Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs and the College of Engineering’s Ohio Manufacturing Institute