A Third of Americans Now Say They Are

From Pew Research, 09/12/2012:

The percentage of Americans who say they are in the lower-middle or lower class has risen from a quarter of the adult population to about a third in the past four years, according to a national survey of 2,508 adults by the Pew Research Center.

Not only has the lower class grown, but its demographic profile also has shifted. People younger than 30 are disproportionately swelling the ranks of the self-defined lower classes. The shares of Hispanics and whites who place themselves in the lower class also are growing.

The survey finds that hard times have been particularly hard on the lower class. Eight-in-ten adults (84%) in the lower classes say they had to cut back spending in the past year because money was tight, compared with 62% who say they are middle class and 41% who say they are in the upper classes. Those in the lower classes also say they are less happy and less healthy, and the stress they report experiencing is more than other adults.

As they look to their own future and that of their children, many in the lower class see their prospects dimming.About three-quarters (77%) say it's harder now to get ahead than it was 10 years ago.

Only half (51%) say that hard work brings success, a view expressed by overwhelming majorities of those in the middle (67%) and upper classes (71%).

While the expectation that each new generation will surpass their parents is a central tenet of the American Dream, those lower classes are significantly more likely than middle or upper-class adults to believe their children will have a worse standard of living than they do.

NOTE:  Now please remember the Congressional Research Service study that finds absolutely no correlation between the top tax rates and economic growth, thereby destroying a key tenet of conservative economic theory--That low tax rates for the wealthy are good for the country. We now know the only advantage to Romney's plan to keep national wealth flowing into the pockets of the few...is to keep national wealth flowing into the pockets of the few. The disadvanges? See above.

If you haven't voted yet, be sure to vote for your future wellbeing.

  Read the full report at pewsocialtrends.org