New Poll Shows Concerns of American Middle Class

At ABC News, "New Poll Shows Concerns of American Middle Class: Four in 10 Middle-Class Americans Say They're Struggling in Tough Economy":

A bit fewer than half of Americans count themselves as middle class -- but many of them aren't sure how long it will last: Among people who say they're in the middle class now, four in 10 also say they're struggling to remain there in this difficult economy.

A big factor: educational attainment. Among middle-class Americans with college degrees, 75 percent say they're "comfortably" middle class or even moving up; 25 percent are struggling. But among those without a college degree, this poll ... finds that about twice as many, 49 percent, are fighting to hold their place. (Education relates to income, and it's less well-off people in the middle class who are more likely to be struggling to stay there.)

All told, 45 percent of Americans define themselves as middle class (about what it's been on average in polls since the 1960s), compared with 39 percent who see themselves as working class or less well-off than that, and 14 percent as upper-middle class or better off. Women are slightly more likely than men to consider themselves middle class, 48 percent vs. 42 percent, and more seniors put themselves there -- 51 percent, vs. 43 percent of middle-aged adults. (Seniors have had more time to save, and have smaller households and Medicare coverage, among other factors.) Nearly half of whites call themselves middle class, compared with 38 percent of racial minorities.

While 52 percent in the middle class say they're there comfortably, it's perhaps a sign of the times that very few of those in the middle class -- 6 percent -- see themselves as moving up beyond their current status.

See the survey for additional results. This part's a bit troubling:

Underscoring the depths of the economic crisis, 28 percent of middle-income Americans say someone in their household has been laid off or lost a job in the last year. That jumps even higher, to 39 percent, among lower-income Americans, and drops considerably to 16 percent of those with $100,000-plus incomes. There's a difference in impact at the low end: Less well-off people are much more apt than those who are better off to say the layoff caused them serious financial hardship.

I don't know, but my sense is that more people, at all income levels, would state "middle class" if we had an expanding economy. (And thus I'm not pining for some 1950s-nostalgia like radical leftist Ezra Klein above.) Americans are not a "class conscious people. We stress upward mobility for all groups, and the notion that anyone can get ahead. Polling on healthcare reform has confirmed that spirit time and time again. It's one of the main reason the administration's having so much trouble.

That said, I'd be in serious financial trouble if I was laid off. I don't have a huge amount socked away, and what I do have is tied up in IRAs and other retirement vehicles. They've lost a third of their value over the last few years as well, so what can you do? I guess I'd sell everything and pound the pavement for work of some kind. Strange to think about it.

But we won't likely see layoffs at my campus, and nontenured faculty and staff would go well before professors at my level. Frankly, I'll be working a long time. And I'm lucky to have a job (teachers at Long Beach Unified may be getting the boot ... lots of teachers). Still, teaching is getting more challenging, and not as fun, with today's youth demographic and with a lot of "non-traditional" students who're coming to college. It mixes things up, for sure. Fortunately, I never tire of the diversity and new faces, although sometimes I think I should have landed a job at think tank somewhere, whiling away my time churning out bland policy papers! I doubt that was my calling, in any case ... I like helping students reach their potential. In fact, I wish sometimes that I was making a difference in even more lives than I am ...