Talk:Middle-class squeeze

Share of GDP since the seventies and other countries
Is there a source which shows what share of the GDP the middle class has been getting since the seventies?

Also, how about exploring what's happened in other countries or at least having a graph or table? --JamesPoulson (talk) 20:49, 31 December 2015 (UTC)

No deletion
I don't believe this article should be deleted. The "middle class squeeze" is a prominent topic in policy debates surround inequality. The article is currently being revised, and relies on standard academic sources. As such, it should not be deleted.

This article should not be deleted so quickly because it is still under construction. There are obviously more tabs to be added which will include other academic sources. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kathleen21503 (talk • contribs) 16:01, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

No, the subject shouldn't be deleted, but your personal essay has to be deleted, because Wikipedia is not the place to publish it. I edited it to some bare bones information so you can see what an encyclopedia article is somewhat like. If you are adding exclamation points to emphasize your points and publishing your opinion on Wikipedia it will be deleted by lots of folks. There are free blog spots all over the place that might be interested in your essays, though. --Blechnic (talk) 04:00, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

By the way, the Drum Major Institute is the "Drum Major Institute for Public Policy" that source should not be deleted because they did an entire extensive study on the middle class squeeze and they are an authority on this kind of thing. This is not a personal opinion, it is based upon 5 different sources and academic research. --Kathleen21503 (talk)06:43, 17 April 2008

Then provide a link that works. Yours went nowhere. --Blechnic (talk) 01:52, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Sorry about that! I'm going to try and add back in the stuff from the Drum Major Institute...I spelled institute wrong before...I will provide a workable link then...thanks for the info. --Kathleen21503 (talk)03:46, 20 April 2008

Opposing views?
The existence of a "middle class squeeze" is by no means uncontested. Here are a couple of such claims. -121.72.146.108 (talk) 09:38, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Immigration?
Ever think THAT is what drives wages down!?!?! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.96.18.95 (talk) 17:01, 22 June 2012 (UTC)


 * If migrants are paid roughly the same as their "native" counterparts there is no effect on wages. What you are probably referring to is social dumping. --JamesPoulson (talk) 00:07, 2 January 2016 (UTC)

Self-Contradictory and Unsourced Paragraph
The paragraph below appears, but is in such awful shape that it seems to have been vandalized:


 * The higher minimum wage today has encouraged workers to enter the labor market, which has unfortunately created unemployment. The real minimum wage is not what the government sets is as. The longer the minimum wage is not raised, the lower it actually is. The government imposed wage does not take inflation or productivity growth into account.

71.175.171.229 (talk) 12:09, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Effect of the CPI
An important effect not listed is the U.S.'s Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI is used to set raises and Social Security increases -- even though it has not been a measure of actual inflation since 1980. The reason the CPI isn't a measure of inflation is that it applies various "adjustments" (such as "hedonistics") while excluding the costs of various vital items (such as the cost of doctor visits). In addition, the CPI's "market basket" is re-adjusted to what people buy -- if they're forced to buy chicken, the CPI assumes that that is a voluntary choice not an economic necessity.

The European Union, on the other hand, measures inflation against a constant and comprehensive "market basket" -- a calculation converting European Union-determined inflation into American dollars (via historic $/Euro exchange rates) shows roughly the same U.S. inflation as reported by Shadowstats.com (I did the simple calculation myself).

71.175.171.229 (talk) 12:09, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

A Few Issues
The article seems to be focused only on America and mainly cites the 1st and 3rd sources, the first being a work by Nancy Pelosi, a prominent politician so I wonder about the neutrality of the article. 86.40.26.119 (talk) 03:45, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Biased article
Article is very biased, only argues that things have got worse for the average worker, which ignores the fact that real total compensation has roughly matched productivity gains. 131.111.184.91 (talk) 03:14, 26 February 2018 (UTC)