Center for American Progress

America’s Middle Class, Inequality and Economic Strength
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America’s Middle Class, Inequality and Economic Strength

Heather Boushey and Adam Hersh explain how the success of the middle class affects economic productivity and recovery.

To say that the middle class is important to the United States economy may seem noncontroversial to most Americans. After all, most of us self-identify as middle class, and members of the middle class observe every day how their work contributes to the economy, hear weekly how their spending is a leading indicator for economic prognosticators, and see every month how jobs numbers, which primarily reflect middle-class jobs, are taken as the key measure of how the economy is faring. And as growing income inequality has risen in the nation’s consciousness, the plight of the middle class has become a common topic in the press and policy circles.

The above excerpt was originally published in Honduras Weekly. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Heather Boushey

Former Senior Fellow

Adam Hersh

Senior Economist