Incredible piece in today's WaPo by the reliably-liberal Steve Pearlstein, reporting on a new study by a similarly reliably-liberal Clintonista economist show ing that indeed the middle class is vanishing -- due to prosperity. Ack! Hide the children and let's hope the MSM doesn't get hold of it. Pay no attention to the man with the facts behind that curtain!
OK, so here's the skinny: Liberal economist Stephen Rose does a periodic study entitled, "Social Stratification in the United States." it is intended to be a lefty foundation upon which to build all the class warfare "Two Americas" agenda. Only one problem -- this time around, the facts don't jibe with the rhetoric. The study, says Pearlstein, "Challenges the sky-is-falling rhetoric of the Democratic left." Doncha hate when that happens? Here's Pearlstein on Rose:
"...[R]umors of the demise of the American middle class are greatly exaggerated. In fact, living standards for most Americans are improving. Not everyone is flipping hamburgers or working at Wal-Mart. To the degree that the middle class is shrinking, it is because more people are rising out of it than falling from it."
Talk about wrecking a buzz! Somebody better go give Lou Dobbs a big hug. Don't tell him there's no Santa Claus, might be too much for the ol' boy to absorb in one day. A few more points, for good measure:
There's even an accompanying graph that illustrates it all quite well. Again, this article is extraordinary for its source, as is the story. You'd expect an article like this from George Will about a study from the Heritage Foundation -- but not from Steve Pearlstein about a study from a liberal economist.
And, sadly, you'll likely not hear much about this study, either. A middle class shrinking because of behemoth evil faceless "multinationals" is the stuff of daily TV. But a middle class shrinking because of good old-fashioned prosperity just doesn't make as good a story.