Prices were raised decades ago when more women began working and there were 2 incomes in a household from what I know. The study is a stretch. Reagan & Co. reduced the large post-war middle class they viewed as having too much power.
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- 'The upper middle class is now the largest income group in the U.S., study finds,' CBS News, April 10, 2026.
The U.S. middle class is shrinking, but not because more Americans are poorer. Instead, more households are climbing into the echelons of the upper middle class due to income gains in recent decades, according to research from the nonpartisan American Enterprise Institute.
About 31% of U.S. households earn enough to be considered upper middle class, a roughly threefold increase since 1979, making it the nation's largest economic group, the research found. Meanwhile, the share of Americans in the "core" and "low" middle class segments has declined over that time, primarily because more households in those income groups have jumped ahead economically, AEI found.
The findings underscore a broader shift in the U.S. economy: As more households move up the income ladder, consumer demand is tilting toward higher-end goods and services. The so-called "K-shaped" economy — in which higher-income consumers are spending more while lower-income households pull back — has become a hallmark of the post-COVID economy.
The growing ranks of the upper middle class
About 31% of Americans are now upper middle class, making it the largest economic group in the nation today, American Enterprise Institute research shows. Household income has grown over the past several decades due to dual-income families and gains in women's earnings...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/upper-middle-class-income-us-what-it-takes/
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