The Slow Shift of the American Middle Class

Описание: Why has the American middle class felt increasingly fragile despite steady GDP growth and low unemployment?
In this video, we explore the economic history behind middle-class decline and what it reveals about modern capitalism.
After World War II, the United States built one of the strongest middle classes in modern history. Wages rose alongside productivity. Manufacturing jobs offered pensions and long-term security. Inflation was manageable. Debt levels were low. The financial system was tightly regulated. For decades, steady work translated into steady improvement.
But that alignment did not last.
From the 1970s onward, inflation shocks, globalization, shareholder capitalism, financialization, and policy shifts gradually changed how the U.S. economy distributed growth. While GDP growth continued and corporate profits expanded, wage growth slowed relative to productivity. Asset prices rose faster than incomes. Debt expanded. Retirement risk shifted from institutions to individuals.
This transformation did not happen overnight. It evolved quietly through changes in monetary policy, trade agreements, labor bargaining power, and the structure of the financial system. The middle class did not collapse dramatically — it stretched.
In this video, you’ll learn:
• How the postwar middle class was built
• Why inflation and globalization reshaped economic policy
• How GDP growth became disconnected from wage growth
• The role of debt, housing, and financial markets
• Why the 2008 financial crisis accelerated structural change
• What this means for middle-class stability today
We also examine how low interest rates, rising asset prices, student debt, and housing affordability have shaped the modern middle-class experience. Official economic indicators often show stability. Yet many households feel increasing financial pressure.
Understanding this shift requires looking beyond averages and GDP growth. It requires examining incentives inside the financial system — and how risk gradually moved from institutions to individuals.
The middle class did not disappear. It transformed.

Subscribe to Mellow Finance for calm, analytical breakdowns of economic history, inflation, financial crises, and global macro trends.



#wagestagnation #middleclass #middleclassdecline #economichistory