“This article on incomes in America is very important for you to read, and as many times as necessary to fully understand it. It had to read it three times to fully understand what it means about income trends in America and the effect it could have on me, my family and my business. Thought it was worth sharing. Comment below with your thoughts on the article.” – GC

The Shrinking American Middle Class by Alicia Parlapiano, Robert Gebeloff and Shan Carter

The middle class, if defined as households making between $35,000 and $100,000 a year, shrank in the final decades of the 20th century. For a welcome reason, though: More Americans moved up into what might be considered the upper middle class or the affluent. Since 2000, the middle class has been shrinking for a decidedly more alarming reason: Incomes have fallen. Here, we walk through the trends in some detail. There is no universal definition of middle class, of course. Some definitions are based on occupation or wealth; others take regional cost of living into account. We have chosen a simple one starting at about 50 percent above the poverty level for a family of four ($35,000) and topping out at six figures of annual income ($100,000), adjusting for inflation over time. We realize many households making more than $100,000 consider themselves middle class, but they nonetheless are making considerably more than most households — even in New York or San Francisco. Read the full article at: NY Times