Being middle-income, in other words, no longer affords a middle-class quality of life in many parts of the U.S. "Typically, the term 'middle class' conveys some sense of financial security.

In other words, the top 1% is not the only income ... In 2001, 54% lived in middle-income households, down from 59% in 1981, which was a drop from 61% in 1971. And the share of the income pie ...

These words by Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s chief economist, appear in the World Development Report 2024, entitled “The Middle-Income Trap”, which is the idea that economies tend to get ...