"Middle class," the new third rail in politics

Marissa Brent-Tookey

Marissa Brent-Tookey Feb 6, 2018

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>"Middle class," the new third rail in politics</h1>
                <h2><p>Politicians are inventing new ways to describe a problem they haven't quite figured out how to solve, says Amy Chozick of The New York Times. As the American middle class evaporates, presidential candidates are resorting to less loaded phrases to describe the besieged 50th percentile in America'</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/marissa-brent-tookey-crosscut-com/">Marissa Brent-Tookey</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Politicians are inventing new ways to describe a problem they haven't quite figured out how to solve, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/us/politics/as-middle-class-fades-so-does-use-of-term-on-campaign-trail.html?wpmm=1&emc=rss&partner=rss&wpisrc=nl_wonk&_r=1&ref=cascadepbs.org">says Amy Chozick of <em>The New York Times</em></a>. As the American middle class evaporates, presidential candidates are resorting to less loaded phrases to describe the besieged 50th percentile in America's income distribution. The new catchphrases include "hardworking taxpayers," "everyday Americans," even "people who work for the people who own businesses." Academics are more grounded, coining terms like "the near poor" and "the sandwich generation." If candidates Rand Paul, Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders can't look the middle class in the eye and tell it like it is, how will they address the new "hourglass economy" as president?</p>
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Politicians are inventing new ways to describe a problem they haven't quite figured out how to solve, says Amy Chozick of The New York Times. As the American middle class evaporates, presidential candidates are resorting to less loaded phrases to describe the besieged 50th percentile in America's income distribution. The new catchphrases include "hardworking taxpayers," "everyday Americans," even "people who work for the people who own businesses." Academics are more grounded, coining terms like "the near poor" and "the sandwich generation." If candidates Rand Paul, Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders can't look the middle class in the eye and tell it like it is, how will they address the new "hourglass economy" as president?

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By Marissa Brent-Tookey

Marissa Brent-Tookey is an editorial intern at Crosscut. She holds a B.A. in French from Seattle University and now studies film production at Shoreline Community College. In addition to crewing a doz