Personal Narrative: The Vanishing Middle Class

Although my parents grew up poor, they managed to battle their way up to the middle class by working arduously, obtaining a college education, and staying frugal. As a result, my parents positioned themselves into the working middle class because they had opportunities. But now with increasing expenses, my parents struggle at times to save money. As a family, we used to take annual vacations, but in the last 6 years, we only took one family vacation. Watching my parents budget, I know they don’t overspend on frivolous items. If anything, I hear them complain about the high water and electricity bills. I am terrified my climb to the middle class will be even more problematic than my parents. My concern is even if I graduate, and acquire …show more content…
My father’s salary matches what a traditional middle-class father would make, but my mother her salary would be considered poverty level. Her paycheck goes mainly to pay the mortgage. My father's paycheck pays for everything else. The point I am trying to make is if my mother didn’t work, it would be difficult for my family to stay afloat. That is the norm today. Two parents work to support the family. Just like my parents, lots of middle-class families need two parents working outside the home. In the article The vanishing Middle Class, it said: “After decades of rising incomes earlier in the twentieth century, about thirty years ago wages for middle-class men flatlined.” If salaries have flatlined and inflation has increased, this creates a problem for the middle class. This causes the pendulum to tip, and middle-class Americans start to struggle, and we wonder why the middle class is dying. This is the reasons why families converted to two working parents so that they could have livable …show more content…
With salaries staying stagnant and huge fixed expenses are increasing, middle-class Americans can’t remain at the level they once were. And the end result, good bye middle class. Some experts argue that the decline of the middle class is caused by overspending. If we take a look at the information in the article The Vanishing Middle Class by Elizabeth Warren, we notice the numbers show expenses like mortgages, health care, cars, child care, and taxes increase while clothing, food, appliances are cheaper. So basically, the middle class is shrinking because we are being paid less while our fixed expenses

Show More

Related Documents: Personal Narrative: The Vanishing Middle Class

Renaissance: Leonardo Da Vinci and Mona Lisa Essays