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American Middle Class Doing Poorly, Says Study

Posted by: Lisa Nichols | Apr 16,2008

A new study claims that the American middle class is suffering from too much personal debt and worried about the economy. The Pew Research Center combined data from their own national opinion survey with data from the Census bureau to formulate survey results. The survey found that America’s middle class is not happy with where they are today compared to five years ago.

 

Survey Finds American Middle Class Struggling to Get Out of Debt

 

The Pew Research Center survey found that the American middle class are struggling with the economy and their attempts to get out of debt. According to the survey, the middle class feels like they aren’t moving forward in their lives (25%) or that they have fallen backwards (31%), in part due to personal debt. From 1983 to 2004, median incomes for upper-income households doubled (and then some) while middle class Americans’ net worth grew by only 29%. And 79% of survey respondents said that it’s more difficult now to maintain their standard of living now than it was five years ago. Getting out of debt seems impossible to many, as middle class Americans take on more and more personal debt just to get by.

 

The Economy Impacts Personal Debt

 

The economy has significantly impacted personal debt, according to the survey. More than 50% of survey respondents stated that they have had to do some “belt tightening” in the last year. About half of the people surveyed said that they plan to make even more cutbacks in the next year to get out of debt. 25% of people surveyed worry that they will have trouble paying their bills and reducing their personal debt this year. 25% of employed people worry that they may be in danger of losing their job.

 

Get out of debt by transferring high interest balances to a balance transfer credit card or a low interest credit card. These types of credit cards can significantly reduce amounts owed on personal debt no matter what direction the economy takes.  

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