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The Quiet Collapse of the Middle Class: How Inflation, Education, and Policy Broke the Promise
Paperback
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ISBN13: 9798243584005
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jan 11 2026
Pages: 258
Weight: 0.77
Height: 0.54 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jan 11 2026
Pages: 258
Weight: 0.77
Height: 0.54 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The Quiet Collapse of the Middle Class
How Inflation, Education, and Policy Broke the Promise
For decades, Americans believed in a simple bargain: work hard, play by the rules, and the middle class would provide stability, security, and upward mobility. Today, that promise feels broken. Wages have stagnated, costs have soared, and debt has become a fact of life. Yet the collapse is not dramatic-it's quiet, insidious, and often invisible, leaving families stretched, stressed, and unsure how they fell behind.
How Inflation, Education, and Policy Broke the Promise
For decades, Americans believed in a simple bargain: work hard, play by the rules, and the middle class would provide stability, security, and upward mobility. Today, that promise feels broken. Wages have stagnated, costs have soared, and debt has become a fact of life. Yet the collapse is not dramatic-it's quiet, insidious, and often invisible, leaving families stretched, stressed, and unsure how they fell behind.
In The Quiet Collapse of the Middle Class, award-winning analyst Roger S. Smith traces the slow erosion of economic security across generations, industries, and regions. From rising housing costs and student debt to the shift from pensions to 401(k)s, from the disappearance of vocational pathways to the invisible pressures of dual-income households, Smith reveals how policy choices-not personal failure-reshaped the middle-class landscape.
This is not a book of blame. It is a book of clarity. By connecting lived experience with structural forces, Smith illuminates why the numbers often look fine even as families feel stretched to the breaking point. Through data, stories, and regional comparisons, readers will see how the American dream has quietly shifted, why resilience still holds, and what can be done to restore balance.
This is not a book of blame. It is a book of clarity. By connecting lived experience with structural forces, Smith illuminates why the numbers often look fine even as families feel stretched to the breaking point. Through data, stories, and regional comparisons, readers will see how the American dream has quietly shifted, why resilience still holds, and what can be done to restore balance.
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