ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. I think the finest entry in TAP's debate over the fate of the middle class comes, sadly, from Paul Krugman in The New York Times. As he argues, the very fact that there is a debate is, in itself, the answer. In the period after World War II, the living standards of Americans improved unambiguously. Not so since. Over the last three decades, the rich have rapidly gained ground, while the middle class saw their climb slow. That they may have remained affluent enough is not a satisfactory rejoinder to the question of why their growth slowed. That's not to say there's been no improvement, or that the internet isn't worth something. You could jack up my income into the millions, and I'd still prefer to exist on my paltry salary in the age of the web. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't want my salary to be better today, nor that it shouldn't be. The country can enjoy technological advances and relative affluence while still wondering why growth has accelerated among the rich and slowed for the middle class. As Krugman argues, "What we should be debating is why technological and economic progress has done so little for most Americans, and what changes in government policies would spread the benefits of progress more widely." The questions over the affluence of the middle class, while interesting, are basically beside the point.
--Ezra Klein
