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Note d'analyse
Publié le
Mercredi 24 Février 2016
France Stratégie has just published “Middle Class: Half of Americans, Two-Thirds of the French” (Classe Moyenne : un Américain sur deux, deux Français sur trois), a comparative study of the two countries’ middle income groups.
Classe moyenne : un Américain sur deux, deux Français sur trois

Middle class. It’s hard to imagine this term hardly raised an eyebrow a mere generation ago. And with reason. At the time, it was a given the US was largely a country of the middle class, where a comfortable life was within easy reach of the vast majority of the population. Fast forward to 2016 and the situation couldn’t be more different. Wealth inequality has become a rallying cry for millions of Americans who feel they’ve be given the short end of the economic stick one too many times.

From the vantage point of other developed countries, that the US is a country of extremes is nothing new. A Canadian driving across cities like New York or Washington, D.C. 30 years ago would inevitably be struck by the crushing poverty almost on the doorstep of august wealth.

But this was clearly more tenable as long the millions of Americans in between didn’t start feeling the squeeze of declining income.

Auteurs

Richard Venturi
Type d'image: 
Libre
Richard
Venturi
Anciens auteurs de France Stratégie
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