Isabel Meyer

English 101
9/6/16
RIP, the Middle Class Summary
RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013 by Edward McClelland is an article about the decline of
the middle class. He first posted the article on a site called Salon they claim to post
fearless commentary and criticism. McClelland uses his article to point out the changes
in our economy and the affects the diminishing middle class has on our society.
McClelland starts by reminiscing the middle class I know Im dating myself by writing
this, but I remember the middle class(549). He talks of a time when a high school
student could get a job at a factory and make as much as his high school teacher, in the
70s the middle class could afford a lot of the same things the upper class could but now
that time has come to an end. McClelland states that the middle class is a fluke an
interlude between the gilded ages that more closely reflect the way most societies
structure themselves economically(550). The money that used to go to the middle class
has dropped so its as though the New Deal and the Modern labor movement didnt take
place.
McClelland uses the story of a young couple so we can better see the impact the
changes in middle class had. The couples careers started during the prime of the middle
class and their careers changed with the decline of the middle class. They were told that
they could have steady jobs for the rest of their lives but with the decline of the middle
class and more companies moving overseas these jobs disappeared. As a result the
couple had to get more training just to get jobs that paid less then the jobs they had
during the golden age of the middle class with no training. An example McClelland says,
of failing government. McClelland claims that the decrease in the middle class is the fault
of our government, that our officials dont have a plan for protecting the welfare of
America, the last president who had a plan for protecting American workers from the
vicissitudes of the global economy was Richard Nixon(554). McClelland provides many
examples of the adverse affects many officials in government since Nixon have had on
the middle class including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Paul Vocker, and Bill Clinton.
McClelland affirms that the lesson to be learned from the past is that we cant depend
on the free market to sustain a middle class. Its not going to happen without
government intervention.(557) without government regulation of industry and high
marginal income tax rates McClelland does not believe we will be able to repair the
middle class. As far as McClellands concerned Its not fine for the middle class to be
one of the losers(559).

Works Cited
Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstien They Say/ I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic
Writing W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Edward McClelland RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013

Outline
Argument: the middle class is disappearing.
Supporting point 1: Its no longer possible to get a job that supports you right out of high
school.
Supporting point 2: People require more training for positions you couldve worked up to
without training in the golden age of the middle class.
Supporting point 3: A failing government is minimizing the amount of jobs for the middle
class