Isabel Meyer

Anna Lohmeyer
English 101
30 November 2016
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. Its as though the New Deal and the Modern labor movement didnt take
place.

McClelland uses the story of a young couple to show 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).

McClelland uses his article to show the decline of the middle class. The affects its had on
our economy, and many people in the U.S. Its become harder to get a job out of high
school that will support you. Stable jobs often require a college education. Times are
changing, its no longer the job market of our grandparents and its time we recognize it.

Works Cited
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say The Moves That Matter in
Academic Writing. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, n.d. Print.
McClelland, Edward. "RIP, The Middle Class: 1946-2013." N.p.

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