The Middle Class in Peril
The Atlantic – As Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) put it, the American middle class is trying to make sense of a world in which they are working harder, earning less, and find themselves increasingly burdened by credit card debt and their children's tuition. Moderated by Atlantic editor Scott Stossel, the group discussed the severity of the crisis facing the middle class, the roots of the problem, and the ways in which policy-makers and others can salvage America's dwindling middle class. Participants agreed that one of the largest problems besetting the middle class is a disparity between available jobs and the skill-sets being taught by institutes of higher education and worker retraining programs.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said policy makers crippled the workforce by favoring finance over manufacturing. If America is to rebuild its workforce, the manufacturing industry needs to be portrayed as an attractive profession for recent college graduates, said United Technologies Vice President Thomas Bowler.
