Stuff You Should Know: “The Middle Class: Canary in the Gold Mine?”
Date: March 31, 2026
Hosts: Josh Clark & Chuck Bryant
Episode Overview
In this episode, Josh and Chuck dive deeply into the concept, history, and current fate of the middle class—primarily in the United States, but with nods to global trends. They trace the origins and evolution of the middle class, explore the metrics used to define it today, and analyze the forces that have shaped, supported, and—recently—hollowed it out. With characteristic humor and clarity, they highlight why the health of the middle class is a key societal indicator and discuss if, as some argue, it really is a “canary in the gold mine.”
Key Themes & Discussion Points
1. Why the Middle Class Matters: The 'Canary' Metaphor
- The middle class is often seen as a crucial indicator—the canary in the coal mine—for the overall health of a society (04:08).
- Debate exists: some claim the middle class is thriving by certain metrics, while others insist it's "dead" or deteriorating (05:14).
- Josh: “Not only is the canary dead, it caught fire at some point.” (05:14)
- Public perception (i.e., "vibes") is often at odds with economic statistics—what Kyla Scanlon calls the “vibecession.” (06:00-06:39)
- Chuck: "A vibe session sounds like something I do late on Friday nights." (06:26)
- Timestamps: [04:08]–[07:01]
2. The Historical Roots of the Middle Class
- Medieval Europe: Urbanization gave rise to the merchant/bourgeois class—a group neither aristocracy nor peasants, but administrators, merchants, and professionals (07:21-08:57).
- Chuck: “There was this distinct group… wasn’t aristocracy, and it wasn’t the peasant class.” (07:38)
- Josh: “Burgermeister means mayor, so he’s like the head of the city, essentially. Anyway, those were the merchants, the bankers... the first middle class.” (08:28)
- US Founding: Middle class values were integrated into the American experiment—a society of self-sufficient farmers (10:37-11:17).
- Timestamps: [07:21]–[12:05]
3. The Middle Class in the 19th & 20th Centuries
- Marxist Critique: Marx championed a binary of oppressed workers vs. capitalists, downplaying the emerging middle classes (12:44-13:44).
- Middle class values: Hard work, saving, expanding voting rights, education, and (historically) strict gender roles (13:56-15:31).
- Rise of the Industrial Middle Class: Especially strong growth post–World War II, buoyed by US economic dominance, the New Deal, and labor unions (18:13-23:45).
- Josh: “One of the main values…was that the mother stayed home, raised the kids, and made the house the center… One salary could do all of that.” (23:13)
- Chuck: “Blue collar workers and white collar workers were way more, you know, just kind of squashed together.” (23:45)
- Timestamps: [12:44]–[24:31]
4. The Decline: From Post-War Boom to the Present
- Shift After the 1970s: US economic dominance wanes as other countries catch up; deindustrialization, automation, and de-unionization erode the middle class base.
- Manufacturing jobs plummet (from 1/4 of jobs in 1970 to 1/11 by 2017) (26:31).
- Union membership falls below 10%; legislative support evaporates and sometimes actively erodes union power (27:25–28:02).
- Josh: “If your wages have increased 33% but productivity has increased 87%, that means that that extra wealth...didn’t go to the workers, it went to the wealthiest people.” (45:27)
- Reagan Era & After: Neoliberal economic policies (tax cuts for rich/corporations, union busting) accelerate the wealth gap. Both parties implicated (28:02–29:49).
- Timestamps: [24:31]–[29:49]
5. Defining the Modern Middle Class
- Income-focused definitions: Pew Research’s widely used model—households with incomes between 2/3 and 2x the median; in 2024, this meant $55,820–$167,460 (31:43).
- Percentage of households considered middle class fell from 61% (1971) to 51% (2023); upper income category doubles from 11% to 19% (32:20–32:37).
- Chuck: “So what you’re seeing is like the wealth gap happening in real time, basically.” (32:20)
- Self-Identification: In 2024, 39% called themselves “middle class”; 15% “upper middle”; just 2% “upper class” (33:28).
- Other measures (education, values) are increasingly unreliable due to debt, gig economy, and shifting family structures (36:57–39:21).
- Timestamps: [29:49]–[39:21]
6. What’s Actually Gone Wrong: Stagnation and Inequality
- Stagnant Real Wages: Inflation-adjusted average hourly wages for non-supervisory workers are virtually unchanged since the early 1970s; productivity has soared far ahead (42:40–45:26).
- Josh: “If anyone ever tells you that wages have not stagnated they are lying or they’re dumb or both and just tell them so.” (43:40)
- Skyrocketing Inequality:
- Bottom 90%: wages up 29% (1979–2021);
- Top 1%: up 206%.
- 1982: 13 billionaires in US; 2024: 900+ billionaires, $6.6 trillion among the richest 400 (46:12-47:27)
- The bottom 50% of Americans own just $4 trillion of $140 trillion in US wealth (47:11).
- $50 trillion transferred upward since 1975 (47:47).
- Political Power: The wealthy influence policy and perpetuate advantages for their class—across both major parties (48:47-50:24).
- Josh: “It’s not liberal and conservative. It’s not Republican and Democrat. This is strictly a class issue.” (49:41)
- Timestamps: [42:40]–[52:41]
7. Middle Class Markers: What’s Out of Reach?
- Goods vs. Essentials: Groceries, clothing, and electronics are cheaper; but housing, healthcare, childcare, and college costs have outpaced wage growth (52:52).
- Home ownership age and rates have shifted; median home costs up dramatically (52:52-52:56).
- Many are one paycheck or one medical crisis from financial ruin (54:19).
- Chuck: “The danger of falling into desperate life straits isn’t as great [in Europe].” (53:06)
- Timestamps: [52:41]–[55:45]
8. What Can Be Done? Lessons from Abroad & Policy Solutions
- Europe as a Model: More income equality, stronger social safety nets, universal healthcare leads to greater middle class security (53:06–54:52).
- Free Childcare: Emerging as a policy in New Mexico, and proposed in NYC—could help ease burdens on working families (57:01–57:40).
- Josh: “We could stop making that a political thing and be like, no, actually this can help everybody.” (57:01)
- Timestamps: [53:06]–[57:51]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Josh (on the “canary”): “Not only is the canary dead, it caught fire at some point.” (05:14)
- Chuck (on “vibecession”): “A vibe session sounds like something I do late on Friday nights.” (06:26)
- Josh (on wealth trends): “If your wages have increased 33% but productivity has increased 87%, that means that extra wealth...didn’t go to the workers, it went to the wealthiest people.” (45:27)
- Chuck (on Forbes list): “In 1982 there were 13 billionaires. There are more than 900 in the United States right now…” (47:11)
- Josh (on political divisions): “It’s not liberal and conservative. It’s not Republican and Democrat. This is strictly a class issue.” (49:41)
- Chuck (on European safety nets): “It’s just not like that in Europe, generally speaking.” (54:19)
- Josh (on basic goods inflation): “The lower income you are, the more inflation affects you.” (55:02)
- Chuck (on naive youth): “I would wonder why someone would come in and buy like $7 worth of gas… it didn't occur to me that’s all they could afford.” (55:45)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 04:08 – Introduction: the middle class as a metric for societal health
- 06:00 – The “vibecession” and public perception of the economy
- 07:21-10:27 – Historical emergence of middle class values
- 18:13 – Post-WWII, the “golden age” of the American middle class
- 23:45 – What defined middle class life postwar
- 26:31 – Deindustrialization and job loss
- 27:25 – Union membership decline
- 28:02 – Reagan era and neoliberal economic shifts
- 31:43 – Pew and income-based definitions; shrinking middle class
- 42:40 – Stagnant wages, real dollar comparisons (1973 vs. today)
- 46:12 – Explosive income inequality, Forbes 400 stats
- 49:41 – Class politics and policy influence
- 53:06 – Comparing Europe’s safety nets, lessons for the US
- 57:01 – Universal childcare as a possible solution
Tone & Style
Josh and Chuck maintain their signature friendly, conversational, and witty style, using humor to highlight the absurdities of economic myths and the seriousness of vanishing middle class prospects. They balance statistics and policy talk with personal anecdotes and cultural references, making the topic engaging and accessible.
Conclusion
This episode is a thorough and accessible exploration of how the middle class was built, why it mattered, what forces undermined it, and why its fate is so crucial for everyone—not just those who identify with it. The hosts emphasize that economic trends are about more than numbers—they’re about security, dignity, and fairness. And while they don’t offer silver-bullet solutions, they gesture toward policy options—like free childcare and stronger social support—that could help restore middle class stability.
Recommended Segment to Listen To:
- [42:40–47:47]: The most impactful and eye-opening stats on how much the middle class has stagnated while the rich have gotten dramatically richer.
For anyone interested in economics, history, or social policy, this episode is an engaging, nonpartisan primer on why the middle class matters—and what’s at stake as it changes.