Jan. 12, 2026

The Middle Class New Deal. Restoring Upward Mobility and the American Dream. Talking with Professor A. Mechele Dickerson.

The Middle Class New Deal. Restoring Upward Mobility and the American Dream. Talking with Professor A. Mechele Dickerson.

The middle class in America has lost ground with stagnant wages, costly housing, declining retirement benefits while education and health costs soar. Congress needs to buttress the economic agenda that created the middle class in the 1940s and 50s.

The decline of America's middle class stems from stagnant wages, rising costs for essentials like housing, education and healthcare, technology shifts, globalization, increased income inequality and greater financial vulnerability. A New Deal to shore up the foundations of the Middle Class is long overdue.