ABSTRACT
The dilemma of the middle class is not easily solved, but since prosperous economies depend on the middle class as consumers, some changes are essential. The social, economic, and political structures that have produced the middle class meltdown are too big to be combated effectively by individuals. The coherent rules that once governed middle class life have not been replaced by equally coherent updated rules. The middle class of a prior age fueled the consumer economy by spending the rising wages received from work. The middle class fuels the consumer economy by borrowing money from the same financial elites who accumulate capital through financial manipulations, capital flight, and expropriating productivity gains. A viable national healthcare system would eliminate healthcare crises caused by skyrocketing out-of-pocket expenses, a major source of bankruptcy among the middle class. Many on the political right claim that the problems of American families are caused by cultural decline.
