If $130,000 is the new poverty line… what does that make you?

In this episode of Classonomics, we tackle the viral argument that the middle class isn’t struggling — it’s being mismeasured. On paper, incomes are up and unemployment is low. So why does it feel harder than ever to afford a home, raise kids, or even stand still? We break down the hidden costs of economic participation, from housing and childcare to smartphones and “technological coercion”. We also examine the rise of the two-income trap that quietly reset the price of middle-class life. Are millennials truly worse off than their parents? Is inflation data masking reality? And was the 80s and 90s middle class partly a sitcom illusion? 

If you’ve ever felt “middle class” in theory but squeezed in practice, this episode explains why.

Chapters:

0:00 – Introduction: Welcome to Classonomics

0:39 –  Why 90s “Struggling” TV Families Look Wealthy Today

02:03 – Is $130k the New Poverty Line?

04:52 – Technological Coercion: From Luxury to Necessity

09:08 – Why Inflation Stats are Misleading: Better vs. Cheaper

11:03 – The Two-Income Trap: From Option to Obligation

14:54 – The Nostalgia Gap: Are We Remembering the 80s Correctly?

17:20 – The Reality of Generational Downward Mobility

Research links:

Part 1: My Life Is a Lie

How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America

https://www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-life-is-a-lie

Cory Doctorow 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow

Hedonic adjustments

https://www.npr.org/2022/11/10/1135849519/hedonic-adjustment-how-to-measure-pleasure

Credits:

Mike Moffatt 

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt

https://bsky.app/profile/mikepmoffatt.bsky.social

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.