--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a process that had begun in the 1980s…" description: "\"In a process that had begun in the 1980s and suddenly accelerated in the early 2000s ... [t]he peaks of great wealth grew higher, rising up beyond the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_broads_in-a-process-that-had-begun-in-the-1980s_2784189.jpg" --- # In a process that had begun in the 1980s and suddenly… ![“In a process that had begun in the 1980s and suddenly accelerated in the early 2000s ... [t]he peaks of great wealth grew higher, rising up beyond the clouds, while the valleys of poverty sank lower into perpetual shadow. The once broad plateau of the middle class eroded away into a narrow ledge…” quote by Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_broads_in-a-process-that-had-begun-in-the-1980s_2784189.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_broads_in-a-process-that-had-begun-in-the-1980s_2784189.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_broads_in-a-process-that-had-begun-in-the-1980s_2784189.jpg) > “In a process that had begun in the 1980s and suddenly accelerated in the early 2000s ... \[t\]he peaks of great wealth grew higher, rising up beyond the clouds, while the valleys of poverty sank lower into perpetual shadow. The once broad plateau of the middle class eroded away into a narrow ledge, with the white-knuckled occupants holding on for dear life.” [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic inequality intensifies as wealth concentrates and poverty deepens, shrinking the middle class. **In simple terms:** Wealth rises, poverty falls, middle class shrinks. Key Takeaway Address systemic inequality. Themes inequality economics social class wealth distribution Mood concerned urgent Type analytical critical When to use this quote - policy debates - urban planning - community organizing - education funding - healthcare access Key Concepts Capitalism wealth gap social stratification Questions to Reflect On - How does policy affect wealth gaps? - What can individuals do to support the middle class? A Different Perspective The quote may oversimplify complex economic forces and ignore regional variations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begun 1980S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begun-1980s-3332449/) [Broads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broads/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Class Eroded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-eroded-3332447/) [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Dear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear/) [Dear life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-life/) [Eroded Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eroded-away-3332448/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Holding on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holding-on/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Ledges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ledges/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Perpetual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetual/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Sank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-sank-3332446/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Rising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising/) [Rising up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising-up/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Valleys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valleys/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Wealth Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth-grew-3332445/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) ## Related quotes > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. 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They climb up sheer rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/easy-climb-kurokuma-you-do-it-easily-not-on-your-life-horace-said/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [We only came close to dying six or seven times, which I thought was pretty good. Once, I lost my grip and found myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/we-only-came-close-to-dying-six-or-seven-times-which-i-thought-was-3/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Our skin is very thin. It doesn't take much for us to jump off a ledge or to kill one another. It can happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/our-skin-is-very-thin-it-doesn-t-take-much-for-us-to-jump-off-a-ledge/) [Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/) > [The other day, I was walking my dog around my building . . . on the ledge. Some people are afraid of heights. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/the-other-day-i-was-walking-my-dog-around-my-building-on-the-ledge/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [... to keep moving up ... , you have to abandon the security of that ledge and reach for another hold. Letting go of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/to-keep-moving-up-you-have-to-abandon-the-security-of-that-ledge-and/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [But I've married a deeply sensible person who is extremely good at talking me down from my various ledges, and who takes care of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-i-ve-married-a-deeply-sensible-person-who-is-extremely-good-at/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [Where is it I've read that someone condemned to death says or thinks, an hour before his death, that if he had to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/where-is-it-i-ve-read-that-someone-condemned-to-death-says-or-thinks/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [With meditation I found a ledge above the waterfall of my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-meditation-i-found-a-ledge-above-the-waterfall-of-my-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The thing about hitting bottom is that, in the middle of it, sometimes you don’t know if you’re really hitting bottom or just bouncing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-weisel/the-thing-about-hitting-bottom-is-that-in-the-middle-of-it-sometimes/) [Frederick Weisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-weisel/) > [Cats sleep Anywhere, Any table, Any chair, Top of piano, Window-ledge, In the middle, On the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-farjeon/cats-sleep-anywhere-any-table-any-chair-top-of-piano-window-ledge-in/) [Eleanor Farjeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-farjeon/) ## More by Barbara Ehrenreich > [Money does not bring happiness' - only the wherewithal, perhaps, to endure its absence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/money-does-not-bring-happiness-only-the-wherewithal-perhaps-to-endure/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Yes. I think the anti-Wal-Mart is Costco, which pays much better and has much better health benefits and which is profitable and offers low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/yes-i-think-the-anti-wal-mart-is-costco-which-pays-much-better-and/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Jesus: a wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/jesus-a-wine-guzzling-vagrant-and-precocious-socialist/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [ What would it mean in practice to eliminate all the 'negative people' from one's life \[as demanded by motivational speaker J.P. Maroney\]? 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