--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For 40 years, the American middle class…" description: "\"For 40 years, the American middle class has been disappearing. Millions of people are working longer hours for lower wages despite a huge increase in t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/lindsey-graham-3593_america_for-40-years-the-american-middle-class-h_1098214.jpg" --- # For 40 years, the American middle class has been… ![“For 40 years, the American middle class has been disappearing. Millions of people are working longer hours for lower wages despite a huge increase in technology and productivity. And what we have seen during that period is a massive transfer of trillions of dollars from the middle class to the top…” quote by Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/lindsey-graham-3593_america_for-40-years-the-american-middle-class-h_1098214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/lindsey-graham-3593_america_for-40-years-the-american-middle-class-h_1098214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/lindsey-graham-3593_america_for-40-years-the-american-middle-class-h_1098214.jpg) > “For 40 years, the American middle class has been disappearing. Millions of people are working longer hours for lower wages despite a huge increase in technology and productivity. And what we have seen during that period is a massive transfer of trillions of dollars from the middle class to the top one-tenth of 1 percent of America” [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The American middle class has shrunk over decades while productivity rose, leading to wealth shifting to the richest few and longer work for lower pay. **In simple terms:** Middle class is disappearing as wealth moves up. Key Takeaway Address policy to rebalance wealth and wages. Themes economic inequality wealth distribution labor market technology impact social mobility Mood concerned urgent analytical Type political economic social When to use this quote - policy debates - labor negotiations - community organizing - financial planning - educational reform Key Concepts progressive taxation minimum wage education access union support automation policy Questions to Reflect On - How can policy effectively reverse wealth concentration? - What role should technology play in supporting workers? A Different Perspective Reforms may face political resistance and implementation challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Wages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wages/) ## Related quotes > [ You can see examples of this, such as where \[George W.\] Bush lied to the public, and as a result 72 percent of America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-peltier/you-can-see-examples-of-this-such-as-where-george-w-bush-lied-to-the/) [Leonard Peltier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-peltier/) > [Our system is a mess, but 90 percent of America has insurance coverage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drum/our-system-is-a-mess-but-90-percent-of-america-has-insurance-coverage/) [Kevin Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drum/) > [Today, 65 percent of America's population live in metropolitan areas - and 95 percent of all the transit miles traveled are traveled there. Metropolitan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-foxx/today-65-percent-of-america-s-population-live-in-metropolitan-areas/) [Anthony Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-foxx/) > [ “\[W\]hen you look at who’ll be collecting this tax, the chances of drumming up a conspiracy suddenly look even worse. In America, .03 percent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-boortz/w-hen-you-look-at-who-ll-be-collecting-this-tax-the-chances-of/) [Neal Boortz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-boortz/) > [I relate more to 90 percent of America because I look like 'em, act like 'em. I'm not above anybody; I put my pants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-nelson/i-relate-more-to-90-percent-of-america-because-i-look-like-em-act/) [Roy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-nelson/) > [I do care about not 99 percent or 95 percent. I care about the very rich and the very poor. I care about 100 percent of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-do-care-about-not-99-percent-or-95-percent-i-care-about-the-very/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [You can pay certain people more money and stuff but that's just going to be a transfer from one group to another. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-koch/you-can-pay-certain-people-more-money-and-stuff-but-that-s-just-going/) [Charles Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-koch/) > [Despite spending trillions of dollars and spilling the blood of thousands of Americans, we remain in servitude to Arab oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-troia-mcfarland/despite-spending-trillions-of-dollars-and-spilling-the-blood-of/) [Kathleen Troia McFarland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-troia-mcfarland/) > [I have a rough time wanting to spend billions and billions and trillions of dollars to help people who won't help themselves, won't lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/i-have-a-rough-time-wanting-to-spend-billions-and-billions-and/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [ \[Barack\] Obama administration, the \[George W.\]Bush administration have done nothing. And as China has manipulated its currency, we've lost trillions of dollars of wealth… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/barack-obama-administration-the-george-w-bush-administration-have/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [Money is not everything. We don't need billions and trillions of dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/money-is-not-everything-we-don-t-need-billions-and-trillions-of/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [We don't know what's causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/we-don-t-know-what-s-causing-climate-change-on-this-planet-and-the/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Manhattan is an island. It is a concrete rock. And on top of that island are trillions of dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-serhant/manhattan-is-an-island-it-is-a-concrete-rock-and-on-top-of-that/) [Ryan Serhant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-serhant/) > [We spend trillions of dollars to travel around the world, but it's in everybody's interest that we have a better framework, and not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-spend-trillions-of-dollars-to-travel-around-the-world-but-it-s-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We need to cut unnecessary weapons programs like the F-35 fighter plane that cost trillions of dollars and don't even work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raja-krishnamoorthi/we-need-to-cut-unnecessary-weapons-programs-like-the-f-35-fighter/) [Raja Krishnamoorthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raja-krishnamoorthi/) ## More by Lindsey Graham > [We're failing when it comes to controlling spending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/we-re-failing-when-it-comes-to-controlling-spending/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [The legal system in Afghanistan is very immature and porous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-legal-system-in-afghanistan-is-very-immature-and-porous/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [There's a lot of things we can do to balance out what Obama's done and going forward show the American people the Republican Party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/there-s-a-lot-of-things-we-can-do-to-balance-out-what-obama-s-done/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [I intend to make America strong again. I'm going to be the champion of the middle class, where I came from. If you make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/i-intend-to-make-america-strong-again-i-m-going-to-be-the-champion-of/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [The sooner we get started with alternative energy sources and recognize that fossil fuels makes us less secure as a nation, and more dangerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-sooner-we-get-started-with-alternative-energy-sources-and/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [Well, thank God for a media that will ask questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/well-thank-god-for-a-media-that-will-ask-questions/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [My advice is if we can't replace Obamacare by ourselves, to go to the Democrats and say this. 10% of the sick people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/my-advice-is-if-we-can-t-replace-obamacare-by-ourselves-to-go-to-the/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/we-re-not-generating-enough-angry-white-guys-to-stay-in-business-for/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [From a policy point of view, I don't think it's the right approach. I don't like the idea of having millions of people here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/from-a-policy-point-of-view-i-don-t-think-it-s-the-right-approach-i/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [I think comprehensive immigration reform while securing your border and dealing rationale with 11 million is the only way we're going to solve this problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/i-think-comprehensive-immigration-reform-while-securing-your-border/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [I don't see any coronation coming my way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/i-don-t-see-any-coronation-coming-my-way/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [Conservatives have a different view of a lot of issues versus our friends on the other side. The election determines how that shakes out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/conservatives-have-a-different-view-of-a-lot-of-issues-versus-our/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [It's one thing to shoot yourself in the foot. Just don't reload the gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/it-s-one-thing-to-shoot-yourself-in-the-foot-just-don-t-reload-the-gun/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [At the end of the day, I think I understand the dynamic that we face. And I'm best prepared to be commander in chief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/at-the-end-of-the-day-i-think-i-understand-the-dynamic-that-we-face/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [There will never be a bill without a pathway to citizenship signed by the president...And in turn there will never be a pathway to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/there-will-never-be-a-bill-without-a-pathway-to-citizenship-signed-by/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) [Explore all 126 Lindsey Graham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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