And 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 is what “middle-out” really means: rebuilding an economy that works for all of us, not just the top 1%. Want to learn more? Visit www.middleoutcenter.org

It’s paved with living wages, affordable healthcare, good schools & policies that make it possible for everyone to participate and prosper. When working Americans have money to spend, they create demand, businesses grow, and jobs follow. Prosperity flows outward & upward, not just down from the top.

We don't have too little wealth. We have $79 trillion that got transferred upward while working people got left behind.

That was a choice. We can make different ones. #EconSky

For 50 years we've been told investors and CEOs are the real job creators. So we built an economy that works for them. And yet—wages stayed flat, costs exploded, and now 7 in 10 people can't afford what used to be called middle class.

Older voters locked in before these changes hit. Younger voters never had a chance.

When you're told the economy is "strong" but you're choosing between rent and groceries, you are not failing. The system is failing you.

Younger generations inherited 50 years of trickle-down:

* Wages decoupled from productivity
* Financialized housing
* Gutted labor power
* Retirement risk shifted onto individuals

Older generations:

* Bought homes before Wall Street turned housing into an investment vehicle
* Had unions strong enough to bargain for real wage growth
* Retired with actual pensions, not the 401(k) experiment
* Got Medicare at 65

And the generational divide is structural, not attitudinal.

Voters over 65:
🔵 70% already own the home they want
🔵 63% can afford the life they feel they should
🔵 24% say they worry about affording "nothing"

Under 30:
🔵 54% say homeownership is out of reach
🔵 75% can't afford the life they should

What those polled deemed UNAFFORDABLE:

Education: 58% | Housing: 54% | Healthcare: 47% | Having a family: 44%

75% of voters under 65 can't afford retirement or feel insecure about it

77% say achieving middle-class lifestyle is harder than for previous generations. But aggregate numbers obscure the generational catastrophe:

🔵 84% of voters 18-44 say it's harder
🔵 50% of voters under 45 are worse off than their parents at the same age

Economies grow when more people can participate—not when wealth piles up at the top. A thriving middle class isn't what you get after growth. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵. We don't have too little wealth. We just spent 50 years moving it in the wrong direction. That was a choice. We can make different ones.

The generational divide tells the whole story.

Older voters: bought homes before Wall Street financialized housing, had unions, had pensions, got Medicare.

Younger voters: inherited all of it. And now 40% of people under 30 say they're falling behind.

Neoliberal consensus promised: cut taxes for the wealthy, deregulate, prioritize capital owners—prosperity will trickle down. 50 years later, the results are in.

$79 trillion transferred from the bottom 90% to the top 1%. Wages stagnated. Costs exploded. Exactly as designed.

77% say middle-class lifestyle is harder to achieve than previous generation.
75% of voters under 30 can't afford the life they should be able to afford.
58% say education is unaffordable. 54% say the same about housing.

This isn't a handful of struggling people. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. #EconSky