Over the past few years the political debate in this country has centered on two groups: the top income earners and those at the very bottom. President Obama made contrasts between these two segments of our population the leading theme of his 2012 reelection race, portraying Mitt Romney as beholden to the “one percent.” While this focus made for great sound bites and headlines on the campaign trail, it fails to address the problems faced by the vast majority of Americans — those families in the middle.
The Great Recession has hurt Americans across the socioeconomic spectrum, but hit our nation’s middle class especially hard. According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of families fell from over $126,000 in 2007 to just over $77,000 in 2010. This 39 percent fall left American families in the same place they were in 1992.
Middle class Americans lost their homes, retirement savings, and often their jobs. The Associated Press reported half of the 7.5 million jobs lost during the recession were in industries that pay between $38,000 and $68,000. This is the heart of middle class jobs in America.
With the start of Congress’ August work period, I was able to spend the last week meeting with constituents throughout my working-class district in western North Carolina. I hosted six town hall meetings, each giving constituents the chance to ask me questions.
At each meeting I used the opportunity to ask one question of them — do you think your children and grandchildren will grow up with the same opportunities you did? At all six town halls, the near-unanimous response was no.
And who can blame them? Since President Obama was elected at the heart of the Great Recession, the plight of middle class families has only gotten worse. As President Obama was sworn into office and the so-called “recovery” began in January 2009, the median household income in the United States was nearly $55,500. As of this past May, the median household income was just under $53,400, a drop of almost $2,100.
As the median household income continues to fall, the price of everyday necessities is only going up. While in my hometown of Gastonia last week I saw gas prices nearing $3.50 a gallon. In districts like mine, where 83 percent of residents drive to work, these prices are untenable.
While the middle class struggles, President Obama and Senate Democrats insist on pursuing policies that only make the situation worse. The House has passed over 16 bipartisan energy bills to help reduce gas prices and energy costs for the American people. Among those bills is one that would finally approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Although the President’s own State Department has approved the project, President Obama continues to block it.
The most significant impediment for the middle class remains Obamacare. From its high premiums to its redefinition of full-time work, no policy of the Obama era has had such a negative impact on the family in the middle.
Nowhere has this negative impact been illustrated better than last month’s jobs report. The administration celebrated the unemployment rate falling to 6.2 percent. Yet, they failed to acknowledge how we got there: 500,000 full-time jobs being lost and replaced with 700,000 part-time jobs.
Part time jobs are not enough. For America’s middle class to grow and prosper, the American people need full-time jobs that offer benefits and a decent salary. They need affordable energy prices to fill up their cars and heat their homes.
For most of the last century, the American dream was to get married, buy a home, raise a family, and live a nice, comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. Sadly the policies of this administration have made that dream harder than ever to achieve.
