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Economics4h 58m ago
The K-shaped economy has become shorthand for a tidy story. The rich pull away while everyone else falls behind. It fits the mood, and it makes for a sharp headline. The problem is that it’s mostly wrong. When you pull the actual Census data, the dominant move of the last half-century isn’t down. It’s up. Yes, the middle class is shrinking. But it’s shrinking because millions of households climbed into higher brackets, not because they slid into poverty.
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U.S.
Who
Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com
What
The K-shaped economy has become shorthand for a tidy story. The rich pull away while everyone else falls behind. It fits the mood, and it makes for a sharp headline. The problem is that it’s mostly wrong. When you pull the actual Census data, the dominant move of the last half-century isn’t down. It’s up. Yes, the middle class is shrinking. But it’s shrinking because millions of households climbed into higher brackets, not because they slid into poverty.
When
Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:00:00 GMT · 4h 58m ago
Where
U.S. ·
Why
The middle class has been shrinking due to households moving into higher income brackets, not into poverty, contrary to common understanding of a K-shaped economy.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
In constant 2022 dollars, the share of U.S. households earning $100,000 or more nearly tripled from 13.1% in 1967 to 37.5% by 2022, while the low-income share also fell, indicating an upward income migration.
Story chain
3 events in this thread- Currently Reading4h 58m agoThe K-shaped economy has become shorthand for a tidy story. The rich pull away while everyone else falls behind. It fits the mood, and it makes for a sharp headline. The problem is that it’s mostly wrong. When you pull the actual Census data, the dominant move of the last half-century isn’t down. It’s up. Yes, the middle class is shrinking. But it’s shrinking because millions of households climbed into higher brackets, not because they slid into poverty.
- Economics4h 58m agoThe K-shaped economy has become shorthand for a tidy story. The rich pull away while everyone else falls behind.Open article
- Economics4h 58m agoThe K-shaped economy has become shorthand for a tidy story. The rich pull away while everyone else falls behind.Open article