The Mirage of 'Middle Class' Stability

Robert Samuelson reports on the mirage of middle class entitlement and stablity:

Under the implied social contract, people who "played by the rules" — to use a phrase popularized by Bill Clinton — deserved modest middle-class guarantees: a steady job, rising income, and protection against random misfortune such as sickness, disability, job loss, and accidents. There was a belief that diligence and responsibility were their own rewards.

It's worth noting that this imagined entitlement never universally existed. Between 1975 and 1984, unemployment averaged 7.7%; today's is 5%. The now venerated defined-benefit pensions sometimes weren't fully funded, so that promised benefits weren't always paid, or were funded at the expense of the next generation. Today's retired and well-pensioned autoworkers have condemned those who followed to lower-paid jobs or no jobs at all.

Another great one by Robert Samuelson.