Report: U.S. middle class has 'worst decade in modern history'; Since 2001, median household income has fallen from $72,956 to $69,487 in 2010.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

The U.S. middle class has shrunk drastically over the last 10 years as Americans' net worth has plunged, wages declined and standards of living slipped away, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Middle-income earners, long seen as the solid center of the country, are pessimistic and place the blame squarely on U.S. lawmakers, banks and big business, the findings by the Pew Research Center showed.

“America's middle class has endured its worst decade in modern history,” researchers wrote.

Since 2001, median household income has fallen from $72,956 to $69,487 in 2010, the report said.

The median household net worth, which is the value of assets minus debt, dropped from $129,582 to $93,150 over the same 10-year period, according to Pew, which analyzed U.S. data along with its own survey of nearly 1,300 adults who consider themselves middle class.

Great moments of Keynesian economics!