[FITZ]

If you notice ---the argument on this thread isn't about it going away or not ---many people think the middle class isn't needed at all. They're fine with having no middle class, they believe the venture capitalists can just keep things going.

[discostu]

If the middle class "disappears" (which isn't going to happen) by moving up then everything will be fine. The importance of the middle class in the economy is that it's the lowest strata that spends money in a way that spurs economic growth. So long as they get replaced by good spenders they're expendable. Luckily the entire concept of a disappearing middle class is a statistical fiction, it's not happening, it's just people proving once again that there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.