The United States has over the years established itself not only as a superpower but also as the greatest nation on earth. A significant number of people across the globe dream of living in the United States and tapping into the prosperity that is enshrined in the American dream. Researchers and scholars observe that since its inception, the constitution of this country has continually promoted the rights of individuals in its society, promoting the aspect that a person can achieve success in life irrespective of his or her background (Greenberg and Page 11). Most people admire the democratic structures that this nation has established over the years to support the freedom of its citizens. Despite this perceived glory of the United States, particularly from outsiders, this country has faced and continues to face a myriad of challenges that undermines its progress as a nation. One of these challenges is the declining middle class, a decline that threatens its economic stability as a nation. In this paper, I argue that the middle class in the United States is in trouble. To defend my answer to my fellow student, I will point out the challenges that the middle class currently faces, particularly with regard to its income level. My argument is inclined towards the fact that the middle class cannot be ignored by the political class because of their contribution towards the American economy. I will back up my arguments with evidence mainly from the recent election events in the United States as well as evidence from reliable sources such as books and institutional research reports.
多年来，美国不仅已成为超级大国，而且已成为世界上最伟大的。全世界有相当多的人梦想着生活在美国，享受美国梦中的繁荣。研究人员和学者们观察到，自其诞生以来，该国宪法一直在促进社会中个人的权利，促进一个人无论其背景如何都能在生活中取得成功（格林伯格和第11页）。大多数人钦佩这个多年来为支持公民自由而建立的民主体制。尽管美国（尤其是外来者）有这种荣耀感，但这个已经并将继续面临无数挑战，这些挑战破坏了它作为一个的进步。其中一个挑战是中产阶级的下降，这一下降威胁到其作为一个的经济稳定。在这篇论文中，我认为美国的中产阶级陷入了困境。为了捍卫我对同学们的回答，我将指出中产阶级目前面临的挑战，特别是在收入水平方面。我的论点倾向于这样一个事实，即中产阶级不能因为对美国经济的贡献而被政治阶层忽视。我将用主要来自美国最近选举事件的证据以及书籍和机构研究报告等可靠来源的证据来支持我的论点。
The role of the middle class in the United States economy is often amplified during the electioneering period when different politicians debate on their plans to create more jobs and as such, improve the livelihood of people within this economic class. Arguably, the Republicans and the Democrats perceive the middle class from two different and almost opposite perspectives. On one hand, the Democrats argued that as a political party, their tenure in power created job opportunities for the middle class Americans and as such, ensured that their livelihoods improved significantly (Fleming 2016). For example, during the 2015–2016 election cycle, the Democrats promoted a narrative that when they are in power, the economy tends to perform better, thus creating employment and enhancing the livelihoods of the middle class Americans (Fleming 2016). To counter this narrative, the Republicans, and particularly their presidential candidate Donald Trump, argued that as a party they had a plan that will create 25 million jobs for the American middle class, as well as reduce factors that threatened their employment such as immigrants (Fleming 2016). Thus, the welfare of the middle class remains as a strong battle ground for both the Republicans and the Democrats in the United States politics.
在竞选期间，当不同的政治家就他们创造更多就业机会的计划进行辩论，从而改善这一经济阶层的生活时，中产阶级在美国经济中的作用往往被放大。可以说，共和党人和民主党人从两种不同且几乎相反的角度看待中产阶级。一方面，民主党人认为，作为一个政党，他们的任期为美国中产阶级创造了就业机会，从而确保了他们的生计得到显著改善（弗莱明，2016年）。例如，在2015-2016年的选举周期中，民主党人宣扬了这样一种说法，即当他们掌权时，经济往往表现更好，从而创造就业机会并改善美国中产阶级的生计（弗莱明，2016年）。为了反驳这一说法，共和党人，特别是他们的总统候选人唐纳德·特朗普认为，作为一个政党，他们制定了一项计划，将为美国中产阶级创造2500万个就业机会，并减少移民等威胁他们就业的因素（弗莱明，2016年）。因此，中产阶级的福利仍然是共和党和民主党在美国政治中的一个强大战场。
One of the issues that arise from the analysis of the political narratives of both the Republicans and the Democrats regards whether the middle class in the United States are in trouble, or whether this is just a narratives that is created in the political world in order to win their votes. To respond to this question, there is a need to evaluate whether and how the middle class responds to such narratives. An evaluation of the 2015–2016 election cycle reveals that despite the Democrats arguing that since 2008, the United States has managed to grow economically, a majority of the middle class voters failed to respond to this message (Lyons 2016). One of the factors that contributed to the failure of this demographic group to respond to the message by the Democrat’s presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, was the fact that despite the fact that the economy showed a significant level of recovery, the real median household income was still low, lower than the 2007/08 recession, and 2.4 percent lower than 1999 peak (Fleming 2016). This means that the recovery of the entire United States economic was not reflected in the household income, which remained relatively low. This means that despite creating a platform for the United States economy to recover, the regime of the Democrats failed to address the real economic challenges facing the middle class in this nation. Therefore, it was difficult for Hillary Clinton to argue that her presidency will help improve the livelihood of the middle class, considering that after 8 years in power, the Democrats had failed to enhance the economic welfare of this demographic group.
分析共和党人和民主党人的政治叙事所产生的一个问题是，美国中产阶级是否陷入困境，或者这是否只是政治世界为了赢得选票而创造的叙事。为了回答这个问题，有必要评估中产阶级是否以及如何回应这些叙述。对2015-2016年选举周期的评估显示，尽管民主党人认为自2008年以来，美国经济实现了增长，但大多数中产阶级选民未能对这一信息做出回应（里昂2016）。导致这一人口群体未能响应民主党总统候选人希拉里·克林顿的信息的因素之一是，尽管经济出现了显著的复苏，但实际家庭收入中值仍然很低，低于2007/08年的衰退，比1999年的峰值（弗莱明2016年）低2.4%。这意味着整个美国经济的复苏没有反映在家庭收入中，家庭收入仍然相对较低。这意味着，尽管为美国经济复苏创造了一个平台，但民主党政权未能解决美国中产阶级面临的实际经济挑战。因此，希拉里·克林顿（Hillary Clinton）很难认为她的总统任期将有助于改善中产阶级的生活，因为在执政8年后，民主党未能提高这一人口群体的经济福利。