There is an imaginary world, let's call it CNBC world, where the rich get richer but the poor never get poorer. Unfortunately, this is not the real world.
See, for example, CNBC's take on the seemingly depressing news Wednesday from the Pew Research Center that America's middle class has been shrinking steadily for decades, particularly the most recent decade. To most of us this sounded like horrible news, but at least one person at CNBC saw reason to cheer.
Reporter Robert Frank, whose specialty is cataloguing the lifestyles of the very wealthy (and, full disclosure, is a very nice guy and a former colleague of mine at the Wall Street Journal), took a look at Pew's horrible cocktail of awful data and declared it to be just right:
But here is an equally important fact: many of those middle class Americans became upper-income Americans. The rich did get richer, but they also became more numerous.
According to Frank, then, there is not much to worry about in this report. The middle class is shrinking, sure, but only because we're all becoming rich.
Well, maybe not all of us, Frank admits:
Granted, some of the middle class also fell lower on the ladder. But the majority of those who disappeared from the middle wound up at the top.
Granted, yes -- granted, you can't make a wealthy-nation omelette without cracking a few more poors.
But the real problem with Frank's analysis is not that it's insensitive. The real problem is that it's just wrong on the facts. The Pew report does not show at all that "the majority" of people who disappeared from the middle class simply graduated to the upper class.
Frank points out that, while the percentage of American adults in Pew's middle-income bracket has fallen to 51 percent from 61 percent in 1971, the percentage in the upper-income bracket has risen to 20 percent from 14 percent. Hooray.
But Frank fails to point out that the percentage of Americans in the lower-income bracket has risen, too, from 25 percent to 29 percent.
And the sheer numbers of people in the lower-income bracket are bigger than those in the upper-income bracket. Since 1971, the ranks of the upper crust have grown by 27.9 million, but the ranks of the lower-income group have grown by 34.5 million. The largest group by far, the middle class, has grown by the smallest percentage, adding just 27 million people since 1971.
Or, as Pew puts it, there have been "virtually equal parts movements up and down the income ladder. In other words, there has been both progress and regression in the economic status of American families."
So, no, "the majority" of people disappearing from the middle class have not gone to the upper class.
The majority of the income has certainly gone in that direction, however: The percentage of total national income going to the upper class has risen to 46 percent from 29 percent 40 years ago, while the percentage of income going to the middle class has fallen to 45 percent from 62 percent. The percentage of income going to the lower class has shrunk to 9 percent from 10 percent. This is the first time in at least 40 years that the upper bracket has taken a bigger chunk of the national income than the middle class.
Another way of putting it: The rich have been getting much, much richer while the poor have been getting poorer.
In Frank's defense, he seems to have mis-read a passage in the Pew report that explains the upper crust's large and growing share of the income pie:
These shifts result from two trends: larger income gains for upper-income households than for others and a decline in the share of adults who live in middle-income households.
Instead of applying this analysis only to the share of national income, as Pew intended, Frank turns around and uses it to explain the numbers of people leaving the middle class. That's not what Pew meant.
It would be great if our middle class was shrinking because we were all getting rich, but that's not what's happening. Instead, we are becoming increasingly polarized.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.