Still wonder why people would risk getting pepper-sprayed in the face? Here’s a hint: the middle class has shrunk so much in the age of conservative governance that you can see it from space:
In 2007, nearly a third of American families — 31 percent — lived in either an affluent neighborhood or a mainly low-income one, up from just 15 percent in 1970, according to the study conducted by Stanford University, and released in partnership with the Russell Sage Foundation and Brown University.
Meanwhile, 44 percent of American families lived in middle-class neighborhoods in 2007, down from 65 percent in 1970.
There has been no rising tide for the American worker in 30 years, no rising tide for the middle class in 20 years, and even professionals have seen their fortunes ebb in the last decade. A system that spirals downward like this for 99 percent while inflating the fortunes of the 1 percent will inevitably produce disaffection and desperation, and no amount of pepper spray will deter the reaction.
