The US middle class continues to shrink, squeezed by government policy and an ever-increasing burden of debt.

According to a recent Pew Research report, the majority of American adults no longer are part of the middle class.

The middle class accounted to 61% of the population in 1971. The most recent figures put the middle class at just below 50%, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times:

Pew defined middle class as households earning two-thirds to twice the overall median income, after adjusting for household size. A family of three, for example, would be considered middle income if its total annual income ranged from about $42,000 to $126,000. Pew analyzed data from the Census Bureau and the Labor Department, as well as the Federal Reserve.”

Interestingly, many Americans falling outside of the technical definition of middle class have historically identified themselves as fitting into that category. According to the LA Times, that self-perception is also changing, with more people no longer viewing themselves as part of the middle class:

Most Americans have traditionally identified themselves as middle class, even those at the top and bottom, reflecting a kind of cultural heritage tied to the American dream of self-reliance…A Gallup survey this spring showed that just 51% of U.S. adults considered themselves middle or upper middle class, with 48% saying they are part of the lower or working class. As recently as 2008, 63% of those polled by Gallup said they were middle class.”

Mainstream pundits always seem to want to spin the shrinking middle class in terms of “income inequity,” focusing on “the growing gap between the rich and poor.” Indeed, the LA Times article reporting the Pew results fits into this traditional frame. But this type of class warfare analysis misses the bigger picture, and does nothing to help us understand why the middle class is continuing to shrink.