1/10 THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! After months of deliberation, argument & procrastination, we have defined the “middle class” for the purposes of our new @BrookingsInst initiative: middle 60% by income. brook.gs/2PyxTpH. A thread on our thinking below: 
2/10 Our decision followed an earlier paper going through the kaleidoscopic variation in definitions currently in use. But we can’t help the middle class (or know if we have) unless we define them clearly first…brook.gs/2jugSPH
3/10 One colleague saw an Instagram post suggesting that being middle class means having two fridges in the kitchen and a second in the basement or garage. Another colleague suggested that being middle class is about having a tree in the front yard…brook.gs/2PyxTpH
4/10 Our middle 60% = incomes from $37,000 to $147,000 for a three-person household (or its equivalent), according to the latest data from the CBO. brook.gs/2PyxTpH
5/10 Runner Up Definition 1: include educational attainment. (as @isawhill @JoanCWilliams ,@HBoushey do). We do not, because a) we want to know what level of education affords middle-class $$ b) education may vary in class creation over time. brook.gs/2PyxTpH
6/10 Runner Up Definition 2: as a % of the median (a la @pewresearch ). Why not? We say: “median-based definitions make it difficult to compare income shares across classes, since the middle class is changing in size.” brook.gs/2PyxTpH
7/10 Runner Up Definition 3: income quintiles 2 & 3 (as @CamilleBusette & I have used before). Why? Slowest income growth, most squeezed. Why not? Asymmetric. Closer to “working class” perhaps. Most people in quintile 4 see themselves as middle class. brook.gs/2PyxTpH
8/10 The main advantages of a relative, symmetrical, income-based definition of the middle class are, we believe (and hope @JanetGornick agrees): brook.gs/2PyxTpH
9/10 Of course, life on $40k is very different to life on $140k. But @pewresearch shows that even a majority of those with incomes over $100,000 identify as middle class. In expensive cities, $100,000 feels like a middle-class income. brook.gs/2PyxTpH
10/10 “Instead of trying to change America’s idea of what it means to be middle class, we have chosen to embrace the breadth of middle-class identity, & always acknowledge & examine considerable variations within it” brook.gs/2PyxTpH Find out more: brook.gs/2rzGrDx
