As our last election showed us, most Americans are dissatisfied with the country in which they live. This is likely related to the fact that fewer and fewer Americans can consider themselves “middle” class." And with the decline of America's once prized middle class has come the decline of its once prized democracy. America's middle class is in decline , in all respects, since the late 1960s, and continues to decline today. The decline of the American middle class has not only led to economic hardship, but has limited the presence of true democracy in America . Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned”? Get an original essay In his essay “Terra Firma,” Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa describes his journey from migrant farm worker to respected neurosurgeon that transition, Quiñones-Hinojosa worked as a “welder and pressure valve specialist for a railroad company” (Quiñones-Hinojosa had this essay been written say 60 years ago, Quiñones-Hinojosa would probably have stopped his journey to the). happened at that railway company. During the first half of the 20th century, jobs in industry and manufacturing were much more desired than they are today. Positions such as welders or valve specialists once brought respectable incomes. But to date, people in these positions often manage to survive. Quiñones-Hinojosa didn't stop at the location of the railroad; in fact, he writes that he fears access to adequate health care while doing that job. The decline of the American middle class can be attributed to a long list of factors, but the most important of these is the disconnect between class average incomes. As highlighted by workers such as welders, positions once considered “adequate” are no longer so. Since the 1960s, America as a whole has experienced a general increase in income. Considering this statement alone, you would think that all types of American families would benefit. Unfortunately, as NPR's Marilyn Geewax states in her article “The Tipping Point: Most Americans No Longer Are Middle Class,” “Upper-class Americans saw their income increase by 47 percent, while middle- and lower-class families earned only 28%. percent” (Geewax). Combined with inflation, this median income is simply not adequate to support the lifestyle it once was. And the death of the middle class is occurring rapidly: while in 1971 61% of Americans considered themselves middle class, in 2015 only 50% may do so (Byrne). Thus, workers and middle-class families have slowly but surely been forced disproportionately into less comfortable and generally more difficult lives. The causes of this median decline are notable, as are its effects. Most would not expect one of the effects of the disappearance of the American middle class: the decline of democracy. Since the beginning of democracy, dating back to Aristotle, the middle class has been at the heart of democratic success. Democracy depends on different opinions, formed as a result of different contexts. While the presence of both the upper and lower classes is important, the middle class holds the greatest weight. A democratic middle class is generally representative of cultural medians: average exposure to education, global cultures, and political functioning. Without this middle class, the educated upper class and the uneducated lower classes fight for power within the democratic government. Because always.