The middle class deserves lawmakers' attention

America's middle-class majority is dead. And that's not likely to change unless dramatic economic changes are made, a new Pew Research Center report states.

The document shows that those making up the upper- and lower-income households overtook those in the middle in 2015, and Pew said it could be a tipping point for the U.S. demographically away from middle-class workers to the nation's most wealthy.

A summary of the survey tells the story:

[T]he nation's aggregate household income has substantially shifted from middle-income to upper-income households, driven by the growing size of the upper-income tier and more rapid gains in income at the top. Fully 49% of U.S. aggregate income went to upper-income households in 2014, up from 29% in 1970. The share accruing to middle-income households was 43% in 2014, down substantially from 62% in 1970.

And middle-income Americans have fallen further behind financially in the new century. In 2014, the median income of these households was 4% less than in 2000. Moreover, because of the housing market crisis and the Great Recession of 2007-09, their median wealth (assets minus debts) fell by 28% from 2001 to 2013.

This shouldn't be news to readers here. But this Pew study does detail the middle class's precipitous fall. In 1971, 61 percent of households made between two-thirds and double the nation's median income for a family of three. Now, it is just short of half.

Two major reasons for the demise of the middle class can be traced to the drop in unionization as well as lousy trade deals like NAFTA and the teed-up Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). As a result, there are fewer skilled labor jobs paying an honest wage that can support a family.

It's all part of the reason the Teamster debuted our "Let's Get America Working" platform back in September -- to push Congress to invest in this country so workers can get paid a good salary and the economy will benefit from the spending that results from increased incomes.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill took the first step last week when it approved a long-term transportation bill. But they have to follow that up by passing more policies that will help all Americans.

Jobs just don't pay to cover college costs

The cost of college has traveled the fast track to unaffordable in recent years. There was a time when students worked in the summer to help defray some of the costs. But even that has become less and less of a reality in today's world.

It's getting harder for students to afford college.

With more and more adults filling low-wage jobs, there just aren't as many opening for those looking for seasonal employment. A recent Pew Center study found that while summer jobs bottomed out for teens during the height of the Great Recession at 29.6 percent, it has barely grown since, only reaching 31.3 percent last summer. That's down from a high of 58 percent in 1978.

The report notes there are many possible reasons for the decline, including fewer available jobs, more students taking unpaid internships and/or enrolled in school during the summer as well. But it's clear that even for those who do work, the dollars earned aren't covering their need.

Back in 1981-82, for example, the average full cost to attend college was $2,870. That included tuition, fees and room and board. To earn that making the-then $3.35 minimum wage required them to work about 857 hours a year, which was certainly possible, especially if the student worked a bit during the year as well.

But those numbers have become basically impossible for a student today, even if he or she qualifies for a Pell Grant, as NPR found:

In 2014-2015, the school year just ended, the total of tuition, fees and room and board for in-state students at four-year public universities was $18,943. The maximum Pell Grant didn't keep pace with that: It was $5,730. That left our hypothetical student on the hook for $13,313. 

A student would now have to work 35 hours a week, every week of the year, to get by. To cover today's costs with a low-skilled, minimum wage summer job? Over 90 days, a student would need to work 20.24 hours a day.

Why work if the numbers don't work? Or maybe, why go to school at all? That's the decision millions post-secondary aged people are now weighing. The college payment model is simply not working. That's why you are starting to see some 2016 presidential candidates start to address it.

To fill 21st century jobs, workers need the skills employers seek. For many, those can be attained by attending college and earning a degree that prepares them for the working world. But there needs to be ways for students to cover those costs. More jobs is part of it. But Congress also needs to do more to ensure student loan rates remain low so students can better afford their schooling.