A Snapshot of the problem the middle Class is facing

 begin partial quote from:http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/20/by-the-numbers-the-incredibly-shrinking-american-middle-class/

Snapshot

As you can see here in this graph the average median income reduced from 1989 to 2012 by over 600 dollars. This becomes more of a problem when you consider inflation(the price of everything you buy) usually averages 4% a year. So, if you apply this average from 1989 until 2016 you have to allow that inflation totaled an average of 27 times 4%. But then I don't think this would be realistic in real time because we are very close to a deflation spiral like Japan suffered in the 1990s. So, I personally wouldn't know how to usefully calculate this because it would depend a lot where you live in the U.S. because things like rent and the price of homes to the price of gasoline and food varies wildly from one location to another around the U.S. because of a wide variety of factors everywhere.

But, because of inflation, and the loss of about 6,600 dollars in median income you can see when you combine this with inflation the middle class is much poorer than it was in 1989 but not yet as poor as 1967 relatively speaking.

This also wouldn't make much sense because the average person (what they could actually buy per hour of work nationwide was the highest from the late 1950s until about 1973 during the Arab Oil embargo where it all went to hell because of the price of gas quadrupling and beyond which made every thing cost more that people bought including food, gas, and everything hauled anywhere on a truck.