As our last elections showed us, most Americans are unhappy with the country in which they live. This probably has to do with the fact that fewer and fewer Americans can consider themselves "middle class." And the decline of America's once-prized middle class has been accompanied by a decline in democracy. , once prized The American middle class has been in decline, by any measure, since the late 1960s, and continues to decline today The decline of the American middle class has not only led to economic struggles, but has also. limited the presence of true democracy in America. Say no to plagiarism Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn his essay “Terra Firma,” Alfredo Quiñones-. Hinojosa describes his journey from migrant farm worker to respected neurosurgeon, Somewhere during this transition, Quiñones-Hinojosa worked as a “welder and pressure valve specialist for a railroad company” (Quiñones-Hinojosa). If this essay had been written 60 years ago, Quiñones-Hinojosa probably would have stopped on his path to success at this railroad company. During the first half of the 20th century, jobs in industry and production were much more sought after than they are today. Positions such as welders or valve specialists once carried respectable incomes. But these days, people in these positions are often just surviving. Quiñones-Hinojosa did not stop at the railroad station; in fact, he writes that he fears accessing proper health care while doing this job. The demise of America's middle class can be attributed to a long list of factors, but chief among them is the disconnect in average incomes between classes. As workers such as welders point out, jobs once considered “adequate” are barely adequate. Since the 1960s, America as a whole has experienced a general increase in income. Just reading this statement, one would think that all types of American families would benefit. Unfortunately, as NPR's Marilyn Geewax says in her article "The Tipping Point: Most Americans No Longer Are Middle Class," "Upper-class Americans saw their incomes rise 47 percent, while middle-class families and below gained only 28 percent. percent” (Geewax). Combined with inflation, this median income is simply not enough to maintain the lifestyle he once had. And the death of the middle class is happening quickly: while 61% of Americans considered themselves middle class in 1971, only 50% could in 2015 (Byrne). Thus, workers and middle-class families have slowly but surely been disproportionately forced into less comfortable and generally more difficult lives. The causes of this median decline are notable, as are its effects. Most would not expect just one effect of the loss of the American middle class: the decline of democracy. Since the creation of democracy, dating back to Aristotle, the middle class has been at the heart of democratic success. Democracy depends on diverse opinions, from diverse backgrounds. Although the presence of the upper and lower classes is significant, the middle class holds the most 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.