To listen to Democrats you'd think that there are three basic economic classes ... poverty, middle class, and the upper 1%. The election year rhetoric has expanded the definition of middle class to include just about everyone in the US. An interesting statement in last night's debate serves as good evidence. Edwards, in the midst of answering a question on health care policy, made the following statement: "When we lift Americans out of poverty ... we actually strengthen the economy because we put them in the middle class, which is the engine of this economy." Straight from poverty to the middle class huh? That's a helluva subsidy!

As ridiculous as it sounds, it is actually a pretty reasonable assertion considering no one really knows what the "middle class" is. In opinion surveys most people will consider themselves middle class because ... let's face it ... no one wants to believe they are poor, but no one really believes they are rich. Economic measures are no more certain. The median household income is around $40,000 according to the 2000 census, but depending on where you live this as radically different meanings. In rural Arkansas 40K is certain middle class, but in NYC I would bet it doesn't go far.This WaPo Special Report puts the amoebic morphology of the middle class into perspective. Due to this ambiguity political rhetoric is always about the middle class ... which would seem to imply that it isn't really about anything at all.