The Middle Class, where I live, has been eviscerated. Over the past five years, my monthly expenses have increased nearly $2,000. I’ve not changed anything.

Same house, same car, same pretty much everything. Insurance, groceries, and literally everything else have just skyrocketed. (Example: took a friend to lunch. We both had BLTs. He had water. I had iced tea. The tab, with tip was $54. Going out for lunch used to be fun. Not any more!). That $2K used to be MY money.