This year, the US lost the distinction of having the “most affluent” middle class to Canada, with several European countries not far behind. Once the generous public benefits in education, health care, and retirement are added to estimates of disposable family income in these countries, the relative position of the US middle class slips even further.
在过去30年中，绝大多数发达国家中等收入家庭的可支配收入增长要比同等的美国家庭要高。今年，美国把拥有最富裕中产阶级国家的宝座让给了加拿大，而几个欧洲国家也逐渐赶超了上来。而倘若把慷慨的公共教育，医疗，和退休收益都计入这些国家的家庭可支配收入计算中的话，那美国中产阶级的相对位置只会滑向得更远。。