In some places the middle class is losing pop to the upper class, in others it&#x27;s losing pop to the lower class.<p>It&#x27;s also a moving target.  It&#x27;s based on relative income rather than a set point of achievements (ability to send offspring to college&#x2F;uni).  On the other hand we can infer that it&#x27;s not as easy as it once was to become middle class through union&#x2F;blue collar jobs, except in some government spheres.<p>Beset by offshoring and major political parties who only visit factories for photo ops, the blue collar middle class is feeling the strain and are making themselves felt by both parties who may ignore them at their political peril -if they continue to carry the brunt of the negative changes necessary for progress, their dissatisfaction will transform from indifference to a large political movement both major parties will have to manage in the next few election cycles.