The middle class is in trouble. The quality of life and quality of opportunity for the middle class have been in decline for over thirty years. In my article, A New Government Philosophy, I wrote that the "philosophy of government in this century should be centered on supporting and expanding the middle class". The Republican party has ignored the middle class and it's policies have been a direct cause in the decline of the middle class. The Democratic party has been more mindful of the middle class and its policies have benefited the middle class, but it's focus is only indirectly on the middle class itself. In order for the country to grow and prosper, the middle class has to grow and prosper. What needs to change in government to achieve this goal?

First, and most importantly, the government must to explicitly state that "the purpose of government is to support and expand the middle class." Every policy, institution, and regulation must be crafted to ensure a viable, prosperous, and growing middle class. The question preceding every government action must be "how does this benefit the middle class?" And, the measure of success, for government and governmental actions is the positive impact on middle class well being.

Why is this important? History teaches us that a country is prosperous only when the middle class is stable, growing, and itself prosperous. Similarly, business prospers only when the middle class has the ability to purchase goods and services. A healthy and prosperous middle class enables consumption beyond basic needs, provides opportunity for innovation, yields a return on investment in the production of goods and services, and reduces the risk of trade.

The middle class is the engine of economic, social, and individual development. The presence of a stable and prosperous middle class gives incentive for poorer members of the population to improve their skills and capabilities in order to achieve a measure of middle class success. The wealthy, inherently increase their wealth only when products and services can be readily consumed by an expanding consumer base. As the middle class grows and prospers the overall wealth of the nation grows.

How does government support and expand the middle class? Government must address and resolve those factors that make it less likely that an individual would be middle class and more likely to be poor or near poor. Those factors that affect an individual well being and middle class status are:

• No or little education.
• No or few marketable skills.
• Poor health, including medical conditions both physical and psychological.
• Poor psychological makeup, including limited interpersonal, communication, or group skills.
• Living in an area with few job opportunities.
• Living in an area with jobs paying low relative wages.
• No or few avenues for advancement either directly or through individual effort such as education and skill building.
• No or few social structures such as basic shelter, food, sanitation, and health care.

Government policies, actions, and supported institutions must have the affect of giving an individual a reasonable opportunity to achieve and maintain a middle class life, as well as an opportunity to achieve wealth. The individual them self, however, is primarily responsible for grasping the presented opportunity and achieving what they are able to achieve. That is, government is not responsible for ensuring middle class status but is responsible for providing a reasonable means to achieve middle class status. In order to provide a stable foundation for the middle class, government has five primary domestic responsibilities:

Basic Infrastructure Protection Services Education Employment Health Care
Government funding, policies, and actions in these five core areas has been inadequate over the last thirty years and has been part of the reason for the corresponding decline in the middle class. In a sense, government is no different than a business. Business succeeds when it invests in its core products or services that lead to business growth and profitability. Similarly, government investment in these five core areas, thereby an investment in the middle class, leads to national growth and prosperity.

So here's the idea. Think of government as an investor in the middle class. With good investments, comes good rewards.

The only way our country will prosper and the well being of the nation improve, is by refocusing our actions on our core domestic responsibilities. A solid foundation can only be built when we fundamentally commit to a substantial investment in the middle class. This will require a A New Government Philosophy. And with this philosophy we can create principles that drive our actions and measure our success. With the philosophy all members of this nation will benefit from the fruits of our efforts.

© 2009 R.D. Franke. All rights reserved.