In April 2014, The Washington Post ran an article titled "'Happy Days' no more: Middle-class families squeezed as expenses soar, wages fall." The article described what it called the "drawn-out, disquieting shift that is recasting what it means to be middle class in America." Specifically, the authors note that wages for millions of American workers have flat-lined while expenses have increased.

A national poll released with the article asked if people felt it was easier or harder to pay for a list of middle class expenses. Here are the percentages of people who felt it was harder to …

• Pay for college - 77 percent
• Find good jobs - 74 percent
• Save for retirement - 71 percent
• Get ahead financially - 66 percent
• Afford health care - 64 percent
• Find decent, affordable housing - 54 percent

The article concluded with a quote from a man named Steve Johnson, a typical American working man, father, and husband caught in this squeeze. Johnson said, "I don't care about being rich. I'd rather just be comfortable and not have to struggle every month.'