For years, the middle class was the American dream. It was the place where many American families lived comfortably, saved modestly, and on special occasions had the opportunity to spend a fortune. However, the middle class has struggled in recent years. Because the cost of living is rising, standard wages are not moving at the same pace, thus making it harder for the middle class to maintain their position let alone move up, causing the middle class to shrink. The problem with the shrinking middle class is that the cost of living is rising and our economic growth cannot support it. When the middle class initially began losing jobs to other countries, corporate leaders along with Republicans and Democrats assured the middle class that the end result would be a higher standard of living for all, but this was not the case. . Outsourcing continues to increase and there are simply not enough jobs readily available for the middle class. Add in the ever-increasing cost of living and you understand why the middle class struggles so much. As the years go by, things get more expensive. One bill goes up $3.00, another goes up $5.00, and another goes up just $0.50. While this may not initially seem like much, adding up these increased costs between electric bills, cable bills, grocery bills, and recreation are adding up and are impacting the middle class due to the fact that wages are not increasing relative to the rising cost of life. According to Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for Poverty Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Wages and income are stable. Transportation, child care, and healthcare costs are rising, and your income isn't… mid-paper… at a faster rate than the minimum wage. Because families now feel pressured, many families now have two parents working full time compared to families in the 1970s. Back then, one income was enough to support an entire family. It's simply no longer feasible. Is it possible to save the middle class? Clearly the facts don't lie. The middle class is struggling to maintain itself and if nothing is done, it will surely fall. While the middle class itself is partly to blame for its excessive needs and desires, Washington is also partly to blame for the fact that the cost of living is rising exponentially more than the rate at which people are paid. Unless standard wages begin to increase at a rate comparative to the cost of living, the middle class will continue to struggle to maintain its position, thus causing its contraction...