The middle class now is defined not by how much wealth they have, as that has been striped from them and replaced by debt, but rather by what they want. The middle class has been monetized by their desires.

They want to have inter-generational wealth, healthcare, retirement, ownership of a home and business. They want to send their children to college. To own an SUV and live in the suburbs.

So people are living a middle class lifestyle, but doing so through debt. The result is no inter-generational wealth. Your children will be poorer and less free than you are.