Inflation is a relative term. Back in 1981, I bought a $58K house with a standard 14% mortgage [no that is not a typo] . I could afford it because I was earning an average "middle-class" income and could anticipate a minimum annual raise of 10% to 15%.

In 2014, I bought an $89K home with a 4.25% mortgage. My income came from my Pension and Social Security, both "fixed incomes" with no expectation of an annual COLA raise.

So which scenario offered me a better chance to remain in the Middle Class? Perhaps this is why 2% of the American people now control over 90% of the wealth and the Middle Class is quickly becoming an endangered species!