The  Associated Press, in an article titled “SPIN METER: ‘Middle Class’ turns fuzzy in politics,” quoted Professor of Sociology Dennis Gilbert, author of The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality. Appearing in hundreds of news outlets in print and online on July 18 and 19, the article addressed how politicians use the term “middle class” and how their definitions vary.

“Politicians love to use the term, because it’s vague and connotes an image of regular American people,” said Gilbert.  He described varying uses of “middle class” on the campaign trail as “dishonest, and it’s absurd.”