The New Middle Class

An inspirational look at how we can build a new middle class in America—through bipartisan cooperation, a focus on lifelong learning, and the opportunity and wages that ultimately lead to wealth.

How we got here. Steve Gunderson, a former U.S. congressman from Wisconsin, begins the book with an informative look at how America’s middle class grew in the post-WWII boom and became a vital part of our nation’s cultural and economic fabric. He then examines the specific causes of its decline in the 1980s and explains how the Great Recession only recently unmasked the depth of the damage that has been ongoing for decades.

A vision for a new middle class. Further into the book, Gunderson lays out a three-part solution for creating a diverse new middle class—one that shares the values of the 20th-century middle class but is equipped for the realities of a global economy. The path Gunderson lays out for our country’s middle class rests on the power of education—whether traditional or nontraditional—the importance of building a growth economy, and the need for income security.

An experienced, highly visible author. Steve Gunderson grew up in a solidly middle-class family in Pleasantville, Wisconsin. After serving eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, he spent nine years as a strategic planning consultant focused on the jobs revolution. He currently applies his passion for workforce education as president and CEO of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, and he speaks frequently to audiences around the country, among them Harvard University and the Brookings Institution.