Middle Class Children Increasingly Relying On Public Programs, Report Finds

Middle Class Children Increasingly Relying On Public Programs, Report Finds: Since the income gap between middle-class and wealthy families in the United States has grown by more than 50 percent since 1985, middle-class parents are increasingly relying on government-provided health and education programs to support their children, according to a new study by the Foundation for Child Development.

The FCD report finds that even prior to the recession that began in 2007, the gap in real family income separating a middle-class family -- one with an annual income between $22,758 and $110,000 -- from a high-income one expanded from $59,800 in 1985 to $93,100 by 2008. Between 2000 and 2008, middle-class families experienced a drop in real family income of more than $4,000, compared to a dip of just $139 for the top 20 percent of earners.