Op-ed: Utah must make concrete changes to save its middle class

Our spinal cord is the main gateway for our nerves, the connecting thread between our brain and body. The backbone provides the security for this thread, essential for survival. The common phrase, "The middle class is the backbone of America," positions the middle class as the critical piece to a thriving body.

The health of the middle class has a direct impact on the health of the economy. If the middle class is compromised so, too, is the economy. Yet, policymakers in Utah and nationwide continually enforce policies that push down the middle class, making it harder than ever for those below the threshold to climb their way to the middle.

Nationally, Pew Research Center found that in 2013 50.2 percent of households were in the middle class with the median income of $59,770. This is down from 55 percent of households and a median income of $63,010 (adjusted for inflation) in 2000. Not only are middle class incomes dropping, they are too low to support a healthy economy.

The Economic Policy Institute found that between 1979 and 2007, the change in income grew 214.9 percent for Utah's top one percent, compared to 15.4 percent for everyone else. Additionally, in Utah, the average income of the top 1 percent is 24 times greater than the average income of the bottom 99 percent.

Economic brackets are not moving in tandem, despite increasing output and productivity. Incomes in the higher groups continue to rise, while incomes in middle and lower groups are stagnant. Growing disparities in income and increasing debt provide a picture of what the middle class really is, a state of uncertainty and financial struggle— a compromised backbone.

It is no longer the case that the middle class in Utah has the luxury of a living wage, a savings account, manageable debt or the ability to pay for their children's education. This is further evidenced by a piece published by Urban Institute in 2014 stating that Utah is amongst the states highest in mortgage debt relative to income.

There have been many proposed solutions though few have made significant headway. In 2014 Rep. Lynn Hemingway proposed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker has pushed for a living wage where all city employees would earn at least $10.10 an hour. In 2014 Sen. Karen Mayne's Contractor Employee bill passed to benefit the growing contracted workforce.

Utah can do more, particularly in ensuring those on the cusp of the middle class don't fall back down the ladder. First and foremost, we could adopt Healthy Utah and provide the security of health insurance to families earning $15,521 or less. Our state could follow the leadership of 26 other states and adopt state earned income tax credits (EITC). Although the EITC is often viewed as an anti-poverty measure, it can help families on the cusp of the middle class, struggling to stay out of poverty. Finally, Utah could invest in STEM curriculum to better prepare students for a changing labor market.

The quality of life of the middle class is continually romanticized, but in Utah the realities are crippling. This problem is escalating and the longer we wait, the harder these trends will be to combat. Positive change cannot occur unless people question the assumption that the middle class is on safe ground and get involved in the policy making process. This Independence Day weekend, remember the power you have as a citizen and use that to help get the middle class out of the back brace. We need to strengthen the backbone, and revitalize the spine.

Tillie McInnis is an economics adviser to the Alliance for a Better UTAH.