About 1/2 in the US are in poverty or in danger of slipping in.

In only a few years the middle class went from being both in the center income wise and as a percent of the population to something else.  What?  Well, we still have a middle class if your goal is to define by 3, we would have to wouldn't we?  But if we track down the middle class of 20 to 40 years ago, most fell off the cliff, the railing was sold for scrap, the safety net was redesigned to catch corporations, and most fell through it.  Some managed to hang on to the middle class position, and a tiny few ascended.  The rich, we use to call them "well off", some fell of course, but their ranks have stratified due to the immense wealth they posses, the number of people with 10 million net worth is hugh, the number of extreme rich is in the thousands.  It is reported that 2,000 families own damn near the whole country, with worths of 1/4 billion and up.

47%, Romney singled them out as his political enemies.  If that's not class warfare I'll kiss his ring.  It is often said the ultra rich are out of touch, do not know the extent of the nations decline or the day to day struggle of so many.  That is pure steaming in the cold air bullshit, they know.

Minimum wage the scary story goes, would cause massive unemployment.  Here's what it might do, it might let the bank teller, the check out girl, the fast food worker, hotel worker quit one of their low paying jobs and spend a little more time with the kids, keep them in school, out of trouble, prepare them to contribute to the country.  Is that what the GOP is really against?