A few weeks ago I was visited in my office by the chairman of one of the country\u2019s biggest high-tech firms who wanted to talk about the causes and consequences of widening inequality and the shrinking middle class, and what to do about it.<\/p>\n
I asked him why he was concerned. \u201cBecause the American middle class is the core of our customer base,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they can\u2019t afford our products in the years ahead, we\u2019re in deep trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m hearing the same refrain from a growing number of business leaders.<\/p>\n
They see an economic recovery that\u2019s bypassing most Americans. Median hourly and weekly pay\u00a0dropped<\/a>\u00a0over the past year, adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n Since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009, median real household income has fallen 4.4 percent, according to an\u00a0analysis<\/a>\u00a0by Sentier Research.<\/p>\n These business leaders know the U.S. economy can\u2019t get out of first gear as long as wages are declining. And their own businesses can\u2019t succeed over the long term without a buoyant and growing middle class.<\/p>\n They also recognize a second danger.<\/p>\n Job frustrations are fueling a backlash against trade and immigration. Any hope for immigration reform is now dead in Congress, and further trade-opening agreements are similarly moribund. Yet the economy would be even worse if America secedes into isolationism.<\/p>\n