Leicht Featured in NBC News Article

Kevin Leicht, the director of the Iowa Social Science Research Center and professor in the Department of Sociology, was featured in an NBC News article titled, "Middle class—whatever it is—targeted by candidates." The article discusses how the 2012 presidental candidates are targeting middle class voters despite the fact that 'middle class' has become increasingly difficult to define. 

Leicht says many Americans think of a middle-class life as "one in which you have a stable job, own your own home and occasionally buy something substantial like a new car." 

The one thing everyone seems to agree about is that the middle class is disappearing. Fewer people feel that they are a part of it—49 percent, down from 53 percent in 2008 according to a Pew Research Center poll. That feeling is surprisingly accurate says Rich Morin, senior editor at Pew. The polling data "matches well with the researchers’ economic data on median income in the United States, which has fallen in recent years."