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NBC also covered the middle class--but in a vague and confusing way. Lee Cowan cited statistics from Elizabeth Warren of the Harvard Law School that contrast the non-discretionary costs of a middle class household now with a generation ago. Warren claims that since 1975 housing costs have risen 76%, healthcare 74% and transportation 50%. But Cowan did not tell us how she defined the middle class or how much its income has risen in the same period or what proportion of its expenditure is absorbed by those three categories. Illustrating straitened means with an "emptier than ever" church collection plate, Cowan concluded that "a generation ago the middle class was comfortable. These days they are comfortable--but scared--living on a wing and a prayer." He seemed to hope that we take that assertion on faith.
CBS had Nancy Cordes catch up on the impact on households of the rising price of oil. Friday, CNBC's Trish Regan covered the same topic for NBC and David Muir filed for ABC. For Cordes the bottom lines were a 25% hike in home heating costs this winter compared with last and an increase in the average price of a gallon of gasoline by next spring from the current $2.87 to at least $3.50.
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