Today's middle class hasn't been affording stuff like that. They've been paying for them by cutting into their savings or going into debt. It's easy to say (a

Today's middle class hasn't been affording stuff like that. They've been paying for them by cutting into their savings or going into debt. It's easy to say (and true) that they should quit spending beyond their means. However, that's problematic. If they quit buying that stuff, then it's going to harm American businesses, and the economy is going to go into a slump. (I realize my choice of tense is a little bit silly. Pretend that last sentence was written in 2007 and not 2012.)