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.)
That's a nice straw man, but that's not the median for the US.
Not even for bay area white collars is that reasonably the median, given how expensive houses are here. Most rent unless they're past 30-40 or won the startup lottery.
Huh? The median sufficiently-aged U.S. resident absolutely owns a home (home ownership rates are 65%+), and it's indisputable that the median home size has been growing at a good clip:
So, I assume today's middle class have to afford MORE than a 50 inch TV, a Macbook, an iPhone, an overpriced house, a wedding ring, and a iPad?