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The economic crisis four years ago hit the American middle class as it was already reeling from three decades of stagnant wage growth.

The worst was yet to come. The Great Recession saw poverty soar, home values plummet and retirement savings sharply decline. It's little wonder that the Pew Research Center labeled the 2000s the worst decade for the American middle class in modern history.

All the while, income inequality worsened. By 2010, 93% of income growth went to the top 1% of Americans.