This article is lengthy requiring some 15 minutes of dedicated reading, but it explains how the imbalance in genuine supply and demand have been eroding the middle class since 1981 after the implementation of weapons of mass exploitation by Reagan/Greenspan. Real demand, growing wages, were replaced by trade deficits, lower taxation on the wealthy and corporations, consumer debt, and government debt. This all resulted in the great imbalances in today's economy, where a false demand dictates massive government debt with China holding American treasury notes, high unemployment, wage stagnation, large trade imbalances, budget deficits with low revenues, and a growing disparity between rich and poor.
I would not recommend this if it required more than an average awareness of economics. This read is simple enough for any of us to comprehend and appreciate.
http://www.truthout.org/weapons-mass-exploitation/1304696645