DC Econ: How is the Middle Class Doing?

I believe that we should measure the group of people who are actively employed and actively working. This will helps us narrow down to those in middle class that are working for what they are earning. Children and those who are retired that live in the middle class, they aren't working so therefore to be more specific we should not use them in the initial research.
Yes I think so. Because again, they aren't making money by actively working. That being said, they are important but for this specific study I think we should not include the elderly who are retired.
Because over time, other factors change. For instance, the sizes of houses, the standards for cars, the amount of clothes, and use of electronics has all gone significantly up since the 1970's. So while assessing change in the study it is important to see how culture and the natural standard has changed within the time frame as well.