Good writing, the thoughtful selection of facts and stats paints a clear picture, which in this case takes the form of a question, actually several questions.

> “Middle class” stopped being an economic description a long time ago. It became an identity > “Middle class” has become a psychological container that absorbs all of this anxiety

True, identity politics is a key part of political psychology, it's much more than race and gender.

> They’re watching the quality decline while paying more for it.

Too few talk about it, good to see it here. Of course, this is profit driven, it's good for profits but where do the profits go? Not in productive investments, which would bring prices down and quality up, but neither is happening. The only quick cure I can see is seriously progressive corporate taxation... but reality is now being driven in the opposite direction.

What's odd to me is that companies don't seem to be targeting the niche anymore?

When there's no cheap but ok product, common sense would dictate that somebody would try to fill that niche.

Is everything a monopoly now?