CASE STUDY: Falling Out of the Middle Class

Imagine a child living in a house with no power for lights, heat, or cooking, embarrassed to invite friends

over to play or study, and not understanding what happened to a once-normal life. This is a story many

middle-class families in the United States think could happen only to someone else, never to them.

However, an HBO documentary entitled American Winter suggests the opposite is true; many seemingly

solid middle-class families can slip all too easily into the lower class, into poverty, in houses that are dark

with empty refrigerators.

The film, set in Portland, Oregon, tells the story of an economic tragedy. Families that were once

financially stable are now barely keeping their heads above water. A needed job was outsourced or given

to an independent contractor, or a raise failed to come even as necessities kept getting more expensive.

The families had to try to pay for healthcare or make a mortgage payment when their bank account was

overdrawn. Once-proud middle-class workers talk about the shame of having to ask friends for help or

turn to public assistance as a last resort. The fall of the U.S. middle class is more than a line on an

economic chart; it is a cold reality for many families who never saw it coming.

After reading this case Study above, answer the following critical thinking questions:

1. Does a company have an ethical duty to find a balance between remaining profitable and paying all workers a decent living wage? Why or why not?
2. Who decides what constitutes a fair wage?
3. How would you explain to a board of directors your decision to pay entry-level workers a higher wage than required by law?