"The number of people without any health insurance climbed to 15.9% in 2005 from 14.2% in 2000, and the share of people with employer-provided health insurance dropped to 59.5% from 63.6% over the same period, according to the Census Bureau data released in 2006. The number of uninsured Americans is now the highest since 1998" (Middle Class in Turmoil). Finally, the debts were rapidly increasing. "The increase of debt relative to income averaged 1.3 percentage points per quarter from March 2001 through March 2006, compared to an average increase of 0.4 percentage points from December 1995 through March 2001.[...]Middle class families' financial wealth declined in inflation-adjusted dollars by 9.2%...

Due to the harsh current state of affairs, these families are exposed to risks brought in by unemployment or medical emergencies. Yet, after November, the minimal federally mandated wage will have increased in 28 states. The result will be noticeable only in the future.
Bibliography

R. Reich. America's Anxious Class. New Perspectives Quarterly…