That stat is nowhere in the Pew analysis. For those following this thread, the Pew study shows three things:

1. “The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.”
2. “The rise in “household” income is more explained by the number of wage earners in the household.
3. college grads make more than their high school equivalents- at a time when college enrollment is dropping.

But let’s say your stat has some truth, “Families that have risen above the middle class may still be doing worse than they were in 2000 because the inflation-adjusted median income has declined in all but four states — North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.”

I’m the top percent of this country but have empathy for the destruction of high paying middle income jobs here / perhaps some empathy on your part and trying to look at the core reasons and fix them might be helpful instead of bemoaning the struggling half who “don’t pay federal income taxes.”

Here is a wonderful stat for you. The income disparity in this country as surpassed that of the disparity right before the French Revolution.