The middle class is shrinking in Colorado & across U.S. as incomes fall.

Middle-income households in metro Denver shrank from 58 percent of the population in 2000 to 53 percent in 2014, according to a report released by the Pew Research Center.

That shrinkage didn’t come primarily from households moving into higher income brackets, but rather from more households moving into lower-income ones.

“We still have a lot of people who are middle income. But I can understand the reason for concern,” said Gary Horvath, a Broomfield economist. “The recovery, in terms of income, hasn’t been strong.”

Metro Denver’s share of upper-income households increased 1 percentage point to 25 percent, while lower-income households rose 4 percentage points to 22 percent, according to Pew.

The trend toward a smaller middle class is a national one and has been underway for four decades, but sluggish economic growth has exacerbated it.

-Thom

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Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... The Environmental Threat of TTIP Exposed (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Community Square

"Cops Fight For Their Right to Bust You for Weed"

Wednesday's Daily Stack

Hour One: Last Chance to Defeat the Dark Act
- Alexis Baden-Mayer, Organic Consumers Association

Article: "GMO bill gets a date in the House" by Jason Huffman.

Article: "Congress Kneecaps Vermont GMO Labeling Law" by Matt Harvey.

Video: Protestors Throw $2,000 Dollars Onto Senate Floor [FULL VIDEO].

Article: "Campbell Soup becomes first major company to start GMO labeling" by Siddharth Cavale and Subrat Patnaik.

Article: "America is an oligarchy, not a democracy or republic, university study finds" by Cheryl K. Chumley.

Article: "WI-Sen: Feingold (D) Hits Johnson (R) For Siding With Wall Street By Blocking New Fiduciary Rule" by poopdogcomedy.

Article: "Two Years After Eric Garner's Death, Ramsey Orta, Who Filmed Police, Is Only One Heading to Jail" by Democracy Now!

Article: "Rhode Island cops accuse black man of assault — but video reveals they attacked him first" by Tom Boggioni.

Article: "In first, U.S. judge throws out cell phone 'stingray' evidence" by Nate Raymond.

Article: "Florida Proposes Tripling Amount Of Benzene That Can Be Polluted Into State Waters" by Natasha Geiling.

Article: "21 Officers Injured In I-94 Protests" by Reg Chapman.

Case: "Buckley v. Valeo", 1976.

Article: "Virginia suspends driver’s licenses in ‘unconstitutional scheme,’ class action says" by Justin Wm. Moyer.

Article: "Here's Why Libertarians Are Mostly Men" by Kevin Drum.

Article: "What Do the Koch Brothers Want?" (1980 Libertarian Party platform) by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Article: "Broken windows theory" by Wikipedia.

Video: FULL Bernie Sanders Speech; Sanders Endorses Hillary Clinton and Rip Donald Trump; July 12, 2016.

Article: "Bernie’s 7 Legacies" by Robert B. Reich.

Article: "What Bernie Sanders Gave to America Today" by The Independent Thinker.

Site: The Hartmann Report.

Article: "Gut bacteria can cause, predict and prevent rheumatoid arthritis" by Mayo Clinic.

Article: "Can you get the benefits of exercise by having a hot bath?" by Michael Mosley.

Article: "Sanders Supporters: Check Out This Amazing Piece of American History for a Path You Might Take" by David Morris.

Article: "How our voices could unlock the connected world" by Padraig Belton.

Article: "The war in Iraq was not a blunder or a mistake. It was a crime" by Owen Jones.

Article: "Wealthier Americans now get much more health care than middle class or poor, study finds" by Physicians for a National Health Program.

Article: "Nayirah (testimony)" by Wikipedia.

Talk Media News Segment:
- Ellen Ratner, Bureau Chief

Article: "David Cameron resigns, passes Brexit challenge to Theresa May" by Luke Vargas.

Article: "White House congratulates May, confident on her Brexit handling" by Doina Chiacu.

Article: "Trump calls for Justice Ginsburg’s resignation, claims her “mind is shot”" by Justin Duckham.

Article: "Sanders on Trump: 'I agree with what Justice Ginsburg said'" by Nick Gass.

Article: "Obama hosts meeting with police, civil-rights leaders" by Dave Boyer.

Article: "South China Sea: International court shreds Chinese claims" by Luke Vargas.

Article: "White House: Tribunal Ruling on South China Sea is Final and Binding" by Reuters.

Article: "Sen. Tom Cotton to speak at Republican convention" by Nick Gass.

Article: "GOP LGBT Policy Stances To Be Debated At Platform Committee Meetings" by Kerry Picket.

Article: "July 13, 2016 - Clinton Losing On Honesty In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds" by Quinnipiac University Poll.

Tweet: "Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!" by Donald J. Trump.

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman

Article: "Quick Morning News - Obama To Dallas: Console, Reassure - July 12, 2016" by Victoria Jones.

Hour Three: #NoToHomophobia
- Ani Zonneveld, Muslims For Progressive Values

Article: "No to Homophobia!" by MPV.

Article: "Reality Check: What American Muslim Organizations Really Did For The LGBTQI Community" by Ani Zonneveld.

Event: July 14, 2016 at 7pm – 9pm: "Islamophobia And Homophobia After Orlando At The LA Press Club".

Article: "2016 Orlando nightclub shooting" by Wikipedia.

Article: "2016 Orlando nightclub shooting" by Wikipedia.

Bill: "H.R.4828 - Conscience Protection Act of 2016" by Rep. Fleming, John [R-LA-4].

Case: "Burwell v. Hobby Lobby", 2014.

Article: "Veto The Dark Act (S.764)".

Article: "Obama Ready to Sign Food-Label Bill Consumer Groups Dislike" by Alan Bjerga, Angela Greiling Keane.

Petition: "Formally recognize Black Lives Matter as a terrorist organization".

Article: "Super PAC And Dark Money Spending Already Tops $100 Million In Fight For Senate Control" by Paul Blumenthal.

Article: "Donald Trump Says Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s ‘Mind Is Shot,’ Demands She Resign From Supreme Court" by Ed Mazza.

Article: "Republican Platform Set To Include Trump’s Border Wall" by Nick Visser.

Article: "10th Amendment" "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people".

Case: "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" (2010).

Article: "Anomalous anticipatory brain activation preceding exposure of emotional and neutral pictures" by Dick J. Bierman and H. Steven Scholte.

Article: "Philadelphia Airport Workers Just Voted to Strike During Democratic Convention" by Zach Cartwright.

Article: "Bastille Day" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Ayn Rand" by Wikipedia.

Book: "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand.

Article: "Southern strategy" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Video of Fatal Shooting by Off-Duty Officer in Brooklyn Emerges" by Rick Rojas and Ashley Southall.

Thursday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI, 2nd District) will be dropping by for a chat about the latest news from Congress.

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Does BREXIT Signify the End of Globalization?

Vote here!

GOP Focus on Heat From Porn Not Climate Change?

Billions of Gallons of Fracking Waste Into Gulf?

Has Big Ag Bought Another Victory?

Panel: How Trump Will make the 1% Wealthier?

Panel: Is the Revolution Over or About To Get Bigger?

Full Show 7/12/16: Bernie’s With Her

Tonight’s Politics Panel discusses Bernie’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton, the bizarre GOP platform which endorses things like gay conversion therapy, and Trump’s tax plan for the rich. Thom discusses how federal officials approved massive fracking in the Gulf of Mexico starting in 2010 with the Center for Biological Diversity’s Patrick Sullivan and in tonight’s Daily Take Thom details how Democrats are trying to stop the climate from melting down while Republicans are having a meltdown over pornography.

Does Rick Scott Want To Destroy Florida's Waterways?

Activist Showers Congress In Cash Over The DARK Act! (W/Guest: Alexis Baden-Mayer)

Did Fox So-Called News Write The Republican Party Platform?

Prejudice + Power = Racism.

Caller: The Dallas Cops Wouldn't Have Taken Out A White Guy...

Democrats: Don't Make The Perfect The Enemy Of The Good!