re: What is considered Middle Class?

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The middle class today has far better living standards

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Materially, yes.

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Good thing you're not paying 1970s interest rates.

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No shite

Kind of shocked location hasn't been mentioned in this thread...there is a huge portion of America that is small town..sub 40k...homes in those towns aren't 80-120 a sq ft..more like 50 with land...I have family in a 6k town w/ a great, but cheap house by city standards...he does UPS driving, wife is a nurse, they vacation, travel ball, anything really...but their mtge is tiny compared to city living..it is relative

The incredible increase in the cost of health care/ health insurance coupled with the rising cost of homes and the lack of affordable housing and and skyrocketing costs associated with secondary education has put a stressful pinch on what we used to call the middle class.
Those who say savings and limits on consumerism is the sole answer have obviously not had the experience of dealing with a serious medical situation while trying to put a couple of kids through college. Combine that with the looming threat of losing a job in a rapidly changing marketplace due to globalization and rapid advancement in technology and you’ve got a whole lot of people out there feeling very insecure. That directly leads to political upheaval, which is why extremism in both parties.

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incredible increase in the cost of health care/ health insurance coupled with the rising cost of homes and the lack of affordable housing and and skyrocketing costs associated with secondary education has put a stressful pinch on what we used to call the middle class. 

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To be fair this is government and marketplace hurting the market. Easy loans means anyone can go to school (which has its benefits) but it also encourages schools to hike costs. Companies hire using degrees as a major selection tool. Mostly for positions that dont require it.

This leaves those with no vocation or degree in bind for employment prospects when under realistic market conditions they should be able to easily work into middle class. As you stated, technology diminishes reliable blue collar work like manufacturing.

The protectionist philosophy many Republicans are clinging on is really a means to secure industries that are at high risk of being obsolete.

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My dad was in a skilled trade and my mom worked part time in an office. We had a custom built 2 story 2700 sqft brick home and vacations every year. We had an extra garage that was also my dad's "man cave" where he worked on a project car and built things. When emergencies arose he had money in his bank account to cover them. My dad retired at 55

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That isn’t middle class. That is “fairly well off” (not rich but close to it) if I was categorizing. Or maybe we were poor growing up and I fooled myself saying we were middle class.