During her hourlong structural engineering class she sends 20-plus e-mails, works on a class paper and takes meticulous notes in outline form on her MacBook Air.

FORBES: Top U.S. Colleges

During her 9 a.m. hourlong structural engineering class she sends 20-plus e-mails, works on a class paper and takes meticulous notes in outline form on her MacBook Air.

FORBES: America's Top Colleges

You might argue, for instance, that in many countries rising incomes and structural economic change have created a new and larger middle class, weakening support for public services (which the middle class pays for) and undermining trade unions (which tend to be anti-liberal).

ECONOMIST: Economics focus

But some economists argue that Brazil is the beneficiary of a structural shift, in which the industrialisation of Asia and the rise of a new middle class in the developing world will keep commodity prices high.

ECONOMIST: Brazil

To sum up, I can easily accept that the American middle-class and southern Europe could be experiencing significant real wage declines as a result of real or structural factors.

FORBES: Stagnation and Recession

More importantly, continued policy focus on income redistribution perpetuates the idea that income inequality is the root of middle class economic problems, rather than the effect, allowing for the continued avoidance of the deep-rooted structural issues in the U.S. economy.

FORBES: How Will The Middle Class Fare In The Battle Over The Fiscal Cliff?