Michael Henninger

Editorial: Essays: The Shrinking Middle Class in America

Armando Cortinas reads part of an article from a newspaper to his granddaughter Angie Cortinas, 8, from their back porch, where he and his wife Beatrice (not pictured) have lived for several weeks after a bank foreclosed on their house and changed the locks. While Angie doesn't live with her grandparents as they sleep in a tent outside of their home, she spends many evenings there.
  
Beatrice Cortinas pulls on a constable's order posted to the front door of her home on Oct. 18, 2011.
  
After spending an evening locked outside, Beatrice Cortinas, right, breaks into her own home after realizing that the lack of a door knob attached to a screen door will provide a means of entry as her granddaughter Angie Cortinas, 8, holds a lamp on Oct. 18, 2011.
     
  
Beatrice Cortinas washes dishes after dinner in her backyard underneath a battery powered lamp on Oct. 18, 2011. The Cortinas family of Las Vegas has decided to live out of a tent in their backyard after a bank foreclosed on their home and changed the locks.
  
Moises Leyva, a custodian living in Las Vegas, fell behind on house payments after a divorce and is now fighting a foreclosure by Wells Fargo on his home.
  
Moises Leyva, a Custodian living in Las Vegas, fell behind on house payments after a divorce and is now fighting a bank foreclosure on his home. Here, Leyva speaks with his girlfriend Marie Gomez inside his living room on Oct. 18, 2011.
     
  
Moises Leyva, a Custodian living in Las Vegas, fell behind on house payments after a divorce and is now fighting a bank foreclosure on his home. Here, Leyva leaves his driveway on his way to work on Oct. 18, 2011.
  
Tom Alberts, 52, stands behind his mother in law Emily Gorski, 85, at his home in North Huntingdon on Nov. 7, 2011. Gorski is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and Alberts acts as her primary caregiver.
   
Tom Alberts of North Huntington sits in his office where he works as a web designer from home on Nov. 7, 2011. Alberts would prefer to hold a full-time job, but can't as he cares for his mother-in-law Emily Gorski, 85, as she lives with Parkinson's Disease.
     
  
Eric Chiodo and his wife Kelly Knieling talk about their days after returning home in North Huntingdon from their respective jobs on Oct. 13, 2011. Chiodo works as a civil engineer, and Knieling works with Advantage Sales and Marketing, doing merchandising for 12 Pittsburgh Giant Eagles.
  
Eric Chiodo and his wife Kelly Knieling now teach a financial planning class to others who find themselves with financial distress at their church, the Norwin Christian Church, on September. 21, 2011.
  
Eric Chiodo and his wife Kelly Knieling share a kiss after returning home in North Huntingdon from their respective jobs on Oct. 13, 2011. Chiodo works as a civil engineer, and Knieling works with Advantage Sales and Marketing, doing merchandising for 12 Pittsburgh Giant Eagles. Years ago, Chiodo and Knieling found themselves deep in debt, and have since spent years following strict budgets to balance out paying for student loans, car and house payments, and saving for their daughter's college education.
     
  
A family portrait hangs on the wall in the home of Bob and Christina Annan in Bellevue, Pa., from before they had their fifth child. The Annan family are a single-income family, living off Bob Annan's salary as an employee of Verizon.
  
Christina Annan, center, sets down several plates as, from left, Ashton Annan, 7, Bob Annan, father, Laurel Annan, 11, and Robert Annan Jr., 10, prepare to eat pasta on Nov. 1, 2011. The Annan's eat dinner together daily.
  
Christina Annan shows her daughter Raine, 6, how to write a Y as part of a homework assignment on Nov. 1, 2011. The Annans have their children do their homework as soon as they return from school every day.
     
  
After eating dinner, Bob Annan, left, plays a video game with his son Robert Jr., 10, third from left, while his other children, from left, Raine, 6, Ashton, 7, Laurel, 11, and Autumn, 9, watch on Oct. 5, 2011.
  
Raine Annan, 6, hangs around her mother Christina's neck as her siblings Ashton, left, 7, and Laurel, right, 11, gather around after being dismissed from school on Nov. 1, 2011.
  
Raine Annan, 6, throws a handful of leaves into the air while waiting with her mother Christina for her four siblings to be dismissed from Bellevue Elementary School on Nov. 1, 2011. Raine spends the afternoon at home with her mother after spending a half-day in kindergarten.