Social media has been widely credited as the catalyst for the Egyptian uprisings and the subsequent demonstrations in other Middle Eastern countries.  It’s a beautiful thing indeed, marking a new era in politics and communications. At the same time, how much of the business behind technology has dis-empowered the lower middle class of the U.S?

In a report by CNNMoney, “middle-class incomes have been stagnant for at least a generation, while the wealthiest tier has surged ahead at lighting speed.” Part of the rich getting richer trend has to do with business owners being able to outsource jobs overseas. Technology has certainly been beneficial to corporate earnings and profits of the everyday business owner but hasn’t had a consistent positive effect on blue collar workers.

Many in the middle class today are finding themselves worse off than their parents, facing less stability and lower incomes in the workforce. The discrepency is becoming so sharp between the upper and middle class that Americans now have to ask, is it better to be low-income? Low income earners are often eligible for federal programs to help with home ownership, college tuition and so forth.

Read More: How the middle class became the underclass