> In some countries, especially less developed ones, poverty levels are declining, but in the US the trend seems to be the opposite.

This *seems* does a lot of heavy lifting here. That's not what data shows.

> The middle class is being gutted and descending into survival mode if not poverty, while the top few percent become obscenely rich at their expense.

The middle class is getting smaller because people are getting richer and start to qualify to higher class, which is opposite of what you just said.