As we inch closer to the 2016 election, presidential candidates and politicians have begun to phase out the term “middle class” from their vocabulary. Terms like “everyday Americans” and “hard-working taxpayers” are replacing the once-common term. “Middle Class,” a phrase that once evoked a sense of optimism, shared wealth, and the American Dream, now invokes a sense of anxiety, and an uncertain future. Why? Because, as automation replaces jobs and the income gap widens, the middle class is in a catastrophic state of decline.