Aside from the underclass, there are basically two types of people/families in this country - those who live paycheck to paycheck and those who don't. Some who live paycheck to paycheck may live in an expensive home, have nice cars, etc... In other words, they have for whatever reason decided to live right up to the limit of their means, or beyond. Despite living quite well, they can still feel acutely any negative economic shock, even the relatively modest hit of having gas prices go up. They have substantial payments to make every month - cars, utilities, mortgage, credit cards, tuition payments - as well as lifestyle habits which are hard to break. They may manage to sock a few bucks away into their retirement accounts, but they have little or no liquid savings which can be readily tapped, or once it's tapped it is unlikely to be quickly replenished.
The inability of much of the celebrity pundit class to understand why people can both be doing relatively well (not all people of course) and also be feeling substantial anxiety about the economy has to do with the fact that they long ago left the "paycheck to paycheck" class.
