It's the Brian Laird Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. If you follow the business news,

you probably know the headlines from Friday's jobs numbers for the month of May.

You know, the report comes out on the first Friday of each month, right, to report on the previous month.

And so for May, the headlines on Friday were pretty bullish.

The U.S. economy created more jobs than most economists expected.

More than 272,000 jobs added last month net.

And the numbers show that wage growth outpaced inflation, 4.1% average wage growth over the last year compared to inflation in the mid-3s.

And add to this that a recent Harris poll found that three and five Americans incorrectly believe were in a recession. People aren't feeling the greatness all that much.

You know, there's a disconnect between how well the economy is doing and how people are feeling

about their own financial situations. And this schism has pundits and politicians scratching

their heads to some degree. But at the same time, that relatively good news of the moment and

people's misperception about a recession can also obscure a more troubling picture for many Americans

who are in America's middle class.

Our guest now is part of the National True Cost of Living Coalition

founded this year by two anti-poverty and advocacy organizations,

the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and the Community Service Society of New York.

Their mission, quote, ensuring that true economic security is a possibility for all Americans.

And they've come out with a new national poll of their own, finding that 65% of Americans

often considered middle class, which they define as those earning more than 200% of the federal poverty level,

are struggling financially today and don't expect that to change for the remainder of their lives.

Pretty depressing sentiment for a majority of middle class Americans.

Joining me now to talk about the results of their poll and the coalition's efforts to come up

...