Challenge has published many pieces arguing that the standard of living in the United States has suffered in recent decades. But not everyone agrees there is a serious middle-class squeeze. Here is a counterargument.

It is widely believed that one of the achievements in recent decades has been the closing of the wage gap between men and women. In any single year, this is true. But measured over fifteen years, these economists finds that women's earnings are still far behind men's. They still cannot work as...