Squeezing the middle & strangling the poorest

[Hettster]

If its "squeezing the middle" it must be strangling the poorest . . . . who else worries about the pooest in society?

[factor-fiction]

I assume the statement means that middle income families are being hit hardest as a percentage of their income. So someone who was on £20000 pa last year may be £1000 a year (5%) worse off whereas someone who was on £10000 is £300 a year (3%) worse off , and some on £100000 a year may be £3000 (3%) worse off.
This can happen for all sorts of reasons (price of energy, petrol, wage freezes, shopping bill increases, cost of wine, VAT on non-food items).
In some ways the poor are better protected in relative terms because state benefits and pensions tend to go up in line with prices whereas middle incomes may be frozen (or in my case disappear completely!)