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CLARKONOMICS: Are Americans going backwards economically? That's how some of the financial press is spinning the latest findings of the Pew Research Center. Only 4 in 10 people feel they're moving forward -- and that's a record low. Of those who define themselves as middle class, 80% say they can't maintain their standard of living. This, of course, translates to lack of optimism about the country.

When you look at the last 5 years, there has been some distortion in the economy and some trends have squeezed people. But look further back to the '70s. The average American family income is 40% higher than it was one generation ago. That's practically unprecedented for an already developed economy. Meanwhile, the average family is 35% wealthier in terms of net worth than a generation ago.

Yet the Pew findings ring true. The middle class is hollowing out. In town after town, the non-skilled union jobs have steadily been evaporating as our manufacturing base declines. The kinds of jobs that unskilled laborers now have to get as a replacement typically pay much less and don't have a pension or benefits. So what's happening is that our country is dividing into 3 distinct groups: One third of Americans are making really decent money; one-third have low incomes and are not doing so well; and one third are in the middle. Clark's never seen this kind of split in his lifetime; the classic bell curve of yesteryear is gone and that's why there's unease.

Even if you're mid-career, you've got to reinvent yourself. This is the real challenge as we face global competition. The free trade genie won't go back in the bottle. Clark wants to hear political discourse about how to start re-training mid-career people. Community colleges and state-sponsored technical schools are both great venues to gain new skills or get re-training.

RIP-OFF ALERT: Are you among the 70% of Americans who runs a balance on your credit cards? Your credit card issuer may be sneaking a rate change via a legalese statement that could show up with your next statement.

Here's the story: When interest rates started going up 3 years ago, issuers realized they could make more money by converting fixed-rate cards to variable-rate ones. So sure enough Clark started getting calls about that phenomenon.

Now they're doing the opposite thing as interest rates are declining. Dow Jones reports that Capital One has been doing this on new accounts only.

In theory, Clark has no problems with banks raising the rates on their credit cards to 1,000% on future purchases. Of course, it wouldn't be right to raise them retroactively on purchases you've already charged up.

If your issuer tries the latter tactic, you'll be hurting if you carry a balance. That's why you need to be in the 30% who don't carry revolving debt on their credit cards. Remember, the banks can't hurt you unless you give them permission to do so through your debt.

The National Consumer Law Center has issued a disturbing new report about tax preparation chains and some independent outfits. Undercover mystery shoppers found that many tax preparers steered them toward refund loans. Many times the secret shoppers were just defaulted into the refund loans without being asked. That's unacceptable in Clark's book.

Then there were the issues of preparer accuracy. About 30 years ago, Clark worked as an H&R Block preparer while he was a graduate student. He found the training to be very thorough and it was a great part-time job. Of course, he can't vouch for the level of today's training. But Clark doesn't really blame preparers for errors. The reality is that the tax code is a joke, so you're going to have mistakes. Why not consider using the IRS Free File option to do your taxes yourself? This option is available to those who have an adjusted gross income of $54K or less. And if you doubt your competency, pay a preparer and compare the results.

The World Bank estimates that the cost of food is up 83% over 3 years! Not all of this increase has translated into U.S. supermarkets yet. At the same time, half of all the things we import now come from the Third World where inflation is rising. Foreign inflation will come back to bite us in the form of higher prices on imported goods. So we as consumers have to make a decision between things we'd like to have and things we need to have. In the former category, you have things like electronics and clothing. It might be a good time to take a step back from buying. Fashion-forward retailer Target has just reported rotten sales for March, so that's a sign that some shoppers have already begun dialing back. Meanwhile, food falls into the latter category of things we need to have. So for food items, try brand substitution or buying the store brands at the market.