Quotes I didnt understand

I chose to pick  this particular interview which was conducted by Amy Goodman of KPFA's The Morning show. This interview consisted of  a series of questions in relation to the book "The Rich and The Rest of Us" which was written by Cornell West and Tavis Smiley. West, and Smiley address several controversial statements that are made throughout the book. One of the few quotes that i didnt fully understand was clarified in the this interview.

"The Poverty Tour provided the opportunity to meet many people who had been living paycheck to paycheck even before the economic downturn. To so quickly slide from the great middle into the underworld of the poor validated our suspicions that perhaps these citizens never really were bona fide, middle class Americans. Indeed, some economists assert that the middle class evaporated decades ago.”

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"  http://youtu.be/2tKxK9ZC0AY