New Delhi: A Bengaluru CEO’s LinkedIn post claiming that “the biggest scam no one talks about” is the salaries of middle class people, has sparked an online discussion. 

Ashish Singhal, co-founder and Group CEO of PeepalCo, has said that the middle class is quietly enduring the economic blow with soaring expenses and stagnant salaries. The middle class “that’s powering the economy, yet getting squeezed out of it” has resonated with netizens. 

Taking to LinkedIn, Singhal wrote, “The biggest scam no one talks about? Middle-class salaries. Over the past 10 years: – The group earning under Rs 5L saw a 4% CAGR – Rs 5L- Rs 1Cr income group has seen just 0.4% CAGR – Food prices? Up nearly 80% – Purchasing power? Cut almost in half – But spending? Up, funded by credit.” 

He further wrote, “This isn’t a collapse. It’s a well-dressed decline. You’re still flying once a year. Still buying a phone. Still paying EMIs. But you’re also skipping the savings. Delaying the doctor visit. Doing the mental math in every Zomato checkout.” 

Singhal claimed that AI is subtly endangering jobs and the wealthy have gained seven times in a decade. “The poor are being supported. The rich are scaling. The middle class is just expected to absorb the shock, in silence. No complaints. No bailouts. Just inflation, EMIs, and quiet pressure,” he added. 

Singhal said that it is time people start discussing the middle income group. “Not as a vote bank or a spending class, but as a segment that’s powering the economy, yet getting squeezed out of it,” he wrote. 

Netizens react

Since being shared, Singhal’s post has sparked a debate on the silent catastrophe that the middle class in India is suffering. 

One user wrote, “I am picking this signal consistently from a wide variety of sources. The middle class is quietly getting squeezed from both sides. But it’s also its own fault for choosing to stay quiet and naively hoping that just staying the course of 9 to 9 jobs, home loans and car loans will improve the situation. The middle class’s guilt is that it’s taken too much on its own self and asks too little from the government. As they say, excess of nothing is good – being excessively conforming and hard working – has led to being stuck between the devil and the deep sea.” 

“Well said! Middle class themself don’t allow to think but gets driven by Agenda’s set by others and keep draging thereby lost thier Willpower /Courage to Question,” another user commented. 

Another user said, “Good one. But, as CEO, what was the pay rise you gave to your employees vis-a-vis yours? That should be interesting to know.”