In the recent ‘I believe’ campaign ad, President Obama talks to camera;
“I believe that the way you grow the economy is from the middle out. I believe in fighting for the middle class because if they’re prospering all of us will prosper. That’s the idea of America and that’s why America is the greatest nation on earth.”
What does grow the economy “from the middle out” exactly mean? Does it mean to let start the economy growing from the middle class, and extend its benefits to other (upper and lower) classes,’ or it only refers to the middle?
If we omit ‘out,’ from the line, does it ruin the whole sentence? What is the significance of having ‘out’ in this context?