As the middle class is decimated by technological change and globalization, we risk social instability, which could lead to collapse of the democratic world order, he said.
Biden said our "goal should be a world where everyone's standard of living is rising," and that continuing education is going to be required to help people advance.
He suggested that the U.S. government could, and should, pay for college to help advance people in their careers.
We need a progressive tax structure where everyone "pays their fair share," said Biden. "The top 1 percent is not carrying their own weight."
In most middle class societies, people can't get a raise, Biden said. But if we offered free college, he said, they would be thankful. "We can afford to do that in a heartbeat," Biden said.
We can pay for every student to go to community college for $6 billion a year, if we just restructure our tax code, he said.
As people get more training, more education, they should be able to progress in their careers and earn more money, which should lead to a stronger middle class and eventually lead to greater social stability.