Listened to an interesting discussion on NPR this morning about America's perception of what is rich and poor. I was surprised at what is percieved as "middle class" by different people. Then they tried to define "rich". One gal they interviewed has a husband that grosses over $1Million a year, and she didn't consider herself as being "rich". When asked what she considered rich, she said someone that has like $20million in the bank!
So, what is "middle-class"? I had kind of always thought it lay in the $75K to $100k combined household gross annual income bracket. Roughly.
Does it vary with where you live, making it a cost of living/income ratio?(makes sense to me) That would make it hard to put an actual dollar value to it. How then do you determine where you're at on the demographic scale? (I personally don't care where I'm at on the scale, but it's an interesting puzzle)

__________________
past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

Middle class and upper-middle class seem to have a vast range between $45K to over $100K. Middle is probably $45K to $60K and upper-middle, $60 to $120K. Rich, I think for many people, is being able to live off of investments or interest. Wealthy is probably being able to purchase most things without worry (most things as in comfortable houses, renovations, nice cars but not necessarily exotic cars, etc.). Oh, I guess wealth also includes assets. I'm not sure if I'm using rich and wealthy properly. Maybe they should be switched.

Alex

__________________
1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

Middle class is that break-even point where you start paying more to the government than you get in entitlements!

My condolences on your being middle class (or higher).



Ken300D

According to the democrats, you're rich if you make over $25K a year. In reality, it has more to do with where you live. $40K is more of a generally accepted marker amongst most Americans. However, if you live in L.A., New York, or other such places with high costs of living, you would be in poverty at $40k per year.

Where I live, the "general" rule applies, and I'm sitting comfortably inside that bracket @ $55K per year.

The Republicans screw you over unless your salaray is at a point where you don't need to pay payroll taxes. So in effect, the Republicans are screwing over the middle class. Well, actually, they're REALLY screwing over future generations. Everyone seems to get some kind of break (although they're disproportionate) which means the federal revenue is going to drop sharply even as gov't spending goes up. Doesn't make too much sense. Who cuts taxes sharply in a time of war and global insecurity? Even John McCain sees that.

Alex

__________________
1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

Quote:

Middle class is that break-even point where you start paying more to the government than you get in entitlements!

That's us!! Right on the money Ken! The only deductions we have are mortgage intrest and equity line intrest. Since we are D.I.N.K.S. we get pummeled on taxes like single people do but, yet we use a fraction of the public services compared to those that have kids.

__________________
Scott Diener
89 300E
93 300E
92 Volvo 740 Wagon aka "Mutt mover"

As the liberal elite fawn over each other, their politicians decry the concept of tax relief ONLY for "the rich"...

The "entitlements-mentality" naturally follows from the "every one a victim, and a potential plaintiff" philosophy. When they talk about "OUR tax money" they only think of it as something owed to them, the fodder they wish to dole out to their lower class constituency as entitlements, praying for enough votes to further their erection-to-resurection social re-programming agenda.

You'll notice that it is not the taxes they pay that they refer to as "OUR tax money": it is the taxes that OTHER people pay.

How can you cut the taxes of the multitudes supping entitlements at the public trough when they generally DON'T PAY ANY TAXES except Social Security?

The Beatles said it best:
Let me tell you how it will be...
There's one for you, 19 for me!

p.s. IMHO, middle class vs. High class vs. low class differs from one's monetary status of poor, comfortable or REALLY RICH! Just because he's married to Sen. Hillarious! doesn't take Slick Willy out of the low class, hoi polloi, rag-tag and bobtail of Society from whence he came (crawled?)!

__________________
'91 420 SEL @ 199K, '92 SVX @ 181K, '93 SC400 @ 86K, '93 Kaw ZX-11 @ 30K, '87 F250 @ 181K , 2001 Valkyrie Interstate @ 6K, Y2K Honda NightHawk 250 with 1.5K, '88 420SEL I.@ 179K & the 2nd latest, an '88 420SEL II.@ 210K runnin' parts car, '85 F150 300/NP435

Nothing more than pathetic prattle.

What do you know about working?

Can you can explain why JFK and Reagan tax cut increased revenues.

DH give me a break you have no conception of reality and what really makes the world work.

Around here Middle Class is being able to pay cash for a nice, new doublewide. Nothing like a new double wide to keep the wife happy.

__________________
Jim

What's the big deal about paying cash? If you can pay cash for a doublewide surely you have the down payment for a very nice home

This is probably not the case so much now, but for many years people (especially in the rural areas?) were raised by their parents not to trust banks. Their parents probably had some direct interaction with the Great Depression.

I know I was shocked and amused to see people coming into college that paid all their bills, including tuition, in cash.

My Dad tended to trust banks more than that, but he never in his life had a mortgage. Land was cheaper then of course, but he saved until it could be bought outright. And the amount of cash he kept stashed in the house was more shocking. If there had been a fire - oh man -

Life is a big circle. And then it repeats. Monetary crisis happen again and again throughout history. Your paper dollar is worthless.



Ken300D

From the Econ major:
I think it seems pretty logical that to spend money, you need to make money right? Therefore, it seems to also make sense that if the government's going to spend money, it needs to make money right? It doesn't make sense that Bush wants to DECREASE the amount the government brings in, yet spend MORE, drastically more. How are we going to pay for the military, homeland security AND the tax cuts, if the government makes less? RS, that's pretty simple logic, but I can explain more. I don't have a problem with spending less and cutting revenue, but spending more and cutting revenue just messes with interest rates. That's not even text book econ, that just makes sense. I guess you think that cutting taxes and borrowing a whole $hit load of money is a gamble that the economy will pick up and we'll be able to pay everything back. That's a hell of a gamble don't you think? And he's giving the money back to the wrong people. The tax cuts that he is proposing won't create consumer demand, only investment potential, which there already is. Without consumer demand, that is, empowering the consumers (the middle class, those who spend everything they earn), there's no reason to invest.

Does anyone really think that he can sharply cut the federal revenue and still fund all those projects he promises AND pay for our activities in the Middle East? That's fiscally irresponsible.

Oh, and brilliant argument calling what I have to say prattle and then not substantiating it. bravo. if you're going to make the claim that I'm wrong, offer up a better theory or argument.

Alex

__________________
1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

I have a novel concept - spend less money on BS FAILED WELFARE PROGRAMS.

DH, from past experience I refuse to argue with you it's fruitless pointless, and worthless because you have no conception of reality.

TAX TRUTH

..."How are WE going to pay for the... tax cuts, if the government MAKES LESS?"
(edited)
The guv'ment DOES NOT "MAKE" more or less :the government collects 95+% of its revenues (minus SS) from the top 50% of the taxpayers.

It all goes back to the liberal viewpoint that THEY SOMEHOW OWN (read: "are naturally entitled to as a matter of course") & CONTROL (read: "are the natural choice to distribute at their choosing") the tax revenues that others pay. It is always "our" tax dollars they refer to...

__________________
'91 420 SEL @ 199K, '92 SVX @ 181K, '93 SC400 @ 86K, '93 Kaw ZX-11 @ 30K, '87 F250 @ 181K , 2001 Valkyrie Interstate @ 6K, Y2K Honda NightHawk 250 with 1.5K, '88 420SEL I.@ 179K & the 2nd latest, an '88 420SEL II.@ 210K runnin' parts car, '85 F150 300/NP435