re: What do you consider middle class?

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To some extent, sure, but if you're making $150k in New Orleans, you're likely in a field you could make $100k elsewhere. Those people are below middle class in New Orleans by choice.

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Oh, I 100% agree with that, I was just using that as an example. They could also move to Metairie and get a cheaper home, but there are places (such as New Orleans proper) that 120k for a family for 4 would be a "struggle".

Another way to look at class is net wealth.

For example if I have $600k in the bank and can pay for my house in cash I don't need near the income to sustain that house if I was paying a note.

Life is way cheaper when you can pay in full.

Not directed at you getcocky

Have you been to Atlanta?

It all goes back to spending.

We work in my company with low income people. For example, a family of 4 has a monthly income of $4K, but they are spending almost $1K of it on cell phone/internet/TV packages.

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they are spending almost $1K of it on cell phone/internet/TV packages.

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Holy frick. How?

I spend $115 a month on all of that combined....

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I couldn't imagine voluntarily wanting to live in Columbia, greenville, or Charlotte which is just a more boring white bread version of Atlanta.

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Jesus Christ....the worst kind of convict is an uppity one.

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We have one of the most progressive tax systems in the world. Our wealthy pay a higher percentage than most developed countries. If you want to see where the middle class get fricked, look at Scandinavia where the middle class tax rate is much higher than ours.

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Man, there are sooo many loopholes for the rich that this is just a ridiculous thing to say. Warren Buffet famously stated he, the 3rd richest man in the world, paid a lower rate than his secretary.

Scandinavian countries consistently rank near the top in the world "happiness" rankings. They get free school, health care, plenty of leisure time, retirement, etc. The extra taxes they pay for this actually comes out as one hell of a deal if you were to count all we pay out of pocket for these things instead of just looking at our tax rates.

There are a lot of people on this board so I imagine we have some who make $500,000+ annually, but that number is very small. Yet we have people pretending they make that much. If your household isn't making $300k+ annually, you're getting fricked. It's sad that folks are stanning for the rich when those policies they're supporting will prevent them from becoming wealthy.

People dog unions, myself included, but it's no coincidence that as labor representation dwindled so too did class mobility.

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It's already starting to happen. I bought my house back in 2017, and its already gained 70k in value. It started with Shandon, and has crept in to parts of Forest Acres, Arcadia Lakes, and Rosewood.

West Columbia and Cayce are starting to see house values rise as well, especially the closer you get to the river.

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When you start seeing young stable couples and families buying homes in areas that were drug-infested shitholes 10 years ago, you know the city is on its way.

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When you start seeing young stable couples and families buying homes in areas that were drug-infested shitholes 10 years ago, you know the city is on its way.

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Yup. That's Rosewood to a T. The part of Forest Acres I live has a fairly old population. But as these families pass away or move to senior care, the houses are being gutted/fully renovated and young families are moving in. Then you have the other areas where they're knocking down old 50s ranch homes on acre lots, splitting the lot in to two, and building 800k+ homes. But hey, you can walk to Trader Joes

Rich people stay rich because they don’t buy shite they don’t need.