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re: What is considered Middle Class?
Posted on 11/17/18 at 5:28 pm to volod
Posted on 11/17/18 at 5:28 pm to volod
Retired with a avg income of 60K and money is still tight. I agree 100% that the working class has slid to the down size. It is a dam shame that a CEO of a company can pull down 30X monies then the avg worker of that same company. Just wrong. 
But, then again, why a football payer can pull down 5 mill+ a year just to start?
But, then again, why a football payer can pull down 5 mill+ a year just to start?
0
Posted on 11/17/18 at 5:36 pm to volod
quote:
our “government” authorized the addition of $1.5 Trillion to the national debt,
Seems like an odd word to put in quotes.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 6:04 pm to fallguy_1978
quote:
If they are broke it's because they spend too much.
This is where I am. We have a really stupid view of what everyone considers a required expense in life.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 6:19 pm to fallguy_1978
I honestly can't fathom a family of 4 living on 40k/yr, no matter how frugal they are. That's a tight arse budget. Middle class isn't supposed to be strapped for cash on a tight budget, unable to save up. Middle class is not supposed to have the nicest anything but still live comfortably. I was a single man making 40k 5 years ago and I had to watch every penny or I'd overspend in a heartbeat. Luckily I've worked up the ladder quickly and live comfortably now, especially now that I'm married and we have 2 incomes.
I read a statistic the other day that I am unsure if true, but baffled if it is... 50% of America makes 30k or less?? How??
I read a statistic the other day that I am unsure if true, but baffled if it is... 50% of America makes 30k or less?? How??
This post was edited on 11/17/18 at 6:23 pm
Posted on 11/17/18 at 7:15 pm to Hulkklogan
quote:
I honestly can't fathom a family of 4 living on 40k/yr, no matter how frugal they are.
I made about 42k when I was first married with a kid. We lived in a cheap house, drove old vehicles, didn't eat out etc. We didn't go on many vacations but we weren't destitute. This would have been about 2004 or so.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 7:17 pm to fallguy_1978
quote:
If they are broke it's because they spend too much.
Yep.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 7:27 pm to fallguy_1978
I have a hard time imagining a family of 4 being middle class on $50k/yr even in Louisiana. Maybe we just have lower standards now because we see technological advances make their way into even poor households and figure that they are doing better than their parents since their parents couldn't afford iPhones in 1980 or whatever.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 7:47 pm to fallguy_1978
quote:
I made about 42k when I was first married with a kid. We lived in a cheap house, drove old vehicles, didn't eat out etc. We didn't go on many vacations
Is this "middle class" now? I remember when a decent house, a decent vehicle, a garage, and family vacations were synonymous with the middle class.
What kind of house can a family buy on $55k/yr? It'd be so easy to fall behind on credit cards after a string of incidentals. The budget would be around $110k, $145k tops. I'd like to see that listing on Zillow.
edit: raised $42k to $55k to adjust for inflation.
This post was edited on 11/17/18 at 8:03 pm
Posted on 11/17/18 at 7:55 pm to BeepNode
quote:
I made about 42k when I was first married with a kid. We lived in a cheap house, drove old vehicles, didn't eat out etc. We didn't go on many vacations
I think he did say that was 2004. Assuming that was in BR, he could have purchased a house before Katrina when the market wasn’t as ridiculous. He probably sold it for a nice chunk of change or has a lot of equity in it now. I was a student then, so I’m not sure if all my assumptions are correct.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:04 pm to BeepNode
quote:
Is this "middle class" now? I remember when a decent house, a decent vehicle, a garage, and family vacations were synonymous with the middle class.
What kind of house can a family buy on $42k/yr? The budget would be around $85k, $115k tops. I'd like to see that listing on Zillow.
It's the lower end of the middle class for sure. We paid 108k for a 1250 sq ft home in Walker back then.
The problem is that most people aren't willing to live in the middle class homes that their parents did.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:06 pm to volod
Goddamn, you are such a rube. You are one propaganda swallowing machine
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:08 pm to BeepNode
quote:
What kind of house can a family buy on $55k/yr? It'd be so easy to fall behind on credit cards after a string of incidentals. The budget would be around $110k, $145k tops. I'd like to see that listing on Zillow.
Most people are unwilling to live a modest lifestyle like people did in the 60s or 70s. That's the issue.
You can live just fine on 50k in most of the country.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:21 pm to fallguy_1978
quote:This. Much larger houses...
The problem is that most people aren't willing to live in the middle class homes that their parents did.
And fewer people living in them to boot.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:27 pm to RogerTheShrubber
quote:
You can live just fine on 50k in most of the country.
"Just fine" isn't the same as middle class. There's a difference between surviving and thriving.
My parents were middle class. My dad was in a skilled trade and my mom worked part time in an office. We had a custom built 2 story 2700 sqft brick home and vacations every year. We had an extra garage that was also my dad's "man cave" where he worked on a project car and built things. When emergencies arose he had money in his bank account to cover them. My dad retired at 55.
I'm afraid there's a common perception that people like my dad made "too much" and that combined with globalization has really put a lot of downward pressure on what we are willing to accept. The blow is softened by the availability of poorly constructed faux french spec homes, along with new tech and entertainment options that our parents never dreamed of.
We could have gotten by "just fine" living in a trailer park in Livingston Parish and never leaving the state but let's not pretend it's the same.
This post was edited on 11/17/18 at 8:32 pm
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:27 pm to Hulkklogan
quote:
read a statistic the other day that I am unsure if true, but baffled if it is... 50% of America makes 30k or less?? How??
Yep. That's accurate. I love capitalism and I will never say it's a problem. The issue is consumerism (the spending of capital). And until recently, we had a very shaky job market.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:32 pm to BeepNode
quote:
My dad was in a skilled trade and my mom worked part time in an office. We had a 2 story 2700 sqft home custom built and vacations every year. We had an extra garage that was also my dad's "man cave" where he worked on a project car and built things. My dad retired at 55
Most skilled tradesman that I knew growing up in the 80s didn't live anywhere close to this.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:33 pm to fallguy_1978
quote:
Most skilled tradesman that I knew growing up in the 80s didn't live anywhere close to this.
You probably grew up in Louisiana. Then again, didn't Exxon baws make good money back in the day?
This post was edited on 11/17/18 at 8:34 pm
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:34 pm to BeepNode
quote:
We could have gotten by "just fine" living in a trailer park in Livingston Parish and never leaving the state but let's not pretend it's the same.
That's one of the main reasons I start threads like this. Middle class of today isnt really middle class pre 1970. The only way you can compare them is by making the distinction of lower middle and upper middle.
The parties want us to think middle class never changed to keep control over us and blame everything else (immigration, foreign countries, etc.)
In reality they are just acclimating people (hardworking people included) to living with less despite paying taxes.
Technology has allowed people to do more with less, so it appears things are better.
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:34 pm to fallguy_1978
That's also pre-08.. I wonder how much that affected the middle class? Finding cheap houses is tough these days unless you're okay with living in a bad part of town or far outside of a city.
Are there any statistics on what kind of jobs are opening up? I suppose any job is better than no job, but 30k or less for half the country is staggering.
quote:
And until recently, we had a very shaky job market.
Are there any statistics on what kind of jobs are opening up? I suppose any job is better than no job, but 30k or less for half the country is staggering.
This post was edited on 11/17/18 at 8:38 pm
Posted on 11/17/18 at 8:38 pm to BeepNode
quote:
You probably grew up in Louisiana. Then again, didn't Exxon baws make good money back in the day?
The still do make good money. I grew up in middle class neighborhood with a lot of plant workers. On average they lived in 1400-1500 sq ft houses with a family of 5 and drove old trucks.
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