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Class Status

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by boots, Aug 4, 2007.

  1. boots

    boots New Member

    What is your definition of rich, middle class and poor in the United States? For example, would you consider yourself poor if you made $25,000 a year or rich if you made $50,000 a year?
     
  2. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    $50k a year is hardly "rich". It's barely middle class.
     
  3. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    I would think $100K a year puts someone in the upper-middle class realm.
     
  4. boots

    boots New Member

    We were throwing out numbers for argument's sake.
     
  5. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    It's a flawed argument. In 2007, $50K doesn't go as far as it did in 1967.
     
  6. boots

    boots New Member

    It's not flawed. This is 2007 not 1967. That's why I asked the question. So when you see an opening and the salary is, for example, $25,000, does that in your mind put you in poor class?
     
  7. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    It's flawed because money doesn't go as far today as it did ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years ago.

    When I see job ads on JJobs.com that says they'll pay up to $25K a year, I don't apply for it because it's not worth it financially. After moving expenses, I'd be in the red.

    If I apply for a job that's offering $35-to-$50K, it puts me in the lower middle-class realm, and I weigh the pros and cons.
     
  8. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    "We"? Jesus. You've elevated yourself to the third person?

    If you're going to "throw" out numbers, throw ones out that make some sense
     
  9. boots

    boots New Member

    I see your point. But again, this isn't 1967. So if I'm reading your post correctly, a $50,000 salary would put you at lower middle class?
     
  10. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    Where I live, yes, it would put me at lower-middle-class. But it's also more money than I have ever made and I don't have a wife and kids to provide for. So $50K a year job becomes one that I seriously consider.
     
  11. Idaho

    Idaho Active Member

    It's relative, too.

    $75k a year in NYC is decent, but in rural Idaho it makes you rich. $150k in Alabama makes you quite wealthy, but in San Fran it leaves you unable to buy a good family home.

    I grew up in a school teacher family. I remember having a celebration when my father signed a new contract with the school district and would be making $15k per year. Right now, we're making good money for our family. But we don't feel 'rich' though I certainly would consider this income 'rich' just 10 years ago.
     
  12. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    Idaho's right. It's all dependent where you live.

    My best friend is a vice president for a New York bank company, and he makes in the mid-fifties. He's 28 and still lives with his mother and younger brother in a three-bedroom apartment in Queens. Does he want to live there? No, but he can't afford to move out.
     
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