What do YOU think is middle class income in Chicago?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

This discussion once again confuses class and income. A single person making $500,000 is obviously upper income, but being upper-class has more to do with having capital, doing multigenerational wealth planning, and engaging in traditional upper-class activities such as philanthropy.

Of course, and none of those things can be done on a broad scale without having some sort of money first. For you that may mean upper class, but for most people the term connotes something more general which has more to do with lifestyle. If you made $1 million per year laying around and donated $0 of it to anything, participated in zero fundraisers, etc but you did things like go on expensive vacations, buy expensive cars, dinners, etc most people would consider you upper class because that lifestyle is associated with being upper class. Things like philanthropy are associated too but most people don't even think about that when you say "upper class." They think about the stuff I just mentioned first and foremost. You don't need tons of money to do that or be in the upper class to live an upper class lifestyle, but it sure helps to have the money in the first place.

[Bucktownbabe]

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

This discussion once again confuses class and income.

I don't think anyone is confusing class with income. We're just discussing the income component of class. (Hence "middle class income" in the title of the thread.) I think we're all well aware that there are other factors involved.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by Bucktownbabe

I don't think anyone is confusing class with income. We're just discussing the income component of class. (Hence "middle class income" in the title of the thread.)...

Fair enough.