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I really don't think you're in agreement with StephM. She was arguing that an 800k house was an "upper class" rich peoples house. She also said that droves of "upper-middle class" people were buying homes at the median rate, which she mistakenly thinks is about $390k, about 100k lower than it actually is.
That's why Mitt Romney's tax rate is 15%, while most of us are at 18-25% and Warren Buffet has a lower tax rate than his secretary.
I'm just going to quote myself from Monday:
....and in the end, that's what it boils down to. Arguing whether 200k , 250k, or 300k HHI pushes you from middle to upper-middle is ultimately pointless when a loss 50k-100k is a mildly bad day in the market or a trip to a charity auction to the truly powerful in this country.
I've also started quoting myself, so I think it might be time to move on from this thread.
Ok, I take back my agreeing with StephM. I must have misunderstood what she was saying. I think what you outlined at the media company kind of describes the social class structure I mentioned.
Quote:
I also will admit my own subjectiveness, but I still see it backed up by the data. I worked at a major media company in Manhattan for 20+ years before starting my own businesses. In many ways it was a microcosm of the socioeconomic structure of our area. I knew janitors making in the 30s, assistants and paraprofessionals making 40-50s, union guys making 70-100s, etc. [This is the plurality, the bulk of the middle class/working class 75%]
I knew plenty of middle management types making in the 200s and 300s. [Upper middle 15%]
My boss probably made about a million. [Rich, top 1%]
My boss's boss had a contract worth about 10 million (until he got fired and didn't work again for several years). [Rich or ultra-rich, top .1%, depending on other factors]
I think there's a big difference between a nurse or a union guy making $80k-$100k, and a VP or doctor earning $200k-$300k. That's the difference between middle and upper-middle class. One income bracket likely has 10x the disposable income and 10x the assets of the other, even though income is only ~2x more. While assets, passive-income, etc. play a role as well, there's no quantifiable way to measure this (except home values, which we're factoring in--the higher the home value you live in, likely the more assets you own). When we approach the $10M+ Lloyd Blankfein type salaries, you're talking about a very small percentage of the population (.1%).
But what I mentioned about the difference between the nurse and the doctor is really what it comes down to. Judging from the census data and using 15% as the population % in the upper-middle, it lands at starting around $150k-$200k on LI. We could shrink that to 5% and then it would match the $250k+ salary as the starting threshold, but I believe there are more than 1 in 20 people considered upper-middle. It's all subjective, but I believe the top 15% number (or maybe as low as 10%) would be the consensus of the % constituting the upper-middle class.
Might be a little off topic but what is the name of that group again that they say really controls the country.... they meet once a year and they are considered the 20 most powerful people in the U.S.?
Yeah I watched a show on it where the producers were trying to infiltrate the grounds and I believe they did to some degree - always interesting to see the behind the scenes workings of our country despite what the media actually portrays
Sorry I take it back - Bohemian Grove - that is what I was speaking of
That TV show, Brad Meltzer's "Decoded", which broadcast on either H2 (Hist Int'l) or Discover/Nat Geo had a segment about Bohemian Grove. Until that point, I had never heard of that group..I dont thinik theres anything worthy that is actually discussed deliberately - more like an exclusive
"invite only the rich/well-connected people" country club type meeting once a year where they just drink, do drugs and party. Sort of like a fraternity party where anything goes and the media will never be told what happened. Thats how THOSE folks like to roll.
That TV show, Brad Meltzer's "Decoded", which broadcast on either H2 (Hist Int'l) or Discover/Nat Geo had a segment about Bohemian Grove. Until that point, I had never heard of that group..I dont thinik theres anything worthy that is actually discussed deliberately - more like an exclusive
"invite only the rich/well-connected people" country club type meeting once a year where they just drink, do drugs and party. Sort of like a fraternity party where anything goes and the media will never be told what happened. Thats how THOSE folks like to roll.
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