Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP
I am not going to continue the debate because the difference in our opinions to me is not that great. Again as others have said how do you measure wealth and how much wealth does it take to live at a certain standard of living? If we agree on the operational definition of wealth then we agree on the big picture. I think what is/happened is that folks have a different perspective on what constitutes wealth. For me it is the number at the bottom of your balance sheet. I don't care how much you make if your debt exceeds your assets you are poor. There are areas of the country where people are not house poor but are ledger rich. There income is no where as high as Maryland and they leave their cars on the street unlocked at night.
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Let me answer this question quality of life and why people move to heavily populated metro areas in particular DC-Metro.
1. White collar Jobs, Blue collar Jobs, Whte collar Jobs, and more white collar jobs
2. Highly educated work-force leads to higher wages paid
3. Higher wages paid leads to wage inflation and price inflation
4. Highly educated work-force leads to highly educated children
5. Leads to highly prized public school system
6. Due to highly educated high earnings work force providing a sufficient tax base to fund high quality schools
7. leads to more highly skilled job seekers lookign to relocate to the area
8. which leads to more growth and higher prices to live (supply and demand)
9. Growth leads to suburban urbanization and puts more pressure on the poor, lower middle class and middle/middle class.
10. Leads to people in the lower middle and middle/middle class taking flight to places that they can better afford
I am I on point thus far?
Anyway, if you're in the upper class or rich non of this affects you to the extent it does the lower middle class and middle/middle class. It is a class warfare issue in the DC area. The people that make 150,000+ really do not care its' the folks that are making between 50k-100k that are being pushed out and to the sides and they're having the quality of life issue.
These people cannot afford to live in the fat cat neighborhoods and buy a 1-2 million dollar house and in some cases when they do like you said they become house poor, but fact is most of the people that live in the "fat cat" neighborhoods are not remotely house poor.
The people that are house poor are lower middle and middle/midde class people attempting to live beyong their means, send their kids to private school, drive in a bmw, and buy a 400-500k house. Those are the people that struggle in a metro area. The poor do not really struggle, because they are subsidized by the county and state hence why they seem to multiple and never leave. It's the lower (working poor) middle class and middle/middle class that suffers.
In that sense I do agree with you and there is a quality of life issue for those individuals in that economic class. I could make 50k in DC plumbing and move to NC and make 50k plumbing which would be me a lot more etc and i could probably afford a house etc.. i get that point, but again you all on here keep attempting to lump the upper middle class into this argument.
I'm stressing the upper middle class and rich are not really all that affected by a lot of the financial issues the lower middle and middle/middle class are affected by.
Upper Middle class areas don't have much crime if any at all
Upper Middle class people tend to own
Upper Middle class people tend to be a lot older and more established
Upper Middle Class people tend to have high duel incomes in professional white collar jobs or own their own businesses
Just in closing it's a working poor (lower middle class issues) and middle/middle class issue, that's all i'm saying. The family that buys a 1.0 million dollars house in Upper Marlboro could have afforded 1.2M dollar house in Great Falls, VA and that's why i'm saying upper class and rich people are not affected by these issues to the same extent.
The guy that bought a 500k house in Springdale could not go to Potomac and purchase the same size house etc or live the same quality life etc....
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