URA to fund four new affordable housing projects in the east of the city. (neighborhoods, pharmacy)

[xdv8]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I would really appreciate some clarity around what people think is poor, working class, middle class, and upper class.

I'm very middle class and I own a home in the East End. Reading these people you would think I don't exist.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by xdv8

I'm very middle class and I own a home in the East End. Reading these people you would think I don't exist.

Everyone with a graduate degree is now considered upper class, duh!

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I would really appreciate some clarity around what people think is poor, working class, middle class, and upper class.

to most people, middle class is "me", upper class is "richer than me", lower class is "poorer than me".

in pittsburgh, i would say middle class is 40 HHI to 90 HHI.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by xdv8

I'm very middle class and I own a home in the East End. Reading these people you would think I don't exist.

define "very middle class"

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Paul2421

to most people, middle class is "me", upper class is "richer than me", lower class is "poorer than me".

in pittsburgh, i would say middle class is 40 HHI to 90 HHI.

The traditional joke is that in the U.S., everyone from garbagemen to millionaires self-identifies as middle class, because "middle" is seen as meaning "normal" and most people want to be normal. So if you aren't someone who relies upon public assistance, you might self-identify as middle class. Or if you're an engineer making $250,000 annually, but you don't have any substantial investment income other than a retirement account, you're middle class.

More recently, this has changed however. Now it seems like "working class" is taken to mean someone who is white without a college degree, regardless of income. Hence a contractor who runs his own small company and makes $200,000 a year is working class. On the other hand, someone with a postgraduate degree is stereotyped as "rich" even if they're adjunct faculty who lives at the edge of poverty.

All of this comes down to the U.S. having a very low level of class consciousness in the classic, Marxian sense. So first we could pretend to be a "classless society" and more recently we just decided to redefine cultural differences as being somehow class related.

[xdv8]

Originally Posted by Paul2421

define "very middle class"

Hi Paul! Look up the definition of Middle Class then go to the middle or lower half of that. That's what I mean by "very".

Want to argue with me on my own status?

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by Paul2421

to most people, middle class is "me", upper class is "richer than me", lower class is "poorer than me".

in pittsburgh, i would say middle class is 40 HHI to 90 HHI.

Unless the household size is one, 40k HHI is "working poor". An Aldi cashier and a fast food worker would generate a combined 40k. I think 90,000 is also comically low as the upper limit. Tell the mechanic married to the pharmacy tech that they aren't middle class.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by gladhands

Unless the household size is one, 40k HHI is "working poor". An Aldi cashier and a fast food worker would generate a combined 40k.

I thought he was referring to income percentile. Of course, that makes things worse on the lower end, because the 40th percentile is around $30,000, while the 90th percentile is around $103,000.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I thought he was referring to income percentile. Of course, that makes things worse on the lower end, because the 40th percentile is around $30,000, while the 90th percentile is around $103,000.

Geez.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Hi Paul! Look up the definition of Middle Class then go to the middle or lower half of that. That's what I mean by "very".

Want to argue with me on my own status?

not sure why you are being defensive here. you tried to prove a point and provided a very ambiguous word to prove your point. as noted by many others middle class varies wildly to different people. i don't think that asking for clarification is out of line. your statement could very much mean "i afford a house in the east end on a 150k salary." so it means close to nothing out of context.