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A couple of benchmarks, from one who is favored with both price-consciousness and a good memory.
One summer when I was in college (c. 1970), my regular summer job failed to materialize and I was forced to seek employment at a local fast-food emporium; we were selling CluBurgers (the equivalent of a Big Mac) for fifty-five cents -- the price today is around $3.75; a seven-fold increase.
Or let's consider a good low-tech, all-labor consumer purchase -- a man's haircut. That summer, the local "Master Barber Association" -- a cartel-of-sorts that wasn't worth the trouble to police, raised its price to $1.25. I currently get my hair cut for $8, and usually add a $2 tip in recognition that I don't patronize a barber as regularly as in the Sixties -- and admittedly, a person of my tastes doesn't see much utility in a fancy salon. So figure an eight-fold increase again.
Until inflation really began picking up around 1966, the term "five-figure salary" was still viewed as a status symbol. Around the same time, Life magazine ran a feature on five suburban couples "having trouble living on $20-$24K a year".
So if we extrapolate the same figures, $75000 is solidly middle-class, and $150-$200K should allow for a pretty good living.
I'd say a family who can afford a house, cars for mom and dad to get to work or take kids to school or sports and be able to save for kids education and own retirement. Middle family should not depend on government help, IMHO.
Money range for such family would be different based on COL for place they leave in.
Do you own your home? How much do you have in savings? What kind of job do you work? Do you wear a collared shirt and work in an office all day? Are your skills highly specialized?
All these things are more important then the dollar amount you make. I'd live like someone making 30K a year in Tennessee, if I made the same money I make now in New York City for instance.
You know, I'm retired and living on much less than what I made when I was working and yet I have more discretionary money now than I had then. Why? Because:
1. I moved to a state with a much lower cost of living than the two states (MD and NY). I lived in before. (MD and NY). My rent is cheaper for a place twice as big. My electricity bill is almost half in the twice as big apartment. Gasoline is about 20 cents less per gallon (I know this because I typically go to Maryland to see friends once a year). (Food is about the same because we have a tax here on it.) I don't pay anything to go to the state parks, outdoor concerts or go to festivals which are abundant here. I don't pay for parking anywhere and there are no toll roads or bridges. (I shop mostly online so I can't speak to clothing costs). There's no state income tax just one on interest and dividends and a high sales tax. (If I had a house, you guys up North would cry when I told you my property tax bill.).
2. It costs more money to go to work than you probably realize. I live in play clothes that go in the washing machine so no more frequent dry cleaning bills which was a regular expense. Play clothes (pullover tops and jeans) that don't get dry cleaned are much cheaper than work clothes and nice and various shoes and accessories are no longer needed. I'm not buying lunch out every day (cafeteria or restaurant, tea/coffee, vending machines) and take out when I get home later at night 4 - 5 days a week (because it's too late to start cooking) like I did when I was working. No more chipping in for this person and that gift. I live near (within a 3 mile radius) a lot of things I do regularly so I fill up my car much less frequently compared to when I was working and commuting even when I took the train most of the way. I'm not throwing a huge part of my paycheck/pension into savings to save for retirement.
Is there a point? Yes.
1) We have lower income people on average living here because they can afford to live here on that income amount especially retirees. People in the workforce here make less money and can live just as comfortably as you do in the northeast or California on a higher income. So, when you ask what's middle income keep in mind it varies from state to state. What you might put in the category of low income in the northeast could very easily be considered middle income in say the southeast but we're both getting by on our amounts. When I hear "tax the rich" down here that's you middle income guys in the northeast but we're both probably living the same way at each of our separate but disparate income levels.
2) Figure out how much it actually costs you to go to work every week and adjust your life accordingly if you can. Those little bit here/little bit there things add up. I just never realized how much when I was still working. And if you are thinking of retiring but afraid of that huge income gap between working and retirement, consider relocation in retirement and living near the things you like to do. You'd be surprised at the difference a lower cost of living and lower taxes can make in your discretionary money.
The middle three quintiles of income in the United States range from about $45,000 to $100,000 per year. I think that's as good a definition of middle class as any.
That's also not true in every state, and as I learned personally (while working for a public school), finding summer work isn't that easy or lucrative. You really think they earn $24K in 2 months, from doing something like tutoring or working at a camp? Not likely.
This thread isn't about whether or not Chicago teachers should average $76k for 10 month's work or not. There are other threads here for that. It's also not about what you personally have found to be easy or lucrative.
An average is just that, an average. It means some earn higher than that amount and some earn lower. I specifically cited Chicago and did not claim "every state". Nor did I state anywhere that summer employment was the only means by which teachers in Chicago may supplement their income.
Therefore, what I posted was correct: A two-teacher family can conceivably make $200+k/year, depending upon where on the pay scale they are and how they supplement their income. IMO teachers are middle-class.
I stand by my statements.
By any chance, did/do you teach reading comprehension?
The middle three quintiles of income in the United States range from about $45,000 to $100,000 per year.
I think that's as good a definition of middle class as any.
No... that's realigning the definitions to suit the worsening numbers.
In any case... The choices in the poll miss it at both ends as well.
Middle Class -- the ability to pay your own way for everything that you have a reasonable right
to expect to have in your life-- doesn't even start until the $35,000 to $60,000 range (single vs family).
If your family of 4 makes less than $75,000 today you're far closer to poor than middle.
(the one vs two earner to achieve this income is yet another factor)
At the upper end... Middle Class is far more about HOW you earn it than the number itself.
If it is the more simplistic W4 wages and bonuses of employment you're still in the Middle Class.
Well, up to about $200,000 (or maybe 250,000 in some areas).
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