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And....that occurred while the median dropped as well. A multiple of the median is what defined upper class....and lower. Thus that 7%? Could actually be making LESS then before, and be moved up from the middle class to the upper class.....while making less money. Now I doubt its all of them, some stayed the same and got moved up, and some probably made more. But with the median that defines upper class going down, moving up to upper class is meaningless for some.
That make sense?
IE Before:
Joe making 1K less then 2X (or whatever the multiplier was) in 2010, makes the exact same amount...but is suddenly propelled into the upper class as the median income fell...making him 1K over the 2010 boundary. He is NOT doing better.
People keep talking about how the middle class is shrinking, but the studies show that it is happening because many people are leaving the middle class to become members of the upper class.
Is this a problem? Sounds like a good thing to me, but maybe the real issue is that the "middle class" range needs to revised upwards.
More people are entering high income class than entering the low income class.
Does it make sense to complain about the shrinking middle class if people are actually better off?
Across the country, the share of adults in the upper-income tier rose from 14 percent in 1971 to 21 percent in 2015, or a gain of 7 percentage points, according to the report. At the same time, the share of adults in the lower-income group increased, from 25 percent to 29 percent – a four-point increase.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greywar
upper and lower class is defined as a multiple of median income. since 2000 the median income has dropped 4%. The math causes more to move into the upper class as the median drops. Even worse is that despite the median dropping, we also had 4% more go into the lower class.
Its all about the math.
Remember folks! We can't have good news about middle class disappearing without liberals to remind us that it's not as rosy or optimistic as it might seem.
After all, we can't have wealth redistribution without class warfare and demonizing the rich. If the middle class is doing well or *gasp* leaving the middle class for the upper class instead of poverty, that kind of throws a fly in the ointment. It also means less potential democratic voters.
And....that occurred while the median dropped as well. A multiple of the median is what defined upper class....and lower. Thus that 7%? Could actually be making LESS then before, and be moved up from the middle class to the upper class.....while making less money. Now I doubt its all of them, some stayed the same and got moved up, and some probably made more. But with the median that defines upper class going down, moving up to upper class is meaningless for some.
That make sense?
IE Before:
Joe making 1K less then 2X (or whatever the multiplier was) in 2010, makes the exact same amount...but is suddenly propelled into the upper class as the median income fell...making him 1K over the 2010 boundary. He is NOT doing better.
No, it does not make sense, because the median is not the indicator of who is or isn't in the middle class, and nor has the upper end of the middle class range been reduced.
No, it does not make sense, because the median is not the indicator of who is or isn't in the middle class, and nor has the upper end of the middle class range been reduced.
Read the links that are discussing the Pew poll. upper class and lower class were defined as a multiple of the median which fell from the 2000-2014 numbers. That does in fact change the range.
Read the links that are discussing the Pew poll. upper class and lower class were defined as a multiple of the median which fell from the 2000-2014 numbers. That does in fact change the range.
From the link: "Last year, being middle class meant having an income that ranged from $41,900 to $125,600 for a three-person household, according to government data."
So, if more and more households are crossing the upped end of the range. Either they adjust the range, or they can say "middle class is shrinking, because upper class is expanding".
I am so tired of hearing people OUTRIGHT LYING about the economy.
The real issue is poverty, but no one wants to talk about poor working people because they generally don't vote. The issue isn't the middle class as much as it is the fact that entry level "get out the slum" jobs like factory work, bank tellers etc are either going away or getting automated, making it hard for unskilled, untrained people to get entry-level jobs. And a lot of those high paying jobs require education that is expensive and are frankly not cut out for everyone.
But having honest explanations are never as appealing as yelling "the middle class is shrinking" at the top of your lungs to most voters.
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