How much the middle class makes

[LuvSouthOC]

People spend way too much time focusing on income earned as a yardstick for how rich a given area is. Some of the most affluent areas have incomes that are not that terribly high since many people have wealth, not high income.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by elchevere

Sdurban--you must tire of yourself quite easily then. Love how you skew stats to fit your opinion (putting a pretty ribbon on a box) and try passing it off as fact. If you did not selectively edit, as you almost always do, my original post you will see that I included industries besides bartenders, etc. Guess YOU just see what you want to see--should pick your head up from the spreadsheet more often.

Please show me the direct quote --from me--stating there are few high paying jobs here. I might have stated, correctly, there are more high paying jobs in OC but never said there were few high paying jobs in SD. Don't put words in my mouth. And, yes, the service and tourism industries (which includes bartenders) is huge in SD--yes/no/maybe??? With tax season over in a few weeks, I'm sure you will have more time to observe firsthand.

As for the topic of radical change or revolution--don't bet on it. "What's the Matter With Kansas" is a great book that highlights people often vote v their own economic interests. In this case, many/most vote GOP because of God, guns and religion but also buying into the belief wealth will trickle down to them, yet they are still waiting.

Well that's because some posters take personal offense when it is pointed out what is plainly obvious to anyone who has spent time in DTSD.

Of course San Diego has some high paid jobs, but too few. The entire region is battling over precious few jobs and the ones there are, are often filled by H-1bs.

Re God, guns and religion, it is an interesting read. For the record, I am in favor of only one of the three.

[elchevere]

Think I might have been redundant with God and religion in my haste to make a point. I think God, gays and guns are the rallying cry for the far right...frankly, I'm not necessarily vs fiscal conservatives--it's the social conservatives, or ones far out there that want to morally legislate the country, that scare the crap out of me.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by elchevere

Think I might have been redundant with God and religion in my haste to make a point. I think God, gays and guns are the rallying cry for the far right...frankly, I'm not necessarily vs fiscal conservatives--it's the social conservatives, or ones far out there that want to morally legislate the country, that scare the crap out of me.

Agreed.

[GuyInSD]

Originally Posted by elchevere

Think I might have been redundant with God and religion in my haste to make a point. I think God, gays and guns are the rallying cry for the far right...frankly, I'm not necessarily vs fiscal conservatives--it's the social conservatives, or ones far out there that want to morally legislate the country, that scare the crap out of me.

Still trying to figure out how this is on-topic for this thread...

[elchevere]

There was talk for need of a revolution and I responded not likely and cited the book,"What's the Matter with Kansas", of which that is a central theme and why people often vote v their own economic interests.

[Fran66]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Absolutely, The problem is that people see a median income of some low number like 60k and say "see! There are tons of people who can afford to live here just fine on 60k", which is true of you have a free house to live in.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL You're right, of course. It's just that you were so humorous about it.

Of course, one can live on $60,000 (barely) -- if one is single.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

These median income statistics drive me nuts. I would rather see the incomes of an index of:

- 30-50 yr old married couples
- with 1 or more children
- homeowner
- majority of income is from salary (working vs capital gains)

Then you would really start to get a sense of what "normal people" live on.

San Diego has so many trust fund kids, wealthy retirees, equity millionaires, high income DINKs, etc it's just impossible to figure out where one stands. Similar to NYC in that regard.

There are also a lot of students, unemployed people, immigrants working off the books, and (especially) retirees, skewing the medians downward (in any city, but magnets such as NY and SD have even more of them). That's why the median income in a place like La Jolla, which is $97,483 (for a household), is so low relative to the cost of housing there. The median person does not live in the median house! A lot of people live in apartments with roommates, etc.