Can we stop referring to households making $200 or 300K a year as "middle class"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, in NW DC it is middle class. That's reality.

You're deluded.

Not really. I'm in a small apt in NW DC, no debt, family of 3 living on $160 and we can't even afford a car. $40k wouldn't hurl us into the upper class.

I call bullshit. I owned a home and a car with a family of three in NW DC making about $140K. AND we had student loan debt. AND we have fully funded 401Ks. AND we took a vacation every year. Get a financial advisor...you obviously can't manage money.

NP here, you either had no childcare costs or did this in 1995.

Wrong. I paid for daycare and this was very, very recent. Like, up until a year and a half ago when I moved. The difference is thought we bought a house in a neighborhood that 95% of DCUM would think was beneath them, without central air or a finished basement. For our one year of public preschool we relied on the lottery. Had we stayed we would have continued to do so. We bought what we could afford because we were - and still are - middle class. It can be done but requires tough choices. The question is whether these are choices you are willing to make and if not, what are you going to do about it?

Dodging bullets is not a middle class lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lord, another one of these threads. Yawn. Yall have too much time on your hands to keep arguing over this. Live your life! How DCUMers classify your income doesn't matter, they have no seat at the table.

and yet you clicked on it and commented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, in NW DC it is middle class. That's reality.

You're deluded.

Not really. I'm in a small apt in NW DC, no debt, family of 3 living on $160 and we can't even afford a car. $40k wouldn't hurl us into the upper class.

I call bullshit. I owned a home and a car with a family of three in NW DC making about $140K. AND we had student loan debt. AND we have fully funded 401Ks. AND we took a vacation every year. Get a financial advisor...you obviously can't manage money.

NP here, you either had no childcare costs or did this in 1995.

Wrong. I paid for daycare and this was very, very recent. Like, up until a year and a half ago when I moved. The difference is thought we bought a house in a neighborhood that 95% of DCUM would think was beneath them, without central air or a finished basement. For our one year of public preschool we relied on the lottery. Had we stayed we would have continued to do so. We bought what we could afford because we were - and still are - middle class. It can be done but requires tough choices. The question is whether these are choices you are willing to make and if not, what are you going to do about it?

Dodging bullets is not a middle class lifestyle.

A/C is considered upper class? Is this the 1940s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out this article from huffing ton post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/26/1-percent-in-each-state-map_n_6548222.html

To be one percent in dc you need hhi of $555k

Are there percentile or COL definitions for LMC, MC, UMC, etc.? We can all argue till the cows come home about how we "feel" but willing to bet few on this board are actual economists. But surely someone out there has tackled this problem. Obviously there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the country.

Here's data from 2012.

http://www.hughcalc.org/midclass.php

City/State/Metro Area Median Middle Class Range
BETHESDA-ROCKVILLE-FREDERICK, MD 113,400 ( 75,600 to 226,800 )

WASHINGTON-ARLINGTON-ALEXANDRIA 105,700 ( 70,466 to 211,400 )
DC-VA-MD-WV

[Anonymous]

Exactly. So $200K is a pretty reasonable cutoff. When you're getting closer to $300K you're definitely well beyond middle class.

[Anonymous]

In this area $200 to $300 a year total is solid, but in no way is it upper class living in DC metro. You can afford a nice, modest house and be comfortable on that income but it can't be considered "wealthy".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out this article from huffing ton post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/26/1-percent-in-each-state-map_n_6548222.html

To be one percent in dc you need hhi of $555k

Are there percentile or COL definitions for LMC, MC, UMC, etc.? We can all argue till the cows come home about how we "feel" but willing to bet few on this board are actual economists. But surely someone out there has tackled this problem. Obviously there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the country.

Here's data from 2012.

http://www.hughcalc.org/midclass.php

City/State/Metro Area Median Middle Class Range
BETHESDA-ROCKVILLE-FREDERICK, MD 113,400 ( 75,600 to 226,800 )

WASHINGTON-ARLINGTON-ALEXANDRIA 105,700 ( 70,466 to 211,400 )
DC-VA-MD-WV

I cant vouch for the credibility (from an economics standpoint) but I've seen this analysis before and the approach makes sense to me. There is always difficulty in fitting continuous data to categories. People at either end of the spectrum ($75k vs.$225k) are likely to have different views on how they are doing. There's also a much larger spread (some might say disparity) in the data in a city like DC compared to other smaller, more homogeneous metropolitan areas. In Syracuse, NY, for instance, the middle class would fall from $44-133k).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Has nothing to do with left or right. Both Obama and Romney said in the 2012 election that the "middle class" went up to $250K. For some reason, Romney got more flak for being "out of touch" for these comments though.

Wow. I didn't realize how poor we are. I used to think we were middle class. Now I can see we're poor.

[Anonymous]

If you're in the top 5% of households, how are you middle class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're in the top 5% of households, how are you middle class?

You don't understand rich people math. Let's remember our Romneynomics:

1. The bottom 47% doesn't count. So right there you go from top 5% to top 10%.

2. Corporations are people, too. So you have to compare your annual income with Walmart's. Now you're firmly in the basement.

This is how $300K turns you into someone just scraping by and, therefore, deserving of some more tax cuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my HHI is about $500K. I consider myself on the upper end of middle class, but certainly nowhere close to upper class. I drive 10+ year old cars, agonize over repair bills, give my wife a hard time for ordering a $6.00 home video rental tonight, etc.

I seriously pity you. Your extreme frugality is pathetic.

eh, I live paycheck to paycheck because I have a 15 year mortgage and I invest in a lot of conservative real estate deals. Sorry I don't blow money on depreciating assets.

You're an idiot to live paycheck to paycheck. And sort of an ass.

Signed similar income who doesn't push themselves to the limit.

[Anonymous]

The Occupy movement deserves some blame for this. They were right to raise the issues of inequality and corporate money's influence on our democracy and government. But the idea that the "99%" exists in any meaningful sense is a facile analysis. Now someone making $200,000 a year can claim to be part of the "oppressed" 99%, just like the poor single mother making $20,000 a year.

[Anonymous]

Our HHI is $230k, and we're definitely middle class. We take most of our vacations at my FIL's lake house instead of going someplace more luxurious. I would love a BMW or Audi, but I drive a Prius to save money. The struggle is real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our HHI is $230k, and we're definitely middle class. We take most of our vacations at my FIL's lake house instead of going someplace more luxurious. I would love a BMW or Audi, but I drive a Prius to save money. The struggle is real.

You had me until "struggle." $230k may not be "upper" class in this area, but cry me a river. What an insult to folks who are really struggling to eat and put a roof over their heads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our HHI is $230k, and we're definitely middle class. We take most of our vacations at my FIL's lake house instead of going someplace more luxurious. I would love a BMW or Audi, but I drive a Prius to save money. The struggle is real.

World's smallest violin.