Why do so many affluent people insist they have "middle class" values?

[Anonymous]

If you're making $200 or 300K a year, you're in the top 5%. Yet so many people with these incomes insist they live a "middle class" lifestyle and have "middle class values." Why? Because you vote Democrat instead of Republican? Because you're not a member of a country club? Because you can't afford (like 99.99% of Americans) to fly by private jet?

[Anonymous]

Everyone aspires to be middle class. Don't you? I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone aspires to be middle class. Don't you? I do.

On DCUM it seems everyone aspires to be very wealthy.

[Anonymous]

We make in that range. If you came to our house, rest assured you'd think we were middle class. No fancy cars, home or clothes. DC is a high COL town.

Plus, I was raised in the middle class (with a hard working single mom) so my values reflect that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We make in that range. If you came to our house, rest assured you'd think we were middle class. No fancy cars, home or clothes. DC is a high COL town.

Plus, I was raised in the middle class (with a hard working single mom) so my values reflect that.

+1

We even make more but you'd never guess that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make in that range. If you came to our house, rest assured you'd think we were middle class. No fancy cars, home or clothes. DC is a high COL town.

Plus, I was raised in the middle class (with a hard working single mom) so my values reflect that.

+1

We even make more but you'd never guess that.

+2 we were raised middle class (camping for family vacations, paper routes, worked two jobs in the summer and paid our way through college and grad school with loans). Just turning the financial corner from 6 figure student loan debt. Just because someone now makes 200+k doesn't mean they grew up in that wealth. Nor does it mean they have significant disposable income after subtracting student loans, childcare and housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone aspires to be middle class. Don't you? I do.

I'm middle class by almost anyone's definition (there are a few on DCUM who think I'm poor, LOL) with an income around $90K, and some medical bills that cut into that.

Although I am pretty happy with my lot in life, I have never gotten the impression that wealthy people aspire to my income. If they do, they can easily obtain it by simply giving the surplus to me. I will not complain. I'm a good sport.

[Anonymous]

I'm usually the first to screech when folks in the top 2% (which is what $250K is in MoCo and NoVa, at least) claim to be middle class, but I think you are confusing middle class with middle class values.

Someone can be upper class from a statistical/demographic standpoint and still have "middle class values" in that they use public schools, take maybe one vacation every few years, and make their kids get summer jobs and the like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're making $200 or 300K a year, you're in the top 5%. Yet so many people with these incomes insist they live a "middle class" lifestyle and have "middle class values." Why? Because you vote Democrat instead of Republican? Because you're not a member of a country club? Because you can't afford (like 99.99% of Americans) to fly by private jet?

Using this logic 2 GS-11s are upper middle class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're making $200 or 300K a year, you're in the top 5%. Yet so many people with these incomes insist they live a "middle class" lifestyle and have "middle class values." Why? Because you vote Democrat instead of Republican? Because you're not a member of a country club? Because you can't afford (like 99.99% of Americans) to fly by private jet?

Using this logic 2 GS-11s are upper middle class

They absolutely are.

[Anonymous]

High GS-11s don't make 6 figures.

[Anonymous]

Middle class values means a strong work ethic and valuing education. It is meant to differentiate between people who work for a living and the idle rich (and in some political ideologies, it means those who work vs. those who get government assistance).

You can be poor and have middle class values, or you can be rich and have middle class values. It has nothing to do with your HHI.

[Anonymous]

It's the polite thing to say so to not make you feel about your poor life decisions.

[Anonymous]

We do our own shopping and expect our children to work for a living, not just live off a trust fund. And we don't have devil horns and look like ordinary people. Therefore we are middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're making $200 or 300K a year, you're in the top 5%. Yet so many people with these incomes insist they live a "middle class" lifestyle and have "middle class values." Why? Because you vote Democrat instead of Republican? Because you're not a member of a country club? Because you can't afford (like 99.99% of Americans) to fly by private jet?

In the dc area 200 to 300 is upper middle class.