When your kid asks, are you "middle class," "upper-middle," something else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Your mother and I are rich. You have nothing."http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rO35dhxNjYI

Or, more helpfully, this interactive graphic from the NYTimes may help you (go to the components of class tab)
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_03.html

I usually give a variation of this response to my 7 yo when he asks, if we are rich? But I also ask why she wants to know.

[Anonymous]

To the two PP's, you realize that $300K and above are top 1% of the income earners nationwide and $365K is the top 1% of the income earners in the DC metro area.

So, how do you consider $100-999K or $450K middle class? What are the middle of? Middle of the wealthiest earners in the nation?

Just because the out of touch Congress (of whom, virtually all are multi-millionaires) was only able to get consensus to tax the $450K and above HHI earners the highest tax bracket, doesn't make them the only ones above middle class. It makes them the highest tax bracket of the income scale, nothing more. It doesn't change the definition of middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would tell my kid, "YOU are poor, because you have no money. When you're old enough to earn money, you can decide if you are poor, rich, middle class. Until then, as long as you have what you need, and you do, don't worry about my and your dad's money."

How nurturing.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the two PP's, you realize that $300K and above are top 1% of the income earners nationwide and $365K is the top 1% of the income earners in the DC metro area.

So, how do you consider $100-999K or $450K middle class? What are the middle of? Middle of the wealthiest earners in the nation?

Just because the out of touch Congress (of whom, virtually all are multi-millionaires) was only able to get consensus to tax the $450K and above HHI earners the highest tax bracket, doesn't make them the only ones above middle class. It makes them the highest tax bracket of the income scale, nothing more. It doesn't change the definition of middle class.

Two top of the scale GS-15s make, what, $310K a year. It may be top 5% nationwide but it's not rare nor wealthy here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the two PP's, you realize that $300K and above are top 1% of the income earners nationwide and $365K is the top 1% of the income earners in the DC metro area.

So, how do you consider $100-999K or $450K middle class? What are the middle of? Middle of the wealthiest earners in the nation?

Just because the out of touch Congress (of whom, virtually all are multi-millionaires) was only able to get consensus to tax the $450K and above HHI earners the highest tax bracket, doesn't make them the only ones above middle class. It makes them the highest tax bracket of the income scale, nothing more. It doesn't change the definition of middle class.

Two top of the scale GS-15s make, what, $310K a year. It may be top 5% nationwide but it's not rare nor wealthy here.

I don't think you mean to suggest that you could be lower in DC just because you're otherwise very high HHI nationwide is not as high in the DC area, are you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Your mother and I are rich. You have nothing."http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rO35dhxNjYI

Or, more helpfully, this interactive graphic from the NYTimes may help you (go to the components of class tab)
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_03.html

I usually give a variation of this response to my 7 yo when he asks, if we are rich? But I also ask why she wants to know.

I can't imagine what it would feel like to hear from my parents that they had everything and I had nothing (we're rich, you're poor? really).

Our kids stand to inherit a millions of dollars. But they'd never know it and they wouldn't learn it by googling the value of our house versus their friends houses (as another pp suggested). Lots and lots of their friends live in far nicer houses and drive nicer cars. But our kids certainly feel comfortable to ask us for certain opportunities, be it traveling abroad at spring break or getting tutoring help in French.

[Anonymous]

Interesting.
I always thought class was more related to your educational background. My husband grew up thinking it was all to do with manners

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting.
I always thought class was more related to your educational background. My husband grew up thinking it was all to do with manners

Words often have multiple definitions. Have you ever looked up "class" in a dictionary? Try it, you'd learn some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Your mother and I are rich. You have nothing."http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rO35dhxNjYI

Or, more helpfully, this interactive graphic from the NYTimes may help you (go to the components of class tab)
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_03.html

I usually give a variation of this response to my 7 yo when he asks, if we are rich? But I also ask why she wants to know.

I can't imagine what it would feel like to hear from my parents that they had everything and I had nothing (we're rich, you're poor? really).

Our kids stand to inherit a millions of dollars. But they'd never know it and they wouldn't learn it by googling the value of our house versus their friends houses (as another pp suggested). Lots and lots of their friends live in far nicer houses and drive nicer cars. But our kids certainly feel comfortable to ask us for certain opportunities, be it traveling abroad at spring break or getting tutoring help in French.

Give me a break, a 7 yo does not plan vacations or make decision about tutors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Your mother and I are rich. You have nothing."http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rO35dhxNjYI

Or, more helpfully, this interactive graphic from the NYTimes may help you (go to the components of class tab)
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_03.html

I usually give a variation of this response to my 7 yo when he asks, if we are rich? But I also ask why she wants to know.

I can't imagine what it would feel like to hear from my parents that they had everything and I had nothing (we're rich, you're poor? really).

Our kids stand to inherit a millions of dollars. But they'd never know it and they wouldn't learn it by googling the value of our house versus their friends houses (as another pp suggested). Lots and lots of their friends live in far nicer houses and drive nicer cars. But our kids certainly feel comfortable to ask us for certain opportunities, be it traveling abroad at spring break or getting tutoring help in French.

Give me a break, a 7 yo does not plan vacations or make decision about tutors.

My kids are in high school and college. Only parents of 7 yr olds can answer? So many rules. And, btw, why are you so angry?

[Anonymous]

Grew up with my mom telling me we weren't rich. (Both parents came from wealthy families but were pretty much spending their inheritances down.) Since we lived in a pretty wealthy town, I had such a distorted view of middle class life.

I now tell my kid we are upper-middle-class (which we are). She needs to know that certain people get certain built-in privileges because of education and income. While we've worked for what we have, we know that we were handed a lot when we were young by our parents who made our lives much easier than they were for kids from poor families. I don't feel guilty for getting all these advantages but I also am not going to pretend they didn't make our lives much nicer in substantive ways. And I'm not going to pretend the kid down the street living in public housing is getting anywhere near a level playing field.

[Anonymous]

I just had to break the news to my 3yo DD that she could not be a real princess, as we are not royalty. She took it in stride, but still dresses up as a princess daily. Her 5yo brother has switched from prince to knight.

[Anonymous]

We are high income upper middle class people. Which class you are in has many more factors than just household income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Your mother and I are rich. You have nothing."http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rO35dhxNjYI

Or, more helpfully, this interactive graphic from the NYTimes may help you (go to the components of class tab)
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_03.html

I usually give a variation of this response to my 7 yo when he asks, if we are rich? But I also ask why she wants to know.

I can't imagine what it would feel like to hear from my parents that they had everything and I had nothing (we're rich, you're poor? really).

Our kids stand to inherit a millions of dollars. But they'd never know it and they wouldn't learn it by googling the value of our house versus their friends houses (as another pp suggested). Lots and lots of their friends live in far nicer houses and drive nicer cars. But our kids certainly feel comfortable to ask us for certain opportunities, be it traveling abroad at spring break or getting tutoring help in French.

Give me a break, a 7 yo does not plan vacations or make decision about tutors.

My kids are in high school and college. Only parents of 7 yr olds can answer? So many rules. And, btw, why are you so angry?

Dingbat, you responded to my post, so it not unreasonable for me to assume that you were questioning my response.

[Anonymous]

I think we can all agree that we are ALL middle or upper middle class. Am I right, folks? It's an important part of Washington beltway culture. Just be sure to always throw in a comment about how not-at-all-rich your family is (we don't own a second home, we don't have American Girl dolls, we don't have a full-time nanny, etc.). You'd think everybody was running for President or something.