I am the squeezed middle class.

[Anonymous]

I am considered to be middle class since my income is $255K. I work 70-85 hour weeks ( hard hours, no breaks, quick runs to the bathroom).
I am taxed heavily, my kids do not qualify for any financial aid, so college tuition is my problem. For two kids, a private school would be about 90 K per year. The schools really expect us to come up with that money.

I hear my brother in law who works for Dept of Agriculture complaining about how the rich (that would be me), need to pay more in taxes to fund social programs for the poor. He puts in his 40 hours (no more, many times less), and calls in when he is sick. Little education, no motivation. His oldest (smart kid) will probably get a nice fat financial aid packet, since his income is about 75K. They enjoy EVERY single weekend off, and all major holidays. I lost track of the holidays years ago since they don't apply to me. My vacations are almost always low key since there is a big risk of cancellation, due to work related issues.

Something seems off to me. How much more can the middle class give?
Do you have to be rich or poor to afford the private colleges?

[Anonymous]

How about applying for a government job and then see if your kids can qualify for financial aid? Or maybe try home schooling? I understand that there are many who might be considered near or below poverty level who do home schooling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about applying for a government job and then see if your kids can qualify for financial aid? Or maybe try home schooling? I understand that there are many who might be considered near or below poverty level who do home schooling.

I'm pretty sure OP is talking about private college, not secondary education.

[Anonymous]

More than 97% of families in America earn less than $200,000.

Everyone who's not earning $10 million/year likes to think of themselves as middle class, but I don't think you qualify.

[Anonymous]

Quit your whining. In what world is $255K considered middle class? And your kids don't need a $90K/year education. That's just snobbery. If you wanted to you could change your lifestyle and earn less money instead of just bitching about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More than 97% of families in America earn less than $200,000.

Everyone who's not earning $10 million/year likes to think of themselves as middle class, but I don't think you qualify.

In DC, this is a common income. It is hard. The politicians need to go afte the very rich. To take tons from a 250K income home is ridiculous.

BTW< the 97% are working the 40 hour weeks.

[Anonymous]

What about 2 years at a community college and then 2 years at a public college? Or if you live in a state where the last 2 years of high school can be credited towards college, you can plan for 2 years at a public college. Or you could do what a lot of folks do, let your kids pay for school on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More than 97% of families in America earn less than $200,000.

Everyone who's not earning $10 million/year likes to think of themselves as middle class, but I don't think you qualify.

In DC, this is a common income. It is hard. The politicians need to go afte the very rich. To take tons from a 250K income home is ridiculous.

BTW< the 97% are working the 40 hour weeks.

That's not always true. Lots of low income working two jobs. Not everyone "chooses" to work 40 hour weeks. And there are plenty of overworked teachers, nurses, social workers, etc. working more than 40 hours a week and making under 100K.

[Anonymous]

Even in DC this is not "common income." This is only common in your circle. You chose the career you have. You can choose to do something less demanding and have those holidays and weekends to yourself, but you can not blame other people who choose not to work as demanding a schedule. I imagine you still live a far grander lifestyle than most people, even if private school is such a stretch for you.

[Anonymous]

You are not middle class and struggling to pay $90k in private tuition is not "squeezed." Open your eyes, get a clue, and stop complaining. If you don't want to work as hard as you do, get a new job. If you can't afford expensive schools, send your kids elsewhere. I have no sympathy for your original post and little respect for the kind of person who would write it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even in DC this is not "common income." This is only common in your circle. You chose the career you have. You can choose to do something less demanding and have those holidays and weekends to yourself, but you can not blame other people who choose not to work as demanding a schedule. I imagine you still live a far grander lifestyle than most people, even if private school is such a stretch for you.

i think you are all missing the point of OPs message. She states that she works extremely long hours and her brother works the bare minimum. Yet, her brother expects that people like the OP to be taxed ridiculously so that people like her brother can work the bare minimum and receive finanical assistance for his children. Why should people like OP work such demanding hours and be required to pay for those who choose a less stressful lifestyle. What are the incentives for working such hours and educating oneself if you can barely enjoy the fruits of your labor. I would venture that with the hours OP is clocking she is not enjoying the fruits of her hardwork. Her taxes are allowing those less motivated to enjoy the fruits of her hard work.

[Anonymous]

I am considered to be middle class since my income is $255K. You are rich, not middle class. I work 70-85 hour weeks ( hard hours, no breaks, quick runs to the bathroom). Do you hear my violin playing for you? Find another job. You make a LOT of money, you have a demanding job. Goes hand in hand. You could probably squeeze more time in the bathroom if you weren't writing on this forum
I am taxed heavily, my kids do not qualify for any financial aid, so college tuition is my problem. For two kids, a private school would be about 90 K per year. The schools really expect us to come up with that money. Ah, yeah, you make $255k.

I hear my brother in law who works for Dept of Agriculture complaining about how the rich (that would be me) yes, it is you, need to pay more in taxes to fund social programs for the poor agree. He puts in his 40 hours (no more, many times less), and calls in when he is sick like a reasonable person would. Little education, no motivation OMG. His oldest (smart kid) will probably get a nice fat financial aid packet, since his income is about 75K Good for the kid. They enjoy EVERY single weekend off, and all major holidays As they should. I lost track of the holidays years ago since they don't apply to me. My vacations are almost always low key since there is a big risk of cancellation, due to work related issues. My violin is still playing. You make a LOT of money, this comes with the territory.
Something seems off to me. How much more can the middle class give? You are not middle class. You are rich.Do you have to be rich or poor to afford the private colleges? Maybe. But, you are rich.

[Anonymous]

Echo PPs. You are making a CHOICE to send your kids to private school. You could save the $90K and send your kids to a good public and save more than enough for college. With your income, you could actually afford to live in a neighborhood with good public schools.

Your brother might not be as book-smart as you, but he does seem to have some life-smarts. He has learned that quality of life does not equal money. Success does not equal money. Being able to enjoy your time with loved ones is a happy, fulfilled, and satisfying life.

[Anonymous]

My family made MUCH less money than you do - like about a third of what you make - and we didn't qualify for any need-based aid either. So I had to apply to schools where I could get merit-based scholarships, and I had to choose among the schools who accepted me, to pick the best package. I would have loved to have gone to Georgetown or UVA but neither school gave much financial aid, even though my SAT scores were 99th %ile and I had gotten straight A's since 6th grade. I applied to 5 schools that offered me aid and one "reach" Ivy school. I didn't get to go to my first-choice school, but I did get a good education and only had to pay for my living expenses.

You don't necessarily know that your brother-in-law is getting a better deal than you are. It's possibly his kid(s) are taking on student loans or that they got scholarships. Honestly, a lot of need-based aid does not amount to much - a few thousand here and there. You are still probably in a better position to pay for your kids' college than he is. If you sent your kids to private school or had other big unnecessary expenses (BMW vs. Toyota, $1M house vs. $400K house), those are choices you made and you could have saved that money for college, but you didn't. So be it.

Parents, I think it's your job to sit your kids down when they're still young and say, "hey, here's the deal. College is expensive. You need to work hard and use your skills, whatever they may be, to try to get scholarships. That'll give you some options when college rolls around. You also need to accept that you may not get to go to your first choice school, and you may have to take on some student loans if you want to go somewhere expensive." Given your income, I think you owe your kids to help them go to college, but you don't owe them a full ride at the expensive first choice school. Tell them you can afford X and after that, they're on their own.

(another way to help them out - if they can get student loans at low rates, you can gift them money after graduation to pay off the loans - up to $12K a year.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no sympathy for your original post and little respect for the kind of person who would write it.

Perhaps a troll.