Reply to What do you consider middle class for the DMV?

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[quote=Anonymous]The problem with your list is that it's based on a concept of the middle class from 1955. When houses were cheaper, "travel" meant a car ride to the beach (only rich people and business travelers flew), college was waaaaaaay cheaper, and many people's retirement plan was "move in with my kids."

Now real estate is incredibly expensive (especially in DC, where these teachers live), travel is costly whether you're driving to the beach or flying to Europe (in some cases a trip to Europe will cost less than a week at the beach), and college is so expensive it's laughable.

In order to do those things in the current economy, you need to be well above MC, with an HHI of at least 200k, probably more like 300-400k in this area because of cost of housing. And that's not middle class.

That's why it's called the "middle class squeeze." Actual middle class people (like me, we're a family of 3 in DC with an HHI of 140k) are struggling to buy homes, which is historically how middle class people built wealth and economic stability. And even if they can buy a home, they struggle to save for college and retirement (especially simultaneously) while also dealing with rising costs of basics like food and gas, as well as what used to be middle class staples, like modest vacations.

DC is working hard to eliminate its middle class. That's why most teachers live outside the district where they can afford homes with good schools while still having enough money left over for the occasional dinner out or a long weekend in Philadelphia or a spring break trip to Disneyworld with the kids. DC is becoming a city where only wealthy people can afford to live comfortably, and where any public funds to help the non-wealthy need to be channeled to people in true poverty because basics are so expensive that there is nothing left over to help working and middle class people with a leg up.[/quote]

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