Reply to What is Middle Class....Really?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So the conclusion here is eveyrhjngs relayyve. Some people seem quite happy on 100k, others don't.

For my part, since that's less than 50% of my current salary if I were making that 20 years down the road in my 50s I would not be thrilled.[/quote]
Different PP who hasn't posted in a while.  You seem to lack some basic reading comprehension...which seems to be the norm for DCUM discussions related to MC.  It's not about what income level and lifestyle makes each person comfortable.  You simply cannot use that as the gauge for what constitutes MC...for reasons that should be so obvious I won't bother to explain.

There has to be some shared definition of MC that can be used for broader discussions about society and policy.  The DCUM definition seems to only apply to top 5% income earners, even in the DC area, which should perhaps make people pause and reconsider the value of their definition.

Anyway, full confession time.  DH and I both have PhDs but now work in tech-related industries, pulling in a HHI of $600K in our late 30s.  All of my degrees are HYPS, my parents and FIL are all MDs, and I watch a ton of TV.  Neither of us drives a luxury car, we have original artwork on our walls, worn passed-down rugs on our hardwood floors, and the only printed magazines you'll find around our house are In Style (subscribed to) or outdated copies of Economist, Atlantic, or Foreign Affairs that I might have picked up to read on an airplane. You tell me what my SES class is.[/quote]
You are upper class, although it's possible you are "new money," depending on your grandparents' situation.

Now my turn.

- My parents have grad degrees, as do I.
- I too have original artwork on my walls (although some are limited edition lithographs.) I admit to wall-to-wall carpeting, because even though I know it screams "lower-middle," I feel it's more homey and I like it. I also own a luxury car, but it's old.
- I have traveled extensively throughout five continents, and am taking an evening class on the history of a specific country, simply for my own education. I read Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs. 
- I have some gorgeous furniture handed down from my grandparents, circa 1950. I also have inherited some important jewelry from grandmother.
- The entire back wall of my family room is a built-in bookcase, packed to the gills. Mostly non-fiction.
- I can be found having dinner at the Capital Grille, or happily slumming it at TGIFs. 
- I watch TV every evening, mostly news but sometime movies. Never sitcoms.

Now here's the kicker: I earn approximately $100,000 (slightly over).

Am I lower or working class, as some snobby DCUMers have claimed? (I'm the OP, in case there weren't enough clues.)
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