My husband is a scientist in cancer research. He has an MD, a PhD and various other degrees. Lived very frugally and worked long hours all these years. Now he is nearing 50 and has just broken through the $100K ceiling.

Previous posters who sneer at the "lazy opportunistic poor" simply disgust me.

I find it hard to believe that if a person only makes 40k a year, they don't know the meaning of hard work and must have dropped out of high school.
not surprising I guess from the snobby members of this forum but come on... And for the person who stated there are "now hiring" signs everywhere, obviously has no idea what it is like to be out of work in this economy- I know highly qualified people being turned away at the McDonalds for crying out loud!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In DC, no I dont think its wealthy. This areas cst of living is heinous. I could buy a "mansion" for cash in NC for the amount I am putting down in a 20% payment to buy a pill box house here.

Personally, I think they should have tax regions for each economic level. Why should I be taxed what a family with $200k in Kansas is making. Completely different situations.

I made $75k in NC when I was single, bought a 5 bedroom new home on 1/2 acre in waterfront community, 500 yards from the community dock. I definitely felt like part of the upper 5% of the population, on 75k. There's no way I could afford anything like that in DC, even though DH and I make $250k. I definitely DONT felt like part of the upper 2% of the population here, even though that's what the graph shows our family is based on HHI. I also agree that there should be special tax regions based on what zip code you work in.

Ha you just made me depressed. DH and I really want to move down south just for the reason of raising a family in an area with a better cost of living. But we are stuck up here I would love to move to NC!

Same with us! My husband makes about $180,000. In D.C., I felt like we were barely making it. We lived in a modest, 30 year old four bedroom house in a nice, but far out suburb. Our mortgage was $2900 a month. The house sold for $575,000.

We were transfered to Florida last summer. We have a five bedroom house with a pool in our backyard, in a golf, tennis, swim neighborhood. There are two pools in our neighborhood, plus a full waterpark, complete with huge waters slides, a lazy river, and a splash ground. My youngest rides his bike to school. We can drive golfcarts just about everywhere. And my favorite....the nice waitresses at the pool bring frozen adult beverages to your chair while you relax at the pool. It's like being on vacation.

And our house sits on the water. I can sit on my back porch and watch egrets, ducks, pelicans, blue herons,..... play while I drink my morning coffee.

Seriously, I keep waiting to find out there are bodies buried under the houses. The schools in our area are excellent. The weather is unbelievable. I can be at the beach in about 10 minutes. My husband's commute is well under 30 minutes. There is no real traffic. Crime is almost non existent.

And our house was less than $200,000. Five bedrooms. Brand new. On the water. For less than $200,000. Our mortgage payment is $1400 a month, including HOA fees. My husband makes exactly the same amount of money that he did in D.C.. In D.C., I felt like we barely got by. Down here, I feel like we are wealthy comparatively.

I know we'll have to move back to D.C. at least one more time for 18 months. But we are keeping our house here in Florida. This is where we will retire.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gray wants to raise taxes on the "wealthy" and he keeps using this $200k number. We can debate the merits of tax increases (I think the city has more to cut first) but a family in DC making $200k is not really wealthy. After TAXES and education costs most of that money has evaporated. Why are politicians so disingenuous?

Less than 2% of the population make your HHI so that must mean that you are better off than 98% of the population. What do you think?

I think I worked my ass off. I graduated high school (while working at Taco Bell), got a job paying roughly $15k/year, worked my ass off, went to college at night, earned promotion after promotion at work, earned my Master's at night, and worked and worked. Didn't get married and start a family until my 30s. Had roomates almost the entire time I was single. So yes, I make 100k now, which is great. My husband has a very similiar story, he was even a DC cop for a while, and now makes $140k. So tell me why should I subsidize people that have no desire to work hard or even work? I see "now hiring" signs everywhere.

I do believe there are people that made a few bad choices and need a helping hand to get on the right track and are willing to work. But I see far more that expect those of us that have worked hard to subsidize their continued poor choices and unwillingness to work.

You don't "graduate" from anything, you are "graduated from" an educational institution. Your altruism for those whom you describe as having made bad choices is touching, condescending, but touching. No one is holding a gun to your head and you are free to leave this area at anytime and relocate to NC and buy the mansion of your dreams. In the meantime, you don't make the laws, so you will have to pay for for all those lazy bums who refuse to work because they want to stick it to you personally. Good for them!

I'm with you, but if you say things like this ^^ people will not listen to you.

Normally, I wouldn't, but it was a much needed tap on the wrist for Miss Holier-Than-Thou.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In DC, no I dont think its wealthy. This areas cst of living is heinous. I could buy a "mansion" for cash in NC for the amount I am putting down in a 20% payment to buy a pill box house here.

Personally, I think they should have tax regions for each economic level. Why should I be taxed what a family with $200k in Kansas is making. Completely different situations.

I made $75k in NC when I was single, bought a 5 bedroom new home on 1/2 acre in waterfront community, 500 yards from the community dock. I definitely felt like part of the upper 5% of the population, on 75k. There's no way I could afford anything like that in DC, even though DH and I make $250k. I definitely DONT felt like part of the upper 2% of the population here, even though that's what the graph shows our family is based on HHI. I also agree that there should be special tax regions based on what zip code you work in.

Ha you just made me depressed. DH and I really want to move down south just for the reason of raising a family in an area with a better cost of living. But we are stuck up here I would love to move to NC!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gray wants to raise taxes on the "wealthy" and he keeps using this $200k number. We can debate the merits of tax increases (I think the city has more to cut first) but a family in DC making $200k is not really wealthy. After TAXES and education costs most of that money has evaporated. Why are politicians so disingenuous?

Less than 2% of the population make your HHI so that must mean that you are better off than 98% of the population. What do you think?

I think I worked my ass off. I graduated high school (while working at Taco Bell), got a job paying roughly $15k/year, worked my ass off, went to college at night, earned promotion after promotion at work, earned my Master's at night, and worked and worked. Didn't get married and start a family until my 30s. Had roomates almost the entire time I was single. So yes, I make 100k now, which is great. My husband has a very similiar story, he was even a DC cop for a while, and now makes $140k. So tell me why should I subsidize people that have no desire to work hard or even work? I see "now hiring" signs everywhere.

I do believe there are people that made a few bad choices and need a helping hand to get on the right track and are willing to work. But I see far more that expect those of us that have worked hard to subsidize their continued poor choices and unwillingness to work.

You don't "graduate" from anything, you are "graduated from" an educational institution. Your altruism for those whom you describe as having made bad choices is touching, condescending, but touching. No one is holding a gun to your head and you are free to leave this area at anytime and relocate to NC and buy the mansion of your dreams. In the meantime, you don't make the laws, so you will have to pay for for all those lazy bums who refuse to work because they want to stick it to you personally. Good for them!

I'm with you, but if you say things like this ^^ people will not listen to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gray wants to raise taxes on the "wealthy" and he keeps using this $200k number. We can debate the merits of tax increases (I think the city has more to cut first) but a family in DC making $200k is not really wealthy. After TAXES and education costs most of that money has evaporated. Why are politicians so disingenuous?

Less than 2% of the population make your HHI so that must mean that you are better off than 98% of the population. What do you think?

I think I worked my ass off. I graduated high school (while working at Taco Bell), got a job paying roughly $15k/year, worked my ass off, went to college at night, earned promotion after promotion at work, earned my Master's at night, and worked and worked. Didn't get married and start a family until my 30s. Had roomates almost the entire time I was single. So yes, I make 100k now, which is great. My husband has a very similiar story, he was even a DC cop for a while, and now makes $140k. So tell me why should I subsidize people that have no desire to work hard or even work? I see "now hiring" signs everywhere.

I do believe there are people that made a few bad choices and need a helping hand to get on the right track and are willing to work. But I see far more that expect those of us that have worked hard to subsidize their continued poor choices and unwillingness to work.

You don't "graduate" from anything, you are "graduated from" an educational institution. Your altruism for those whom you describe as having made bad choices is touching, condescending, but touching. No one is holding a gun to your head and you are free to leave this area at anytime and relocate to NC and buy the mansion of your dreams. In the meantime, you don't make the laws, so you will have to pay for for all those lazy bums who refuse to work because they want to stick it to you personally. Good for them!

Anonymous wrote:In DC, no I dont think its wealthy. This areas cst of living is heinous. I could buy a "mansion" for cash in NC for the amount I am putting down in a 20% payment to buy a pill box house here.

Personally, I think they should have tax regions for each economic level. Why should I be taxed what a family with $200k in Kansas is making. Completely different situations.

I made $75k in NC when I was single, bought a 5 bedroom new home on 1/2 acre in waterfront community, 500 yards from the community dock. I definitely felt like part of the upper 5% of the population, on 75k. There's no way I could afford anything like that in DC, even though DH and I make $250k. I definitely DONT felt like part of the upper 2% of the population here, even though that's what the graph shows our family is based on HHI. I also agree that there should be special tax regions based on what zip code you work in.

In DC, no I dont think its wealthy. This areas cst of living is heinous. I could buy a "mansion" for cash in NC for the amount I am putting down in a 20% payment to buy a pill box house here.

Personally, I think they should have tax regions for each economic level. Why should I be taxed what a family with $200k in Kansas is making. Completely different situations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gray wants to raise taxes on the "wealthy" and he keeps using this $200k number. We can debate the merits of tax increases (I think the city has more to cut first) but a family in DC making $200k is not really wealthy. After TAXES and education costs most of that money has evaporated. Why are politicians so disingenuous?

Less than 2% of the population make your HHI so that must mean that you are better off than 98% of the population. What do you think?

I think I worked my ass off. I graduated high school (while working at Taco Bell), got a job paying roughly $15k/year, worked my ass off, went to college at night, earned promotion after promotion at work, earned my Master's at night, and worked and worked. Didn't get married and start a family until my 30s. Had roomates almost the entire time I was single. So yes, I make 100k now, which is great. My husband has a very similiar story, he was even a DC cop for a while, and now makes $140k. So tell me why should I subsidize people that have no desire to work hard or even work? I see "now hiring" signs everywhere.

I do believe there are people that made a few bad choices and need a helping hand to get on the right track and are willing to work. But I see far more that expect those of us that have worked hard to subsidize their continued poor choices and unwillingness to work.

Anonymous wrote:Here's the problem, my 200k income is going to people who shop at Whole Foods, (we can't), have premium cable (we don't), can afford to get their hair and nails done every week (I don't), and seem to pop out children on a whim (for financial reasons we stopped at 2). Before I get flamed for stereotyping, if it's only one person, it's one person to many for my checkbook.

Refuse to pay the tax and go to jail where you will have three hots and a cot for free.

Great. When you give up your mortgage interest deduction we can call it even.

Here's the problem, my 200k income is going to people who shop at Whole Foods, (we can't), have premium cable (we don't), can afford to get their hair and nails done every week (I don't), and seem to pop out children on a whim (for financial reasons we stopped at 2). Before I get flamed for stereotyping, if it's only one person, it's one person to many for my checkbook.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christ, people, the point is that currently people in DC who make $40K pay the SAME marginal tax rate as those who make $200K. You can whine all day about how not-wealthy your $200K makes you, but surely you can agree that you are a lot wealthier than a family making $40K and that you can afford to pay taxes at a slightly higher rate than the $40K family.

But the 40k family is making mmore than the 4k family, but paying the same tax rate. Don't you see? They should have the tax rate raised on them as well!
Seriously, there are those that think people who make more money somehow have the obligation to subsidize others. And then there's those that worked hard to get an education to get a well paying job (and paying student loans to prove it) that think they shouldn't be subsidizing someone who decided to drop out of high school.
Neither side will agree, and both sides have merit to their arguments. It's easy to say "that guy should pay more!" when he has 6 luxury cars and 3 vacation homes, but a little harder to justify when its people down the street that don't drive luxury cars or even own a home, nor go on extravagent vacations.

And yet your student loans are backed by the government.

The guy who is down the street will pay $200. The guy with three vacation homescwill carry most of the burden. Do the math.

Anonymous wrote:Gray wants to raise taxes on the "wealthy" and he keeps using this $200k number. We can debate the merits of tax increases (I think the city has more to cut first) but a family in DC making $200k is not really wealthy. After TAXES and education costs most of that money has evaporated. Why are politicians so disingenuous?

Less than 2% of the population make your HHI so that must mean that you are better off than 98% of the population. What do you think?