Is anyone NOT middle class?

[FreshTressa]

Is it all relative or is there a 'number?'

Are there numbers that define lower middle class and upper middle class?

At what income are people considered 'wealthy'?

And what is considered 'upper class'?

Seems like everyone I know is middle class except bill gates, oprah and the homeless guy on the corner.

Anyone have any insight?

 

[Christine]

No insight whatsoever.

I think in this country, it is probably pretty hard to define just by salary because of cost of living issues. Someone in Iowa might think that I make a staggering amount of money but they don't realize that all my payments are pretty staggering too!

I think it's just to hard to assign by income levels.

 

[punkin]

Everyone likes to think they are middle class. I still remember when Daddy Bush assured America that he was middle class. What a joke.

Anyway, I know people who make over 1M per year and consider themselves upper middle class. I consider them filthy rich. It's a matter of perspective. Unlesss you're Bill Gates or Warren Buffet there is always someone with a lot more money than you have so I guess that makes people think they are nor "rich"

 

[Tanuki]

It's just that America isn't accustomed to any sort of well defined class system like they have developed historically in other countries. The President is supposed to be the "first among equals". And the amount of money you have doesn't necessarily define "class".

If a person is asked about it, it would be presumptious (unless you were Bill Gates) to put yourself at the top, so "middle class" is a safe thing to admit.

There are some people with tons of money who still consider themselves "lower class" Roseanne Barr and Ozzy Osbourne come to mind.
They joke about it.

 

[ceiligh1]

I remember talking with my DH about this when the ny times did a story on it. It is interesting to see what goes into a persons perception of class. Try this out it really raised some eyebrows in my house.
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_01.html

 

[Free4Life11]

The Disney Version:
Lower class: values
Middle class: moderates
Upper class: deluxe
Wealthy: DVC

 

[Disney-Kim]

The Disney Version:
Lower class: values
Middle class: moderates
Upper class: deluxe
Wealthy: DVC

I am DVC and definately not wealthy.

I did the NY Times thing and it said 72 percentile. ???

 

[Tinks]

The Disney Version:
Lower class: values
Middle class: moderates
Upper class: deluxe
Wealthy: DVC

Upper middle class: WL and AKL

 

[CEDmom]

There's definitely upper, middle and lower class from an economic stand. It varies greatly by area though and is hard to judge by looking at how someone lives.

According to the NYT we're in the 88th percentile. However, that's not taking into account where we live so I'll take it with a grain of salt. I remember when we lived in Somerset County DH read an article in a local magazine that according to our data we were part of the super rich w/i our county .

 

[FreshTressa]

Thanks for sharing!

That was very interesting.

 

[FreshTressa]

I am DVC and definately not wealthy.

I did the NY Times thing and it said 72 percentile. ???

And we are values (for resorts) and don't consider ourselves lower class (90th percentile)....just cheap, lol!

 

[Tiffer]

I agree that there is no bright line dollar amount of income. I think where you live, income to debt ratio, home value, assets, etc are all contributing factors.

 

[HOGFAN]

78% here. I "guess" thats good

 

[Off2DisIGo]

74th percentile. Not sure what that means, really...

 

[Ms Marigny]

75% here- and we are a "moderate" resort family.

 

[#1hockeymom]

I find it interesting how they rate jobs and education but don't take into account other forms of education. DH makes over twice what earn, but I fall into 92 percent and he falls at 72.

 

[Robinrs]

I scored 77% as a single parent???? Why wasn't that included??? It would've shoved me in the single digits!!

The funny thing is I have always felt a bit of disdain towards the class structure of the Disney resorts. Some people wear it like a badge! I can afford to spend more on hotels but choose NOT to, how does that define class? It might define common sense.

 

[DISUNC]

The Disney Version:
Lower class: values
Middle class: moderates
Upper class: deluxe
Wealthy: DVC

I'M LOW KLASS!




It's all relative!

Who is better off?
A person who makes a 100k a year and has 250k of debt?
The person who makes 75k a year with no debt & no dependants & no friends who lives in Wyoming?
The person who makes 12k a year in Honolulu and refuses to touch their 10 million dollar inheritance?
The person who makes 4 million a year, but is going to jail for corporate tax invasion???

 

[FreshTressa]

ROFL...I'm in the 34th percentile if I do it just me.

I used DH and he is in the 90th.

Guess he married down a bit

 

[golfgal]

Well according to this we are "upper class" but I would most certainly consider us middle or at most upper middle class. I guess it is all perspective.