Sick of the upper class bashing

[Nennie]

I dunno but this is the McMansion my fil and bil built for the realtor for our local parade of homes this July. Talk about a McMansion. It's 10,274 sf on 3/4 of an acre with 2 homes squished beside it! It's that crap that makes me wanna gag for days and days and days

http://www.signaturegrouputah.com/wfrlisting.pl?cmd=details&listnum=724787

I confess! I think I'm a McMansion lover! I think that house is beautiful! Granted I can't see how small the lot is, but the house itself is quite grand!

 

[salmoneous]

BTW--I was a single mom as well, and for years I had no insurance for me but was able to scrape together what was $25 (15-20 years ago) to buy into the state program for DS.

Why didn't you take a second job that had health insurance (or would have allowed you to buy private insurance) rather than join a subsidized health plan with taxpayers picking up a chuck of the tab?

 

[PrincessTiff]

Upper class = greater than $340,000
Middle class = ? - $340,000
Lower class = ?

I don't think I want to be in a class. I'm just a single mom going to work every day to provide for my family.

No kidding. Looks like most of us are "lower class" if that's the standards some people on this thread are setting.

 

[ducklite]

Yeah, I guess I kinda did and kinda didn't. I think people should have to work, even if they are on assistance. I think that health insurance should be priced so that even people who are low income can afford it. I am 100% ok with federally subsidized health insurance because I believe that people should take care of each other.

All of that said, I don't think that it is noble to work so much that your family has more but they don't have you. Everyone knows the old saying about how no one on their deathbed looks back and wishes they had put more time in the office. People wish they took more time for the stuff that's really important.

There's a big difference between "having more" and having the minimum needed to survive. When the bills aren't being paid and the family is uninsured, one or more of the bread earners needs to do what it takes to meet basic needs, even if it means they aren't around as much for the family--and the taxpayers should not be expected to cover these expenses when there is an able bodied person who would work a second job to help make ends meet.

I'm certainly not saying that people should take on second jobs so their kids can have the latest video games or their 16 year old can get a new car--unless they want to.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

I dunno but this is the McMansion my fil and bil built for the realtor for our local parade of homes this July. Talk about a McMansion. It's 10,274 sf on 3/4 of an acre with 2 homes squished beside it! It's that crap that makes me wanna gag for days and days and days

http://www.signaturegrouputah.com/wfrlisting.pl?cmd=details&listnum=724787

It's a gorgeous home--if it were on a few or more acres. I can't believe they squished that house onto 3/4 of an acre!

Anne

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Say it's a single parent all ready having to pay for childcare to work one job. Then what? A second job would mean additional childcare expenses, less time with the child(ren), etc. These are the people I am talking about, the ones who are trying and can't get a step ahead.

 

[ducklite]

Why didn't you take a second job that had health insurance (or would have allowed you to buy private insurance) rather than join a subsidized health plan with taxpayers picking up a chuck of the tab?

I was working two jobs--neither had benefits. I was living in an economically depressed area. I continued to look for a f/t job with benefits for the entire time I lived there. I finally gave up, packed up and moved five hours away to an area with better opportunities, and had a f/t job with benefits within three weeks. I did what it took to make a better life for my child by moving, and it was the very best thing I ever did.

Anne

 

[Nikel]

No kidding. Looks like most of us are "lower class" if that's the standards some people on this thread are setting.

It's not people on this thread setting the standards. The class groupings come from sociological and economic information. I can point you to some books, if you'd like. I took a class on class structure last year.

 

[ducklite]

Say it's a single parent all ready having to pay for childcare to work one job. Then what? A second job would mean additional childcare expenses, less time with the child(ren), etc. These are the people I am talking about, the ones who are trying and can't get a step ahead.

I've been there. Remember you said I was for mentioning it.

I worked a f/t and a p/t job. I paid the sitter $2 an hour. Even if I only ended up with an extra $1.50 an hour after I paid the sitter on the p/t job (this was many years ago) it was an extra $20 a week, which paid the car insurance. When you've got nothing, a little something can be a lot. It wasn't ideal by any means, but it was better than collecting welfare. I learned job skills that I eventually leveraged into a good paying position.

 

[salmoneous]

I was working two jobs--neither had benefits. I was living in an economically depressed area. I continued to look for a f/t job with benefits for the entire time I lived there. I finally gave up, packed up and moved five hours away to an area with better opportunities, and had a f/t job with benefits within three weeks. I did what it took to make a better life for my child by moving, and it was the very best thing I ever did.

Anne

Good for you. I'm genuinely glad things worked out for you and your child (I don't want that good for you to come across as sarcasm).

I was just curious why you didn't take the advice you seemed to be giving others about not taking handouts from the governement.

 

[Tyler's Dad]

I've been there. Remember you said I was for mentioning it.

I worked a f/t and a p/t job. I paid the sitter $2 an hour. Even if I only ended up with an extra $1.50 an hour after I paid the sitter on the p/t job (this was many years ago) it was an extra $20 a week, which paid the car insurance. When you've got nothing, a little something can be a lot. It wasn't ideal by any means, but it was better than collecting welfare. I learned job skills that I eventually leveraged into a good paying position.

So, you are basing all of this on your experiences years ago? Many people can't find babysitters to work for what they would make at a second job. Outside of that, again, you did a great job. Your experiences and situation does not mirror everyone else's. There a a ton of people out there doing everything in their power to make it in this country, but the economy is a different beast today. Most second jobs wouldn't provide healthcare anyway, since you usually have to work full time to become eligable for benefits. It's not as cut and dry as people want to make it.

 

[Hound 109]

I grew up in the 70s a small town that happened to have a lot of professional athletes living there. These guys were millionaires by anybody's definition. The houses they lived in (and some still do after retiring) are dwarfed by the houses being built by working class people around them.

Again, we're not saying people can't spend their money on what they want. Some of us are saying we find the choices baffling, and even humorous.

I'm not worried about creeping socialism -- I'm worried about an increasing percentage of the population that thinks that the right "designer" handbags and sneakers are inherently worth 800x their actual manufacturing cost. The ones that pay $200 for a knockoff of a $900 designer handbag.

And the people who pay $900,000 for a house that's built of papier mache because from the curb it looks impressive (even though you can hear the pipes humming for 5 minutes when a toilet flushes 6 rooms away).

I'm about half way through this thread, but I just had to stop & say I am really enjoying your posts.

Could you run for Congress....or President? Maybe become "the View"s next host?


hound - <---back to the thread.

 

[hydster]

I guess that would put us in upper middle, but I find it hard to believe that only 15% of people fall there. Really, how uncommon is it for someone to be making 50,000 married to someone making 50,000? It is household incomes right?

I find it really odd that there are more people making under 16,000 than over 100,000. That class must be made up largely by students.

Yeah I know that's why I cited Wikipedia! LOL I didn't have time to look any further but it seems low to me too!

 

[liberalmouse]

I dunno but this is the McMansion my fil and bil built for the realtor for our local parade of homes this July. Talk about a McMansion. It's 10,274 sf on 3/4 of an acre with 2 homes squished beside it! It's that crap that makes me wanna gag for days and days and days

http://www.signaturegrouputah.com/wfrlisting.pl?cmd=details&listnum=724787

I don't know. I think the 3.6 million dollar price tag takes it right out of McMansion and into a squished Mansion.

 

[Feralpeg]

I dunno but this is the McMansion my fil and bil built for the realtor for our local parade of homes this July. Talk about a McMansion. It's 10,274 sf on 3/4 of an acre with 2 homes squished beside it! It's that crap that makes me wanna gag for days and days and days

http://www.signaturegrouputah.com/wfrlisting.pl?cmd=details&listnum=724787

It's hard to tell without seeing the other homes, but I think that home is beautiful!

 

[ducklite]

Good for you. I'm genuinely glad things worked out for you and your child (I don't want that good for you to come across as sarcasm).

I was just curious why you didn't take the advice you seemed to be giving others about not taking handouts from the governement.

The program I bought into was major medical. He never used it. So I gave and didn't take. His well-child health care was provided by the self-funded community health center, which I paid on a sliding scale for--and I was at or near the top of the scale. I was one of those "working poor" who did fall through the cracks had I sought assistance. i would ahve made a few dollars a week too much.

I've said before that I have no problem with CHIP's programs--they didn't include well child care when my son was young. Nor do I have a problem with Head Start, free school lunch/milk for truly needy children (if the parents have enough for a WDW vacation then the kid shouldn't qualify--except if they are a foster child, etc.), subsidized daycare for parents trying to get back on their feet, the list goes on. But IMHO until you have exhausted every possibility for yourself and your family, you shouldn't rely on the government. And government programs need to be revamped to be a hand up, not a hand out.

 

[hydster]

It's hard to tell without seeing the other homes, but I think that home is beautiful!

The house on the south is a little more than 2200 sf 1/2 acre lot*both homes are trying to sell now...good luck with that behemoth next to you* and the one on the north of the property is 1800 sf 1/2 acre lot. The houses next to this monstrosity have cut their sell price down to almost nothing and still can't get out of them because these people wanted to put this huge house on this tiny little lot.

It's these types of people that have money that make me gag! They screwed over 2 home owners just so they could build the biggest house on the smallest lot in the neighborhood for the most money. Screw everyone else I'm going to do it and I don't care about anyone else! That's where I get really steamed and this is only 1 of several homes my fil and bil have built that have done essentially the same thing just different areas and price ranges but the end result is always the same.

 

[ducklite]

So, you are basing all of this on your experiences years ago? Many people can't find babysitters to work for what they would make at a second job. Outside of that, again, you did a great job. Your experiences and situation does not mirror everyone else's. There a a ton of people out there doing everything in their power to make it in this country, but the economy is a different beast today. Most second jobs wouldn't provide healthcare anyway, since you usually have to work full time to become eligable for benefits. It's not as cut and dry as people want to make it.

Actually overall the economy is in much better shape today than it was in the mid to late 1980's and early 1990's, which were the years I really struggled.

Anne

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

Definitely a McMansion. The inside is completely mass produced. The yard is too small for it with too little landscaping. Put that on several acres, with lots of big trees and lanscaping, with some custom unique qualities in the house - that would make it a big house as opposed to a mcmansion

Plus it is ugly.

 

[aplejax76]

I've been there. Remember you said I was for mentioning it.

I worked a f/t and a p/t job. I paid the sitter $2 an hour. Even if I only ended up with an extra $1.50 an hour after I paid the sitter on the p/t job (this was many years ago) it was an extra $20 a week, which paid the car insurance. When you've got nothing, a little something can be a lot. It wasn't ideal by any means, but it was better than collecting welfare. I learned job skills that I eventually leveraged into a good paying position.

What a minute..... the state helped you with insurance, right?

Why is it ok for you but everyone else needs to be responsible for themselves?