Income statistics

There's a good reason for that. The rules of avreages does not accurately indicate what a typical middle value is. Here's why:

Three men are sitting in at a table having lunch. The first makes $25k a year, the second $30k a year, and the fourth $35k a year. The mean income is $30k, and so is the median.

Now, Bill Gates walks in and sits down. and his income is $900k. The mean is now $247,500 a year. The median, however, is $32,500 a year. The median is a more accurate indicator of typical income.

 

Funny...I know lots of middle class folks.

Guess they must be mirages.


Why the discontent, billwald? Do you think everyone ought to have the same amount of stuff?

This sounds like an outgrowth of union indoctrination: wealth envy.

 

It sounds like an admission that the unions with their demands for ever higher pay and benefits - even for union employees that don't work - killed the golden goose and forced jobs to be transplanted overseas.

 

Good for you. That's a healthy approach.

 

One of the problems in discerning poverty level is that it varies widely from region to region. In Southern California, a $50,000 family income barely gets a person by. In Springdale, Arkansas, $50k will have you living quite well.

 

True, however most people live where they do by choice.

Some choose to live in certain areas for reasons other than economics - but it is still a choice.

 

I would say everyone does so. No one is forced to live where they do. Anyone can move. Not easily, but anyone can do it.

That said, it's not necessarily resonable to simply tell someone "just move to where it's cheaper". If everyone did that, it would no longer be cheaper in thos areas. OTOH, it's not the responsibility of the American public to subsidize peoples' incomes simply because they choose to live in a more expensive area, just like it's not the responsibility of the American public to subsidize the heating bill of someone who chooses to live in a cold climate.

I live in a $550k house. Sounds like a lot, until you relaize that's close to average for a single family detached home in Orange County. The trade off is that my heating and cooling bills are only about $40, and I'm 5 minutes from work, 15 minutes from the beach, and 1 hour from some great snow skiing.

 

I agree.

Additionally, it is probably the case that where the cost of living is lower so are wages - so it most likely balances out.

 

You're all over the place.

What is the topic of this thread that you started?

 

You seem to be overlooking the concept of furthering one's education and working hard to move from a low paying job to a higher paying job.

The class warfare that you speak of comes from envy (which is a sin) and politicans exploiting that eny to further their own desires.

 

It must really be hard to be you with that black cloud you choose to take with you everywhere.

 

I'm with you there.

As I see it though the secret to success will still be the same - personal responsibility.

One of my sons worked through college - graduated at the head of his class with a degree in engineering. He went right to work for GM at a fantastic salary, company car, five weeks vacation, etc. Six months later (last April) he was released from GM and his department was eliminated.

There are not a lot of current openings for automotive engineers in the Detroit area. He is married and has a house. Houses are not selling all that quickly in the Detroit area either.

Rather than complaining he went to work clerking for a judge - without pay - and enrolled in a class to prepare for the LSAT. His plan is to become a patent attorney. He did very well on the LSAT and is in the process of applying for law school. As a result of networking he also has three upcoming interviews with law firms that are considering offering him employment while he goes to law school at night.

The point is not to brag but to offer a real life example of taking responsibility for one's own life rather than complaining about how hard things are.

 

Billwald, so you pointed out a basic fact, and thanks for doing that, but what do we do now? I mean, what is the point of you pointing out these hard economic times? Do you have a solution for the problem? Are you promoting a certain type of political reform, do you want the Unions to demand their way to a middle class?

I'm just wondering what is your reason for making the point that the middle class has disappeared.

 

I've already given you an example (and I could give many others) of an obvious exception to this. Why do you ignore data and factual evidence?