middle class (22)
D 
After reading all that then the conclusion i have came to is this...im a poor working class Scottyburd
After reading all that then the conclusion i have came to is this...im a poor working class Scottyburd
------ This thread is Archived ------
Iz upperclass cause I chat posh like.......
------ This thread is Archived ------
davpk10: How close would you be to calling yourself "middle class"
You need all of these things it seems....Maybe next month for us....
Have You Made it to the Middle?
A wide variety of numbers have been thrown around in an effort to define the middle. People earning 20% of the average income and people earning 80% all claim to be part of the middle class. More than a few millionaires make the claim too. While there is no official financial standard, the middle class as defined by the government task force is characterized in terms of six financial aspirations, which we can view as benchmarks.
•Home Ownership
Home ownership remains the American dream. The step up from renting to owning signifies prosperity and achievement. With median home prices ranges differing by so much in different cities across the United States, the ability to achieve this goal varies significantly by geographical location. Someone earning an income in the 50% range in Detroit may not be able to afford even a small house in Los Angeles. •Automobile Ownership
Owning an automobile provides freedom of movement and the luxury of avoiding the limited schedules and cramped quarters offered by mass transportation options such as buses and subways. Here again, the cost of cars varying widely, as does the kind of automobile required. For one driver, a used Hyundai will do the trick. For another, a new BMW signifies the achievement of this goal.•A College Education for the Kids
Helping children get ahead in life is a primary goal for middle class families. Paying for a college education for children can cost anywhere from the low tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands. Decisions about which university of college to attend can have a significant impact on the price tag.
•Retirement Security
Retirement is a goal nearly everyone wants to achieve. It demonstrates success and provides a reward for decades of hard work. Once again, definitions make a difference. The amount of gold required to support your golden years will vary significantly depending on whether you want a staff of 10 at your villa in the South of France or a townhouse in Peoria, Illinois.•Health Care Coverage
The ability to obtain healthcare is an important goal for middle class wager earners and their families. The high and rising cost of medical care and prescription drugs make healthcare coverage an ever-increasing need, as going without it can have serious negative financial implications in the event of a severe illness or injury.•Family Vacation
The family vacation is a middle class staple. Vacations demonstrate that a family has disposable income and has been successful enough to take time away from work to focus on leisure.
You need all of these things it seems....Maybe next month for us....
Have You Made it to the Middle?
A wide variety of numbers have been thrown around in an effort to define the middle. People earning 20% of the average income and people earning 80% all claim to be part of the middle class. More than a few millionaires make the claim too. While there is no official financial standard, the middle class as defined by the government task force is characterized in terms of six financial aspirations, which we can view as benchmarks.
•Home Ownership
Home ownership remains the American dream. The step up from renting to owning signifies prosperity and achievement. With median home prices ranges differing by so much in different cities across the United States, the ability to achieve this goal varies significantly by geographical location. Someone earning an income in the 50% range in Detroit may not be able to afford even a small house in Los Angeles. •Automobile Ownership
Owning an automobile provides freedom of movement and the luxury of avoiding the limited schedules and cramped quarters offered by mass transportation options such as buses and subways. Here again, the cost of cars varying widely, as does the kind of automobile required. For one driver, a used Hyundai will do the trick. For another, a new BMW signifies the achievement of this goal.•A College Education for the Kids
Helping children get ahead in life is a primary goal for middle class families. Paying for a college education for children can cost anywhere from the low tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands. Decisions about which university of college to attend can have a significant impact on the price tag.
•Retirement Security
Retirement is a goal nearly everyone wants to achieve. It demonstrates success and provides a reward for decades of hard work. Once again, definitions make a difference. The amount of gold required to support your golden years will vary significantly depending on whether you want a staff of 10 at your villa in the South of France or a townhouse in Peoria, Illinois.•Health Care Coverage
The ability to obtain healthcare is an important goal for middle class wager earners and their families. The high and rising cost of medical care and prescription drugs make healthcare coverage an ever-increasing need, as going without it can have serious negative financial implications in the event of a severe illness or injury.•Family Vacation
The family vacation is a middle class staple. Vacations demonstrate that a family has disposable income and has been successful enough to take time away from work to focus on leisure.
What was your question?
------ This thread is Archived ------
See you around davpk. 
------ This thread is Archived ------
Well, I definately consider myself Middle Aged, Im not sure about Middle Class!
Over the past few years I have had all these things, either all at once or some at a time. My base security has varied, due to a period of moves.
I have been told I "talk posh", and have a 'proper' way of acting and speaking. I come from a middle class family, so I guess Im just following in mom n dad's footsteps.
Interesting this, coz the subject of The Class System, and does it still exist is something Ive been thinking about too recently.
Over the past few years I have had all these things, either all at once or some at a time. My base security has varied, due to a period of moves.
I have been told I "talk posh", and have a 'proper' way of acting and speaking. I come from a middle class family, so I guess Im just following in mom n dad's footsteps.
Interesting this, coz the subject of The Class System, and does it still exist is something Ive been thinking about too recently.
------ This thread is Archived ------
Middle class is a different concept in Britain. It might not include all of the above financial "achievements", particularly as we have the National Health Service.
Middle classness is steeped in history and can be about inherited social traits, education, attitude and lots of other things.
So you can be a roving hippy of low income, but if you come from a middle class family and have a degree, you might be classed as middle class.
If you come from working class stock, but have earned a fortune, you may well be scorned as nouveau riche with "common" attributes.
I fall in both working class and middle class categories for a number of reasons. I confuse the hell out of market researchers.
Jac xxx
Middle classness is steeped in history and can be about inherited social traits, education, attitude and lots of other things.
So you can be a roving hippy of low income, but if you come from a middle class family and have a degree, you might be classed as middle class.
If you come from working class stock, but have earned a fortune, you may well be scorned as nouveau riche with "common" attributes.
I fall in both working class and middle class categories for a number of reasons. I confuse the hell out of market researchers.
Jac xxx
------ This thread is Archived ------
NAKEDMUDPEOPLE: What was your question?
There is no question....
do I need one....but you can pick the first sentence if you like....
------ This thread is Archived ------
menu2: See you around davpk.
------ This thread is Archived ------
Hmmm...
Yes, I own my home...
Automibile... don't need one, public transport works just fine
College for the kids.. well, yes, everyone who wants that can have it...
Retirement security... yes, we have that...
Health care... wow we have that as well..
Family vacation... so far this year we've been to Ireland, Denmark, England and Greece...
so I guess we're doing ok, even in a "socialist" country
Yes, I own my home...
Automibile... don't need one, public transport works just fine
College for the kids.. well, yes, everyone who wants that can have it...
Retirement security... yes, we have that...
Health care... wow we have that as well..
Family vacation... so far this year we've been to Ireland, Denmark, England and Greece...
so I guess we're doing ok, even in a "socialist" country
------ This thread is Archived ------
Single women in America can get a great education for there children.
Natives are entitled to an education.
Middle income families have to pay.
Those who have blood lines or cash have to pay more.
So, who are the middle class?
Natives are entitled to an education.
Middle income families have to pay.
Those who have blood lines or cash have to pay more.
So, who are the middle class?
------ This thread is Archived ------
The journey I have been on the past 2 1/2 years is ending "very" soon, I will get my life (what is left of it) back.
Kino Bay, Mexico for me.
Looking for a 35-40 ft. trailer, preferably a 5th wheel. Go live on the beech, possibly a small boat of some kind.
I think that would make me low class...
Kino Bay, Mexico for me.
Looking for a 35-40 ft. trailer, preferably a 5th wheel. Go live on the beech, possibly a small boat of some kind.
I think that would make me low class...
------ This thread is Archived ------
HJFinAZ: The journey I have been on the past 2 1/2 years is ending "very" soon, I will get my life (what is left of it) back.
Kino Bay, Mexico for me.
Looking for a 35-40 ft. trailer, preferably a 5th wheel. Go live on the beech, possibly a small boat of some kind.
I think that would make me low class...
Kino Bay, Mexico for me.
Looking for a 35-40 ft. trailer, preferably a 5th wheel. Go live on the beech, possibly a small boat of some kind.
I think that would make me low class...
Do you need a date?
------ This thread is Archived ------
jac379: Middle class is a different concept in Britain. It might not include all of the above financial "achievements", particularly as we have the National Health Service.
Middle classness is steeped in history and can be about inherited social traits, education, attitude and lots of other things.
So you can be a roving hippy of low income, but if you come from a middle class family and have a degree, you might be classed as middle class.
If you come from working class stock, but have earned a fortune, you may well be scorned as nouveau riche with "common" attributes.
I fall in both working class and middle class categories for a number of reasons. I confuse the hell out of market researchers.
Jac xxx
I find that interesting ....here working class is/or easily could be, middle class....a degree has nothing to do with it here...Middle classness is steeped in history and can be about inherited social traits, education, attitude and lots of other things.
So you can be a roving hippy of low income, but if you come from a middle class family and have a degree, you might be classed as middle class.
If you come from working class stock, but have earned a fortune, you may well be scorned as nouveau riche with "common" attributes.
I fall in both working class and middle class categories for a number of reasons. I confuse the hell out of market researchers.
Jac xxx
------ This thread is Archived ------
NAKEDMUDPEOPLE: Single women in America can get a great education for there children.
Natives are entitled to an education.
Middle income families have to pay.
Those who have blood lines or cash have to pay more.
So, who are the middle class?
Well that sorta what i was getting at ....just what is middle class ...according to this you need these things to some degree....Natives are entitled to an education.
Middle income families have to pay.
Those who have blood lines or cash have to pay more.
So, who are the middle class?
I personally always looked at myself as "low" middle class and this seems to confirm this belief.....As we do not have retirement in place completely as I wish it ...but am working on that as we speak...
------ This thread is Archived ------
Class in the US is a confusing and slippery topic. The definitions that make sense to one person may not make sense to another. These definitions are offered in hopes of starting a discussion with shared language.
What do we mean by class?
Class is relative status according to income, wealth, power and/or position.
What do we mean by working class, low-income, middle class, and owning class?
The U.S. has no hard and fast divisions between class groups. Income and wealth are both on spectrums, and most of us move a little up or down the spectrums during our lifetimes. Some people grow up in one class and live as adults in another.
For immigrants, there's another layer of confusion, as their class status in their country of origin is often different from their class status in the U.S.
Nevertheless, it can be useful for understanding class dynamics to clump people roughly into these four groups.
Working Class:
People who have some or all of these class indicators, and their family members:
•little or no college education; in particular no BA from a 4-year college;
•low or negative net worth (assets minus debts);
•rental housing, or one non-luxury home long saved for and lived in for decades;
•occupations involving physical work and/or little control in the workplace.
Lower-middle-class families are somewhat more prosperous and secure, but they have a lot in common with working class people, such as less college than a BA, and/or less control over their work, and/or fewer assets than professional middle-class families. If they own a small business, it can only survive by the proprietor's hands-on work.
Working-class people are varied in race, culture, values and political belief. They are majority white, but compared with the composition of the whole population, they are disproportionately people of color and women. Working-class people are more likely to have strong ethnic and religious identities than middle-class people.
Low-Income or Poor:
A subset of working class people who chronically can't get income sufficient to cover all their basic needs.
Because some low-income people see "poor" as a negatively loaded term, many activists use "low-income" as a more respectful term.
Professional Middle Class:
College-educated, salaried professionals and managers and their family members.
Upper-middle-class families have more in common with owning class families, such as more luxuries and travel, than most middle-class families.
Owning Class:
Investors and their family members with enough income from assets that they don't have to work to pay basic bills. A subset have positions of power or vast wealth that put them in the ruling class.
Owning class people are disproportionately white; they are varied in culture, values and political beliefs.
How Big Is Each Class?
About two-thirds of Americans are working-class, low-income or lower-middle-class. Fewer than one in ten Americans remains low-income for a generation or more, although many working-class people spend part of their lives in poverty. About 3% of Americans are owning-class. Almost a third of Americans are professional middle-class.
Class Self-Identifications
It's not true, as sometimes is said, that almost all Americans call themselves "middle class." That's only the answer when the choices are lower, middle, and upper. Few people want to call themselves "low class."
When "working class" is one of the options, then there's a big self-identified working class.
Self-Identification 1998 Average of all years 1972-1998
Lower class 5% 5%
Working class 45% 46%
Middle class 46% 46%
Upper class 4% 3%
Source: National Opinion Research Center, Summer 2003
What do we mean by class?
Class is relative status according to income, wealth, power and/or position.
What do we mean by working class, low-income, middle class, and owning class?
The U.S. has no hard and fast divisions between class groups. Income and wealth are both on spectrums, and most of us move a little up or down the spectrums during our lifetimes. Some people grow up in one class and live as adults in another.
For immigrants, there's another layer of confusion, as their class status in their country of origin is often different from their class status in the U.S.
Nevertheless, it can be useful for understanding class dynamics to clump people roughly into these four groups.
Working Class:
People who have some or all of these class indicators, and their family members:
•little or no college education; in particular no BA from a 4-year college;
•low or negative net worth (assets minus debts);
•rental housing, or one non-luxury home long saved for and lived in for decades;
•occupations involving physical work and/or little control in the workplace.
Lower-middle-class families are somewhat more prosperous and secure, but they have a lot in common with working class people, such as less college than a BA, and/or less control over their work, and/or fewer assets than professional middle-class families. If they own a small business, it can only survive by the proprietor's hands-on work.
Working-class people are varied in race, culture, values and political belief. They are majority white, but compared with the composition of the whole population, they are disproportionately people of color and women. Working-class people are more likely to have strong ethnic and religious identities than middle-class people.
Low-Income or Poor:
A subset of working class people who chronically can't get income sufficient to cover all their basic needs.
Because some low-income people see "poor" as a negatively loaded term, many activists use "low-income" as a more respectful term.
Professional Middle Class:
College-educated, salaried professionals and managers and their family members.
Upper-middle-class families have more in common with owning class families, such as more luxuries and travel, than most middle-class families.
Owning Class:
Investors and their family members with enough income from assets that they don't have to work to pay basic bills. A subset have positions of power or vast wealth that put them in the ruling class.
Owning class people are disproportionately white; they are varied in culture, values and political beliefs.
How Big Is Each Class?
About two-thirds of Americans are working-class, low-income or lower-middle-class. Fewer than one in ten Americans remains low-income for a generation or more, although many working-class people spend part of their lives in poverty. About 3% of Americans are owning-class. Almost a third of Americans are professional middle-class.
Class Self-Identifications
It's not true, as sometimes is said, that almost all Americans call themselves "middle class." That's only the answer when the choices are lower, middle, and upper. Few people want to call themselves "low class."
When "working class" is one of the options, then there's a big self-identified working class.
Self-Identification 1998 Average of all years 1972-1998
Lower class 5% 5%
Working class 45% 46%
Middle class 46% 46%
Upper class 4% 3%
Source: National Opinion Research Center, Summer 2003
------ This thread is Archived ------
davpk10: I find that interesting ....here working class is/or easily could be, middle class....a degree has nothing to do with it here...
Having a degree maybe has less significance than it used to - 25 years a go only 5% of the population were graduates, 20 years ago 10%, but now its a lot higher. I may be completely wrong here, but I think the government aim was to get it up to 50%.
There used to be a grant system effectively based on achievement and economic status of your parent(s)/gardian(s), if you were dependant - if you got the grades and needed funding, you'd get a grant.
Now, you need to be either self-funding, or get a loan. Many young people, therefore start their working life in debt up to their eyeballs.
This gets them into the debt culture, before they even get started and so promotes that way of life.
Interestingly, some of the economic achievements that you cite in your original posting, for most involves mortgage, loans, etc. It strikes me therefore, that the measure of middle class status relies on how much debt you are in.
Jac xxx
------ This thread is Archived ------
jac379: Having a degree maybe has less significance than it used to - 25 years a go only 5% of the population were graduates, 20 years ago 10%, but now its a lot higher. I may be completely wrong here, but I think the government aim was to get it up to 50%.
There used to be a grant system effectively based on achievement and economic status of your parent(s)/gardian(s), if you were dependant - if you got the grades and needed funding, you'd get a grant.
Now, you need to be either self-funding, or get a loan. Many young people, therefore start their working life in debt up to their eyeballs.
This gets them into the debt culture, before they even get started and so promotes that way of life.
Interestingly, some of the economic achievements that you cite in your original posting, for most involves mortgage, loans, etc. It strikes me therefore, that the measure of middle class status relies on how much debt you are in.
Jac xxx
Perhaps ...I do not however...we have little personal dept ....but I do own a couple small businesses that require my personal hands on work weekly as they are weekly services....also I do snow removal in the winter and that requires my attention as well...There used to be a grant system effectively based on achievement and economic status of your parent(s)/gardian(s), if you were dependant - if you got the grades and needed funding, you'd get a grant.
Now, you need to be either self-funding, or get a loan. Many young people, therefore start their working life in debt up to their eyeballs.
This gets them into the debt culture, before they even get started and so promotes that way of life.
Interestingly, some of the economic achievements that you cite in your original posting, for most involves mortgage, loans, etc. It strikes me therefore, that the measure of middle class status relies on how much debt you are in.
Jac xxx
------ This thread is Archived ------
jac379: Having a degree maybe has less significance than it used to - 25 years a go only 5% of the population were graduates, 20 years ago 10%, but now its a lot higher. I may be completely wrong here, but I think the government aim was to get it up to 50%.
There used to be a grant system effectively based on achievement and economic status of your parent(s)/gardian(s), if you were dependant - if you got the grades and needed funding, you'd get a grant.
Now, you need to be either self-funding, or get a loan. Many young people, therefore start their working life in debt up to their eyeballs.
This gets them into the debt culture, before they even get started and so promotes that way of life.
Interestingly, some of the economic achievements that you cite in your original posting, for most involves mortgage, loans, etc. It strikes me therefore, that the measure of middle class status relies on how much debt you are in.
Jac xxx
I agree with this part as well....25 years ago if you thought of a degree you would think doctor,lawyer,teacher....There used to be a grant system effectively based on achievement and economic status of your parent(s)/gardian(s), if you were dependant - if you got the grades and needed funding, you'd get a grant.
Now, you need to be either self-funding, or get a loan. Many young people, therefore start their working life in debt up to their eyeballs.
This gets them into the debt culture, before they even get started and so promotes that way of life.
Interestingly, some of the economic achievements that you cite in your original posting, for most involves mortgage, loans, etc. It strikes me therefore, that the measure of middle class status relies on how much debt you are in.
Jac xxx
Now you can get degrees in roofing,carpentry,pumbing ,and other "trades"......
25 years ago this was unheard of...
------ This thread is Archived ------
Quality of life is more important that income.
What is life's quality for each family? and
How do we choose the place to live in?
Where I live:
- "safe" and cultural city makes life fuller to enjoy.
- Great food including fresh veg, fruits, etc. are available at reasonable price.
- Job and education opportunities are available.
Then we have to take a look inside the families' way of living.
What is life's quality for each family? and
How do we choose the place to live in?
Where I live:
- "safe" and cultural city makes life fuller to enjoy.
- Great food including fresh veg, fruits, etc. are available at reasonable price.
- Job and education opportunities are available.
Then we have to take a look inside the families' way of living.
------ This thread is Archived ------
This Thread is Archived
This Thread is archived, so you will no longer be able to post to it. Threads get archived automatically when they are older than 3 months.
« Go back to All Threads
« Go back to All Threads
More Threads
The Best of the GOP
Sleepy Don!
Karen McDougal - Playmate Model will testify in Hush Money Trial
The weird and the random facts around the world
Unions support Democrats!
the way you look
Would you hire this guy - for any job?
Ladies
Feel Good Music
Happy Birthday MysteriousGirl80
More Threads
Report threads that break rules, are offensive, or contain fighting. Staff may not be aware of the forum abuse, and cannot do anything about it unless you tell us about it. click to report forum abuse »
If one of the comments is offensive, please report the comment instead (there is a link in each comment to report it).
If one of the comments is offensive, please report the comment instead (there is a link in each comment to report it).
Stats for this Thread
813 Views
21 Comments
in CS Lounge
Created: Aug 2010
Last Viewed: Apr 30
Last Commented: Aug 2010
0 Likes
You need all of these things it seems....
Maybe next month for us....
Have You Made it to the Middle?
A wide variety of numbers have been thrown around in an effort to define the middle. People earning 20% of the average income and people earning 80% all claim to be part of the middle class. More than a few millionaires make the claim too. While there is no official financial standard, the middle class as defined by the government task force is characterized in terms of six financial aspirations, which we can view as benchmarks.
•Home Ownership
Home ownership remains the American dream. The step up from renting to owning signifies prosperity and achievement. With median home prices ranges differing by so much in different cities across the United States, the ability to achieve this goal varies significantly by geographical location. Someone earning an income in the 50% range in Detroit may not be able to afford even a small house in Los Angeles.
•Automobile Ownership
Owning an automobile provides freedom of movement and the luxury of avoiding the limited schedules and cramped quarters offered by mass transportation options such as buses and subways. Here again, the cost of cars varying widely, as does the kind of automobile required. For one driver, a used Hyundai will do the trick. For another, a new BMW signifies the achievement of this goal.
•A College Education for the Kids
Helping children get ahead in life is a primary goal for middle class families. Paying for a college education for children can cost anywhere from the low tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands. Decisions about which university of college to attend can have a significant impact on the price tag.
•Retirement Security
Retirement is a goal nearly everyone wants to achieve. It demonstrates success and provides a reward for decades of hard work. Once again, definitions make a difference. The amount of gold required to support your golden years will vary significantly depending on whether you want a staff of 10 at your villa in the South of France or a townhouse in Peoria, Illinois.
•Health Care Coverage
The ability to obtain healthcare is an important goal for middle class wager earners and their families. The high and rising cost of medical care and prescription drugs make healthcare coverage an ever-increasing need, as going without it can have serious negative financial implications in the event of a severe illness or injury.
•Family Vacation
The family vacation is a middle class staple. Vacations demonstrate that a family has disposable income and has been successful enough to take time away from work to focus on leisure.