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this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024
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Every couple years, another study that shows the same thing. The rich got richer and the middle class and poor lost.
Middle class is the new poor
The middle class also doesn't exist and makes as much sense as trickle-down economics does. It's either working class or rich.
The middle class definitely exists. They still share class solidarity with the poor.
Middle class means you can lose your job, stay unemployed for a year or 2, and keep your home, keep the kids fed. You're closer to the poor obviously, but you have some peace of mind. You've probably got some investments to provide a little bit of extra income to help you through the difficult days.
Basically, I'd categorize rich vs middle class vs working class as "could never become homeless", "unlikely to need to worry about becoming homeless unless something major happens" and "could easily become homeless if unemployed for a while".
Of course, if anyone's wealth is actually trickling down, it's the middle class, not the rich. Because the middle class actually spends some portion of their money instead of hoarding it.
No, it really doesn't exist. It's an idea created by the rich to make some among the working class believe that they are different from the other working class people. But they are not. If you need to work to survive, you are working class.
And please, don't insult your intelligence or mine talking about trickle-down economy. That's also not a real thing
Middle class means being able to work your way up to not having to rely on work or pension to live.
If you're working class, you don't even have that option. You work until you're so old you have to retire, no long sabbaticals in between or anything. You won't go traveling the world to do soul searching. Your kids are either taking student loans or GI bills or just not going to college.
Middle class isn't a 100k income in much of modern America though. Depending on location I'd say it's more like 200k to 600k per household at minimum to be middle class. So yes, the middle class has shrunk considerably.
That's not what the middle class is. I'm not about to repeat myself. And the more you write on it, the more it's clear that you don't understand what you are talking about and never read anything on the matter but instead you're just writing about your personal opinions on the matter. Please stop spewing the insane propaganda of "the harder you work, the richer you'll be" and stop wasting my time
When did I ever say it's about hard work? You're either born into the middle class, or you have to get lucky af. 80 hour weeks at a shit job will kill your health, not raise your socioeconomic status.
I never said it's something everyone can attain (I WISH it still was), but it does exist. For now. It's shrinking hard and becoming a thing of the past though. And unfortunately mostly middle class people are dropping down to working class, rather than going up the ladder.
Personally I aim to retire around the age of 50, or do entrepreneurship for fun after that point. Definitely don't want to work for someone else. If I attain that and my net worth keeps rising despite me not having a job - would you still consider me working class? I know I wouldn't consider myself to be upper class even then.
There's no one singular definition of middle class anyway.