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.
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.