I wonder what percent of the population owns their mansions outright --- to me the wealthy are those who don't have to work for a living but can live comfortably off their investments or inheritances. The middle class requires a paycheck --- most would have mortgages and may have little net worth --- but accumulates some wealth through the years by paying off their mortgages so an income wouldn't be needed after they retire. The poor don't work but live off the rest of us, they rely on government handouts to live a comfortable life of leisure.
Hmmmmm, interesting. I'm not rich, but I own my own modest $150K home on one acre here in Central Texas. Paid cash for it when I moved here. Now, when I retire soon, I'll still need a pretty good income to keep that house. The property taxes, insurance, and minimum utilities (water, elec, sewer, trash collection, etc) cost me about $520 a month. And that's without a mortgage.
I consider myself lucky and pretty well prepared for retirement, but I'm still gonna need an income to maintain even a paid for home.
To Dems, a couple living in N.Y.C., who both work and have a combined income of $100,000 per year (that would a fireman married to a teacher, BTW )are the wealthy. They aren't;that couple isn't even in the upper middle class!
And no, the middle class does NOT pay the most taxes...the upper middle class ( and actually it's the upper most part of the upper middle class! ) and the wealthy are the ones who pay the majority of the taxes.
Why don't you think that the wealthy "requires a paycheck "? How else are they going to pay their bills......from spending their capital? That's a way, certain, to become poor awfully fast!