It appears to be you that has no idea who is in the middle class. If $200,000 isn't middle class, then what is it? You have to have $250,000 per year to qualify to buy an average house in coastal regions of California; do you think there is no middle class here? What about Massachusets, Connecticut, Vermont, or the Adirondak region of New York? You have strange ideas.
Median houshold income (US) is 40K are you telling 90=% of households in teh us Make under 200K! Are you telling me that 5X what the middle wage earners make is ‘middle class’?
MA and conn are only slightly higher (53K) so for them its 4X the median income. Romney (and it seems you) are out of touch.
Let put things in perspective:
1) 90+% of households in the US make less than 100K a year (200K is not middle class)
2) The Median hosueholds income in the US is about 40k or 20% of 200K (200K is not middle class)
3) The median average income in MA is about 50K or 25% of 200K (200K is not the middle class)
4) The Median home price in Greater Boston is about 425K in the city itseld about 350K. Lets split the difference and say in one of the most expensive home markets in the US the median home price is about 400K. Standard practice for years has been that a mortgage should be no more than 30% of gross income.
On a home in Boston with 10% down your principle of 360K with a 6.5% mortgage is about 2,200$ which would necessitate a gross monthly income of 88K per year. If you made 200K your monthly income of 16K would mean your mortgage could be as high as 5K per month or a home value of about 800K dollars (200K is *not* middle class)
Who has strange ideas, I gave you national numbers and numbers from his home state... All of which point to 200K being well above the middle class (unless of course youre telling me that only 12% of people in MA are in the middle class or better and if that is the case why the hell would we want the governer of that state screwing up the whole nation?