Posted on 01/27/2019 5:41:47 AM PST by Gamecock
Who are Americas rich?
Not me is the answer from a surprising segment of the population, including many people making six figures and above. Some 87% of people who make at least $90,000 a year said they werent rich or poor, according to new findings from polling company YouGov. (The survey asked 1,163 Americans how much money someone needs to be rich or poor.)
When it comes to whos poor, most respondents (68%) thought people who make the equivalent of the federal minimum wage ($7.25 an hour, or $15,080 a year) fell into that category. The point at which most Americans think youve escaped being poor comes at around $30,000, wrote YouGovs lead data journalist Matthew Smith.
People start to be considered rich when they make at least $90,000, the survey found. But only 44% of poll participants said someone making $90,000 a year was rich. Meanwhile, hitting those six figures seems to make all the difference: 56% of those surveyed said they considered people who earn $100,000 a year rich.
Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, said the findings relate to the growing gap between the rich and poor, and middle class and everyone else. The average annual income of Americas top 1% was $1.8 million in 2015, Bivens noted. That was a far cry from the $100,000 a year deemed rich in the survey he said.
But many people seemed to feel they exist in a middle zone between poverty and affluence, likely influenced by the cost of living in their respective towns and cities: 64% of the participants said they werent rich or poor. The survey sheds light on attitudes about poverty and affluence, and how they align with official calculations surrounding haves and have nots.
There are clear definitions of poverty in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for example, draws the 2019 poverty line at $25,750 per year for a four-person family. Some 12.3% of Americans lived in poverty in 2017, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures. The median household income was $61,372 in 2017, according to the Census.
YouGovs survey on rich and poor labels arrives as income inequality has become a growing concern for many observers and policymakers. Lawmakers across the country are weighing whether to increase minimum hourly wages to $15. The District of Columbia and three states are planning to make $15 the minimum; cities including New York City, N.Y., San Francisco, Calif. and Seattle, Wash. are already there.
Being somewhere between rich and poor doesnt necessarily mean living comfortably. Costs of living can vary widely across the country and many households have heavy debts and costs to contend with, like student-loan obligations or child-care bills. Likewise, a lack of savings for emergencies and retirement also make people feel financially unstable.
There are probably two things going on with the survey: An underestimation of how much more the top 1% earned and a broadening of what it means to be rich, Bivens said. It mostly means something being less than yachts and mansions, free from economic anxiety about paying next months bills, he added. Thats sadly something lots of people aspire to, but dont experience.
It may not be surprising that people making at least $90,000 didnt view themselves as rich. With the nations highest earners so high above and the cost of housing in cities like New York and San Francisco and Seattle, it takes a lot of money to not be housing insecure, experts say. People earning $90,000 a year compare themselves to others, just like someone earning $180,000 a year.
I think thats a very human thing, Bivens said.
I find myself realizing that I hoped for a happier ending.
Hell, my life-—when I finally kicked booze, etc.-—more or less began at 40.
Tough on the family, I am sure. Best wishes, and a prayer.
FW
You are exactly right about the government benefits.
People wonder how those who live in subsidized housing, get food stamps, Medicaid, etc. can have large flat-screen TVs (and cable service), the latest in cell phones, fancy nails, nice cars, and the like. It’s just exactly this: they get all those benefits, tax-free, and many of their expenses paid. Meanwhile, their neighbor down the street has the same actual income, but is paying taxes on that income plus paying all their own expenses.
The zero-income person has a higher standard of living than the worker, of course.
That’s not to paint everyone on any kind of government assistance with the same brush; just far too many.
I make 6 figures and Government takes the 1/3 of it and then I pay all my rest of bills and support my family and that’s why I drive a 2000 truck with almost 300000 miles on it
Rich my ass
When your paycheck increases so do your expectations. It’s only natural.
When you hit $90,000, are you going to keep tinkering with your two 20 year-old cars to keep them running? Heck, no, you’re going to get a couple of new cars for you and your wife. And not super expensive ones, which you still won’t be able to afford, but a couple of cars in the $30K to $50K range.
Then, you’ve GOT TO get out of that old, cramped one-bedroom apartment, so you move up, buy a house. And not an expensive one, but something around $150K to $200K.
Then there are dozens of other little things, slightly better clothing, a better school for the kids, etc. None of which is an unreasonable expenditure. Next thing you know, you’re struggling again. $90K ain’t much.
And if you’re lucky enough to start bringing in $200K, be careful, or you’ll find yourself struggling yet again! And perhaps approaching retirement with nothing saved?
You are blessed!
You; too Sir; are blessed!
The New Testament has a fella writing:
Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
BINGO!
Other folks might earn $150K/year and piss it away all the time and retire with nothing.
Like Social Security?
$90,000 is about $30,000 1990 dollars, so no, persons earning $90k per year are not ‘rich’.
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