What is Middle Class in 21st Century America?

[Mattius92]

Middle class is anyone who is about to file for foreclosure, or so it seems. Bankruptcies in Jax are already at more than 3,200 so far this year. Last year this time, it was only 900, and these are only the ones reported.

With that said, then I guess I am above middle class, or maybe below...

I hope our economy starts to skyrocket again.

[sheclown]

Middle class is any family who still has one parent working.  Two wage earners in the household and you are upper middle.  None and you are poor.

[Dog Walker]

And there are still a lot of families with two high salary professionals working who are still one missed paycheck away from financial disaster.  There have been plenty of foreclosures in Queen's Harbor and Deerwood.

[BridgeTroll]

And there are still a lot of families with two high salary professionals working who are still one missed paycheck away from financial disaster.  There have been plenty of foreclosures in Queen's Harbor and Deerwood.

If this is the case it sounds to me like their problem is not income (plenty of that), but out-go.  Clearly they are living higher than their means... or barely within their means with with no recourse but financial disaster because they spent too much... failed to save, etc.  Sounds like a classic case of lack of personal responsibility...

[finehoe]

Sounds like a classic case of lack of personal responsibility...

...or maybe they just got sick.

Illness and medical bills caused half of the 1,458,000 personal bankruptcies

...most of those bankrupted by illness had health insurance. More than three-quarters were insured at the start of the bankrupting illness. However, 38 percent had lost coverage at least temporarily by the time they filed for bankruptcy.

Most of the medical bankruptcy filers were middle class; 56 percent owned a home and the same number had attended college. In many cases, illness forced breadwinners to take time off from work -- losing income and job-based health insurance precisely when families needed it most.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/bankruptcy_study.html#ixzz0nAU8vVAo

[Mattius92]

Middle class is any family who still has one parent working.  Two wage earners in the household and you are upper middle.  None and you are poor.

Couldnt say that is true. One parent could very well make over $125,000, I know a few myself. On the flip side you could have two parents on $30-40K salaries and not be considered Upper Middle. I would not base class on the amount of workers in your family.

[Dog Walker]

I think she was making a joke or sorts by over simplifying not trying to make a sociologically precise definition.

Old over-simplifying joke:  If one person calls you a horse, laugh at them.  If two people call you a horse, start to worry.  If three people call you a horse, better go buy a saddle for yourself.