The $250K bar is way too high...

[kentuck]

I would consider the "middle-class" somewhere between the 20 and 80 percentile. With that calculation, 81% of the people in this country make less than $100,000 per household. The $250K bar is in the top 4%. The $450K is in the top 2%. Which of these seem like the middle class to you?

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/10/19/what-percent-are-you/

[Mass]

1. Totally agree with you on that. However, it seems the Democratic Party has become the party of the

upper middle class and totally ignore the rest.,

[phleshdef]

3. Right because "the rest" aren't benefitting at all from having their taxes cut.

Or having their unemployment benefits extended.

Or having their child tax credits and tuition tax credits extended.

Or any of the bazillion other things Democrats have done and continue to do for "the rest".

What a load of horse shit.

[One of the 99]

6. Well said nt

[phleshdef]

2. I guess Occupy was wrong to make it about the 99% then.

[ProSense]

4. When did $250,000 become the top 4 percent?

The WSJ is full of it.

$450,000 is not the top 2 percent.

[Jackpine Radical]

5. I agree with your point about where the Middle Class ends,

or maybe I'd put it at $150k or something, but I'm also not too concerned with where Obama is setting the bar at this point.

I think just maybe, even at $400k, he knows the Republicans won't/can't go for it, and he will then pull it back after having tarred them quite rightly with the inflexible extremist brush.

At least I hope that's what's going on.

Also, a deal that guarantees UI, ends the tax breaks on the very top end, preserves adequate provider payments in MC & contains no chains in the CPI would be maybe OK for the short term. I'm not going to slap him around just now. Let's see where the dust settles.

[NNN0LHI]

7. You know I agree with that

[CreekDog]

8. it takes about a 100k/year for a family to rent a 2 bedroom apartment around here

...so that is a middle class income here.

rent $2500 month (2 bedroom apartment -no, not house, and this isn't in San Francisco, which would cost more)

and most people in the USA live in urban areas, many of them are high cost urban areas.

[SpartanDem]

9. My Dad works at Ford plant and mother for the state as a social worker together make 140K

both are union and these are the people you want to tax? My parents are not freaking rich, they make the kind money they do is because they've been working 30ish years.

[kentuck]

10. Should you have to be rich before you pay any taxes??

They should be paying more in taxes, would be my guess.

[TheKentuckian]

12. What percentile of the population do they fall in?

[JoePhilly]

11. If the goal posts are stuck, move the field.