When 50% of the country is making $250 grand a year I will consider that middle class

[vi5]

11. I live in the NY Metro area...

So I know what things cost here and I know people that work in NYC.

My take on this debate is that it is all about choices.

If someone makes $250K in Manhattan, and chooses to live in a very desirable neighborhood in Manhattan where their rent is very high and where their grocery bills are high because they have to shop in the city then I can agree that they will have a lot less disposable income on hand after their bills are paid.

But here's the thing......that's a choice. I know plenty of people that make at or close to $250K in Manhattan and choose to live in the city and choose to also have a car and choose to send their kids to private school. They don't have a lot of disposable income after their bills. That doesn't make them middle class.

I know other people who make at or close to $250K working in Mahattan who choose to live in NJ suburbs and commute to the city because housing is less expensive as are their taxes. They send their kids to public school so they don't have that expense. And they are able to shop at A&P and Shop Rite where food costs are less expensive than at Balducci's or Dean and Deluca.

To me this discussion comes down to what of the expenses that people are discussing are choices and which ones are not. Because someone making $75K has a lot fewer choices in how they live their life and what they spend their money on than someone making $250K.

I come to this discussion as someone who lives in one of those very expensive areas, and who with his wife has a household income that is less than $250K although considerably more than $50K. And I can tell you that I would not compare my situation to someone making $50K even in rural Idaho. Would I consider myself wealthy? Not at all. Is my situation similar to between 40-60% of the population? No. Not at all. I don't have to struggle, and I have choices that a lot of people don't have. I make those choices so that I save for a rainy day, and I make choices that don't overextend my families expenses so that if something happens to us medically, or work-wise or whatever we are not able to handle it. But make no mistake about it, those are choices and those choices are a luxury that the large majority of households in the country do not have, whether they live in Manhattan or San Franciso or whether they live in Jonesboro Arkansas.