Reply #6: The American Dream

[stopbush]

is just another American MYTH.

Americans all think they're going to be Rockefeller someday. With a lot of luck, lots of hard work and very little inventiveness, it will all fall in our laps. Politicians play on this myth like crazy. If they can couple it with religion, all the better - you know, rich man can't get into heaven, meek will inherit the earth, proseprity's around the corner BS.

The median income for a family of 4 in this country is IIRC around $44k. Ergo, $88k is twice the national average.

Only 3 PERCENT of American housholds enjoy a 6-figure income or higher. THREE PERCENT!!

The standard for buying a home used to be that you could afford a 30-year mortgage if the price of the home equalled no more than two years of your gross annual income. That would mean that the price for an average home in the USA should be just under $90,000 for the average family of 4. Does anyone think that's true? Well, if you want to live in a shack and drive a car that still uses leaded gas, I guess that would work out!

No, $88k is NOT a great salary in this day and age. But the fact remains that for the MAJORITY of Americans such a sum would be equivalent to a king's ransom.