How Many of Those who Self-Identify as Middle Class Are ACTUALLY Middle Class?
@mythociate (21432)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
September 27, 2012 8:30am CST
Presidential-candidate Mitt Romney says he wants to help the middle class. But 80% of Americans self-identify as middle class.
I'm wondering then how one is defined as 'middle class,' and why Americans don't think more-highly of themselves?
I also wonder whether Romney would still champion 'middle class' if Americans DID think more-highly of themselves and -if the 80% self-identified as upper-upper class instead, but that might be for another discussion.
I'm just wondering why most people think of themselves as middle class.
5 responses
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
29 Sep 12
Middle class is a number. A potentially reachable number. Of course Americans, for the most part, can not identify with being upper class because of the opportunity level that there is to reach that. You hear references to winning the lottery but for the most part people understand that there is a barrier to the upper class criteria. Now the middle class, however, means that you make a certain amount a year and can survive current conditions. Reachable..a goal. I do, however, think that alot of people that identify with middle class are not middle class at all. They are told they are, but they are really struggling right now to be in that middle class criteria. Standards of living have been changing for some time now.
@mythociate (21432)
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
30 Sep 12
Yep, and I think that's part of what Romney was talking about when he was calling most Obama-supporters "Government-Moochers."
@maximo516 (32)
• Netherlands
27 Sep 12
i think middle class is the average income of a person?
Like here (holland) its average if you earn around 29000 per year thats the average income which i guess is middle class?
@mythociate (21432)
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
27 Sep 12
I think middle-class is more like the most-common 'real wage' (talked-about by economist John Maynard Keynes)---more-like 'how much you spend' ... i.e. if you make 10000 a day but your daily-rent is almost that much, you have a low 'real wage' (I think; you can 'Search the Web' for "Keynes, economics, wages" etc. and check on it for me)
@peavey (16936)
• United States
27 Sep 12
What are the alternatives? Lower class and upper class both are negatively seen. Who wants to identify with a lower class citizen and who, in this political environment, wants to identify with the upper class? (Although 99% of politicians are upper class according to their income.)
I can't find a real definition of middle class. Class doesn't have as much to do with real income as it does a way of life and most of America lives like... well, like middle class people do.
@marguicha (223006)
• Chile
15 Dec 12
I imagine that this is name has to do with statistics for each country. There are minimum achievements for each class. I also thing that, as in all statistical numbers, there is a curve (the Gauss curve) that shows a range of what we can call "middle class" as a whole. It does not have to do only with money, but also with education and with the way we spend the money we earn.
@WakeUpKitty (8694)
• Netherlands
27 Sep 12
Quess it depends on what you see as middle class. Your income, income(s) of you and your partner? The way you are educated? It's proved most people (esp. men) lie about their earnings so perhaps that is why many say (see) themselves as middle class? Most of us are not that happy to admit they belong to the underclass (= underdog = losers = poor people). BTW I doubt if the society is helped by a presidential-candidate who says he wants to help the middle class. How about the big under class?
