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Showing posts with the label income inequality

Middle Class, Schmiddle Class

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Everywhere I look these days someone is discussing the "downfall" of the middle class in America. This of course spirals into talk of how the economy will fail because we NEED the middle class. News anchors and bloggers are quick to blame the oppressive CEO's and the growing income inequality...but what is really going on and can it be fixed? First lets define middle class.  Middle class is often defined in terms of income.  The stats below are often what you will see if you flip on a T.V. Income stats from www.cnbc.com - Household of one: $24,042 to $72,126 - Household of  two : $34,000 to $102,001 - Household of  three : $41,641 to $124,925 - Household of  four : $48,083 to $144,251 - Household of  five : $53,759 to $161,277 Other studies indicate that middle class is measured by wealth.  If you have around $400,000 in assets then you may be considered middle class. Do you spend 38,000 - 50,000 annually?  Then you may be m...