tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post112808760593598512..comments2023-11-18T01:21:55.631-05:00Comments on My Open Wallet: From the clipping files...Madame Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11536189690094235926noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-1128115748353021472005-09-30T17:29:00.000-04:002005-09-30T17:29:00.000-04:00I totally agree that it's hard to discuss this wit...I totally agree that it's hard to discuss this without recognizing our position in relation to other countries. It goes without saying that even the poorest Americans are still better off than many people in the rest of the world, and definitely someone at my income level is incredibly fortunate by almost any yardstick. My point is that our nation defines itself around the idea of a middle class life being available to almost everyone-- a middle class life being defined as owning a home and a car or two, cable TV, decent meals, clothes, school supplies, maybe a trip to Disneyland at least once in your life, and the ability to retire before the age of 70. Somewhere above that begins "wealth", and somewhere below that begins "poverty". Our politicians like to put America on a pedestal and say our system is the one that works the best, and one of their arguments might be to say, look, only 12% of our country is poor! Everybody else is doing great! But that is based on a definition of poverty that sets the bar too low. I think there is too huge a gap between that stereotypical middle class life and what a family of 4 earning $19,000 can afford. Even a people earning $50,000 or in some areas even $80,000 can't have all those things without getting into credit card debt, etc. I guess my point is that we should define our poverty level more accurately in relation to the way we define our supposed high standard of living.Madame Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11536189690094235926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-1128113696995096372005-09-30T16:54:00.000-04:002005-09-30T16:54:00.000-04:00'I feel like even people at my income level have t...'I feel like even people at my income level have to struggle to have what most Americans see as a middle-class lifestyle.'<BR/><BR/>I have conflicting feelings about that topic myself. It's tough to get by sometimes but then I think that 98% of the world would kill to have the kind of life I have now. <BR/><BR/>I guess it's all a matter of proportion. We live in a wealthy nation so cost of living is higher so we need to make more money to get by. The feelings are still odd to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com