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eridani

(51,907 posts) Sat Dec 20, 2014, 07:23 PM Dec 2014

Insanely Rich People Insisting They’re Just Average Joes: Only in America

http://inthesetimes.com/article/17473/jack_lew_is_rich

By Treasury Secretary Jack Lew's reckoning, being a millionaire does not constitute living high above the ranks of ordinary people. Lew said last week that back when he was in the private sector enjoying six- and seven-figure pay packages, “My own compensation was never in the stratosphere.”

Lew made that pronouncement as he sought to defend President Barack Obama's embattled Treasury undersecretary nominee Antonio Weiss from charges that as a financial executive, he is out of touch with the interests of regular people. Lew was seeking to cast his own lot with the ranks of ordinary Americans at a time of growing economic inequality.

But in doing so, Lew shed light on a uniquely American phenomenon—the tendency of extraordinarily rich people to cast themselves as everyday members of the middle class.

Earlier this year, for example, Hillary Clinton made headlines when, in response to a question about her personal fortune, she claimed her family was “dead broke” when they left the White House. That statement followed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aide casting those making $500,000 a year as merely upper middle class.

According to IRS data, 99 percent of American households make less than $388,000 a year, and 95 percent make less than $167,000 a year. The true middle in terms of income—that is, the cutoff to be in the top 50 percent of earners—is roughly $35,000 a year.

While Lew claims his private-sector compensation was not “in the stratosphere,” the data suggest otherwise.

9 replies

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Insanely Rich People Insisting They’re Just Average Joes: Only in America (Original Post) eridani Dec 2014 OP

The problem is that the ultra, ultra rich are SO rich Warpy Dec 2014 #1

Actually, to be in the top 10% of income a household needs to be earning $118,200 per year. Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #2

Read my post Warpy Dec 2014 #3

When you said "it's working poor, and that's where 90% of us are stuck" Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #4

Boy do I agree with you. airplaneman Dec 2014 #8

In the area I live PowerToThePeople Dec 2014 #5

I wonder how often the Secretary's wife serves up hamburger pscot Dec 2014 #6

The wealthy suffer from a condition I call "class sciopathy". They really don't understand why rhett o rick Dec 2014 #7

Jack Lew could use a one way ride in the tumbrel. JEB Dec 2014 #9

Warpy

(111,339 posts)

1. The problem is that the ultra, ultra rich are SO rich

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 07:37 PM

Dec 2014

Compare that $35,000 per year to the billion or three a year some hedge fund guys are raking in and that "median wage" becomes utterly meaningless and there is no way anyone making the median can possibly afford any of what we usually associate with being middle class---owning a home, being able to educate the kids, being able to invest for retirement. For that, you need three times that much and only if the kids go to state schools with partial scholarships and you're not really particular about the house.

Being 2 or 3 paychecks away from disaster is not middle class. I'm not even sure it's working class any more, it's working poor and that's where 90% of us are stuck.

Nye Bevan

(25,406 posts)

2. Actually, to be in the top 10% of income a household needs to be earning $118,200 per year.

Reply to Warpy (Reply #1)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 07:40 PM

Dec 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluence_in_the_United_States

And I don't think it's fair to say that every household earning below $118,200 can be considered "working poor".

Warpy

(111,339 posts)

3. Read my post

Reply to Nye Bevan (Reply #2)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 07:42 PM

Dec 2014

I didn't, either.

That's your straw man.

Now go out and play with him.

Nye Bevan

(25,406 posts)

4. When you said "it's working poor, and that's where 90% of us are stuck"

Reply to Warpy (Reply #3)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 07:45 PM

Dec 2014

did that not imply that 90% of people should be considered "working poor"?

airplaneman

(1,240 posts)

8. Boy do I agree with you.

Reply to Warpy (Reply #1)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 09:24 PM

Dec 2014

I don's see how living at $35K can't be anything but a whole lot of stress let alone allowing one to even think they are middle class.
-Airplane

PowerToThePeople

(9,610 posts)

5. In the area I live

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 07:45 PM

Dec 2014

the cutoff (in my mind) between working poor and lower middle class is about 50,000/year. At that rate, you can save some money so you are not living paycheck to paycheck, keep your vehicle in good running order, and afford to live in a decent part of town with good schools. Obviously in other areas of the country, the income needed to do these things will be different. 50,000 in my area is fairly well above the median income.

pscot

(21,024 posts)

6. I wonder how often the Secretary's wife serves up hamburger

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 07:48 PM

Dec 2014

helper because a pound of ground meat has to feed 4. The guy needs a dope slap.

rhett o rick

(55,981 posts)

7. The wealthy suffer from a condition I call "class sciopathy". They really don't understand why

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 07:57 PM

Dec 2014

poor people aren't happy. While they amass their wealth, they don't recognize that a lot of the wealth is zero-sum. They are literally taking money away from the lower classes.

I guess Pres Obama had no choice but to appoint ass-holes like Lew and Weiss.

JEB

(4,748 posts)

9. Jack Lew could use a one way ride in the tumbrel.

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sun Dec 21, 2014, 04:40 PM

Dec 2014

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