I'm in a similar situation to you, but: * One year out of college, you're in the top 30% of the US: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one-

I'm in a similar situation to you, but: * One year out of college, you're in the top 30% of the US: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one-percent-map.html http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one-p... * You didn't mention loans, so I'm assuming you were able to graduate college mostly or completely debt-free Just these two points mean you're doing better than most people in the US, and much better than most people in the world. You never have to worry about about food or shelter, you have plenty of disposable income, you can support your family. Your comment seems to be phrased as "I'm as average guy, and I can be happy with what I have", but you're not average. 80K is "tons of money" for most Americans your age, most people aren't so comfortable that they never have to worry about money, most people can't throw away $100 a month without noticing. So you're right, discussion about inequality does need a context, but your context is that you're well into the top half of society.