4 ms·

It's worth noting the median income in around $60k per household, not individual. That's split between single income households and dual income households. A la

It's worth noting the median income in around $60k per household, not individual. That's split between single income households and dual income households. A large (and growing) portion of households are dual income and $60k is roughly equivalent to two people in minimum wage, or slightly above wage, jobs. Being single in the Bay Area and making $100k as a software developer and jokingly "feeling poor" is not the same as being middle class. It's not even in the same realm of possibilities for most middle class people. I know that most people don't think about the people who make their coffee, butcher their meat, bring gasoline to their gas stations, package their products, stock shelves, and deliver their Amazon packages… but these are people. This is the "silent majority" of America. These aren't all young people doing temp jobs for the summer. These are people in their 30's and 40's living paycheck to paycheck working their ass off to support their kids.

hakka-nyu-su 7y ago
Doesn't this "silent majority" get disproportionate political power in America due to the constitution's bias towards rural, White states (by, e.g. the senate and electoral college)? Rent and other living expenses are also much higher in the Bay Area than in, say, Montana. So a dollar-to-dollar comparison that doesn't consider purchasing power isn't very useful.
- themagician 7y ago
  It does give them disproportionate political power. But they’ve not had much choice in recent times because the political establishment ignores them. All Trump had to do to win was acknowledge they exist. It is useful. It’s not like you don’t get anything for living in San Francisco. Wealthy people love to pretend like their is some kind of equivalence in terms of lifestyle because the big coastal cities are so expensive to live in. But they aren’t arbitrarily expensive. You pay more money and you get more things—things that people in Montana don’t have access to. You get access to jobs, technology, amazing food, cheap international flights, public transit, museums, parks, amazing weather, the list goes on and on. Making $100k in San Francisco still gets you $100k worth of stuff. Making $50k in Montana still gets you only $50k worth of stuff. Different stuff, but not even close to equivalent lifestyles. You’re not magically middle class just because you happen to make $120,000/yr and live in a $3,000/mo apartment. Do you realize how insane that sounds?

hakka-nyu-su 7y ago

Doesn't this "silent majority" get disproportionate political power in America due to the constitution's bias towards rural, White states (by, e.g. the senate and electoral college)? Rent and other living expenses are also much higher in the Bay Area than in, say, Montana. So a dollar-to-dollar comparison that doesn't consider purchasing power isn't very useful.

themagician 7y ago
It does give them disproportionate political power. But they’ve not had much choice in recent times because the political establishment ignores them. All Trump had to do to win was acknowledge they exist. It is useful. It’s not like you don’t get anything for living in San Francisco. Wealthy people love to pretend like their is some kind of equivalence in terms of lifestyle because the big coastal cities are so expensive to live in. But they aren’t arbitrarily expensive. You pay more money and you get more things—things that people in Montana don’t have access to. You get access to jobs, technology, amazing food, cheap international flights, public transit, museums, parks, amazing weather, the list goes on and on. Making $100k in San Francisco still gets you $100k worth of stuff. Making $50k in Montana still gets you only $50k worth of stuff. Different stuff, but not even close to equivalent lifestyles. You’re not magically middle class just because you happen to make $120,000/yr and live in a $3,000/mo apartment. Do you realize how insane that sounds?