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> So in a good (great even) place, but certainly not the same world as what comes to mind when people say "1 percenter". Yes, it is. > High income doesn't rea

by CPLX 7y ago

> So in a good (great even) place, but certainly not the same world as what comes to mind when people say "1 percenter". Yes, it is. > High income doesn't really mean upper class. Yes it does. Making 10x the annual average family income makes you upper class. That’s what the words mean. The cognitive dissonance you’re experiencing here is not that the rest of the world is confused about the obvious fact that the top 1% is way above average, it’s that you’re confused about where the average is.

leetcrew 7y ago
"upper class" means whatever people use it to mean, hopefully something that's useful to the discussion at hand. NFL players get paid very high salaries, but the average career is only three years. many of them blow through it and have only meager pensions and the aftermath of injuries to look forward to in their old age. are they "upper class" for the brief part of their life when they have the cash flow or just an edge case of the exploited worker?
- CPLX 7y ago
  > are they "upper class" for the brief part of their life when they have the cash Yes. Highly paid professional athletes are upper class.
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    They’re usually just rich working or middle class people.
TheDong 7y ago
High income doesn't mean upper class as much as a large amount of wealth does. There are many people who have modest incomes, but high wealth. Those people are upper class. On the other hand, there are a small number of people with high income, but who have a lot of drains on their money (support a large family, donate a lot), and who I would not consider upper class because they do not have a large amount of wealth
chrisseaton 7y ago
> Making 10x the annual average family income makes you upper class. That’s what the words mean. No it doesn’t! You can be a millionaire but still be from the working class.
- CPLX 7y ago
  Being a millionaire does not quality you for the top 1%
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    I didn’t say it did - you’re imagining that. I said being in the 1% doesn’t make you upper class.
vinceguidry 7y ago
> Yes it does. Making 10x the annual average family income makes you upper class. That’s what the words mean. No that's not what the words mean. Social class is what circle you run in. It's what kind of car you can see yourself driving. It's how you think about financial security. It's what rec activities you think about doing. It's how you get involved politically. Income is only a tiny part of that equation. You can be upper class and dirt poor. And you can be lower class and have millions in the bank. Don't use class to refer to wealth or income. These three concepts are totally different and can exist independently of each other. It's not your fault you don't understand this. America failed you.

by CPLX 7y ago

leetcrew 7y ago

"upper class" means whatever people use it to mean, hopefully something that's useful to the discussion at hand. NFL players get paid very high salaries, but the average career is only three years. many of them blow through it and have only meager pensions and the aftermath of injuries to look forward to in their old age. are they "upper class" for the brief part of their life when they have the cash flow or just an edge case of the exploited worker?

CPLX 7y ago
> are they "upper class" for the brief part of their life when they have the cash Yes. Highly paid professional athletes are upper class.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  They’re usually just rich working or middle class people.

TheDong 7y ago

High income doesn't mean upper class as much as a large amount of wealth does. There are many people who have modest incomes, but high wealth. Those people are upper class. On the other hand, there are a small number of people with high income, but who have a lot of drains on their money (support a large family, donate a lot), and who I would not consider upper class because they do not have a large amount of wealth

chrisseaton 7y ago

> Making 10x the annual average family income makes you upper class. That’s what the words mean. No it doesn’t! You can be a millionaire but still be from the working class.

CPLX 7y ago
Being a millionaire does not quality you for the top 1%
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  I didn’t say it did - you’re imagining that. I said being in the 1% doesn’t make you upper class.

vinceguidry 7y ago

> Yes it does. Making 10x the annual average family income makes you upper class. That’s what the words mean. No that's not what the words mean. Social class is what circle you run in. It's what kind of car you can see yourself driving. It's how you think about financial security. It's what rec activities you think about doing. It's how you get involved politically. Income is only a tiny part of that equation. You can be upper class and dirt poor. And you can be lower class and have millions in the bank. Don't use class to refer to wealth or income. These three concepts are totally different and can exist independently of each other. It's not your fault you don't understand this. America failed you.