4 ms·

> tly, it would be extremely reasonable to say someone can't have more than 8K in savings Even 8k is really not "middle class" at all. Middle class is "I have

by WWLink 2y ago

> tly, it would be extremely reasonable to say someone can't have more than 8K in savings Even 8k is really not "middle class" at all. Middle class is "I have 6 months to a year of income saved up in case of emergencies" and that isn't your 401k.

hollerith 2y ago
Socioeconomic class is not defined by assets, but rather by income or if you want to get a little more sophisticated (to cover the case of the young person about to graduate from medical school) potential to earn income. Of course, if you have enough assets, you can derive reliable investment income from those assets, but $8K of assets will not reliably generate enough income to matter when considering what class the person is. In other words, if you have $8K in assets, but zero potential to earn income from your labor, you definitely do not meet the bar for being middle class.
- hiatus 2y ago
  > Socioeconomic class is not defined by assets, but rather by income or if you want to get a little more sophisticated (to cover the case of the young person about to graduate from medical school) potential to earn income This doesn't make much sense to me. So a retired wealthy person who can draw income from investments is not upper class, even if they draw an income that would be considered middle class or lower?
  - hollerith 2y ago
    The point is that although income is not a perfect proxy for the nuanced thing that we mean by "socioeconomic class", it is a better proxy than net worth is.
    - hiatus 2y ago
      Why is it better if it can't account for things like inherited wealth? Are the descendants of billionaires not upper class at birth, with no income?
      - hollerith 2y ago
        It does account for the person who inherited $10 million or more because $10 million throws off at least $300,000 a year in reliable investment income, making that person upper class according to the income proxy.
  - WWLink 2y ago
    My standard for lower income class / middle income class / upper income class (not social, just income) is something along the lines of: Lower class: Has little or no savings, probably works a "gig" job that pays on 1099s. Maybe has several part time jobs. Middle class: Has 3-6+ months savings, the vast majority of their income is reported on a single W2 or 1099. Or they own a sole proprietorship kind of business. Either way, the majority of their income is coming from work or services. Net worth: Probably under $5M. Upper class: The vast majority of their income is reported as capital gains. Owns multiple real estate properties. Net worth: 5-$500M. Elite Upper class: I don't even know what to describe this as

by WWLink 2y ago

hollerith 2y ago

Socioeconomic class is not defined by assets, but rather by income or if you want to get a little more sophisticated (to cover the case of the young person about to graduate from medical school) potential to earn income. Of course, if you have enough assets, you can derive reliable investment income from those assets, but $8K of assets will not reliably generate enough income to matter when considering what class the person is. In other words, if you have $8K in assets, but zero potential to earn income from your labor, you definitely do not meet the bar for being middle class.

hiatus 2y ago
> Socioeconomic class is not defined by assets, but rather by income or if you want to get a little more sophisticated (to cover the case of the young person about to graduate from medical school) potential to earn income This doesn't make much sense to me. So a retired wealthy person who can draw income from investments is not upper class, even if they draw an income that would be considered middle class or lower?
- hollerith 2y ago
  The point is that although income is not a perfect proxy for the nuanced thing that we mean by "socioeconomic class", it is a better proxy than net worth is.
  - hiatus 2y ago
    Why is it better if it can't account for things like inherited wealth? Are the descendants of billionaires not upper class at birth, with no income?
    - hollerith 2y ago
      It does account for the person who inherited $10 million or more because $10 million throws off at least $300,000 a year in reliable investment income, making that person upper class according to the income proxy.
- WWLink 2y ago
  My standard for lower income class / middle income class / upper income class (not social, just income) is something along the lines of: Lower class: Has little or no savings, probably works a "gig" job that pays on 1099s. Maybe has several part time jobs. Middle class: Has 3-6+ months savings, the vast majority of their income is reported on a single W2 or 1099. Or they own a sole proprietorship kind of business. Either way, the majority of their income is coming from work or services. Net worth: Probably under $5M. Upper class: The vast majority of their income is reported as capital gains. Owns multiple real estate properties. Net worth: 5-$500M. Elite Upper class: I don't even know what to describe this as