5 ms·

This is, of course, good news for many families of current and/future Stanford students. That being said, the upper middle class continues to get screwed in th

This is, of course, good news for many families of current and/future Stanford students. That being said, the upper middle class continues to get screwed in this country. UMC produces most of the GNP, and pays most of the taxes (sorry no carried interest tax loopholes available to those who draw salaries), and then we still have to pay these crazy tuition fees. The oligarchs, of course, don't care who much college costs be it 0$K, $100K or $200K year. Any at cost basis, it just doesn't make a dent in their wallet. Down with the oligarchs!

jsprogrammer 12y ago
The poor upper middle class. Always getting screwed.
- ausjke 12y ago
  The UMC is also the most hard-working class, who is carefully taking responsibilities for their families etc. And guess what, it's the most exploited/punished/screwed class by either tax system or zero-tuition policy like this. it looks like getting divorced, or one couple quitting job before kids are going to apply for college, or having unlimited kids, are the right strategies for the best colleges application than otherwise. I actually know one family did just that, the college-educated mid-age mom quit her job so her daughter got all the financial support from Harvard, and she is walking her dog on the community daily to stay fit now(instead of working). I am not sure if she will be back to work after 4 years when her kid graduates. Basically, the more screwed your (family) situation is, the more helps are there for you for free, even for the most prestigious universities admission! only the sky is the limit.
  - geographomics 12y ago
    > The UMC is also the most hard-working class, who is carefully taking responsibilities for their families etc. I very much doubt the veracity of this broad generalisation. Indeed I'd be most surprised if there was any correlation between hard work and socioeconomic status, given that there are such a wide range of employment roles (including self-employed) in which one can work very hard, yet with such diverse financial rewards.
    - harryh 12y ago
      Prepare to be surprised: http://www.nber.org/digest/jul06/w11895.html http://www.nber.org/digest/jul06/w11895.html
      - geographomics 12y ago
        Interesting paper, thanks for the link. However, I do wonder to what extent the extra hours are voluntary, and if this definition relates to working harder (rather than longer).
    - jsprogrammer 12y ago
      There's also the conveniently undefined term 'hard-working'. It's likely too difficult to compare 'work hardness' across 'jobs'. Does a farm laborer who gets paid less than minimum wage and spends every day toiling in the fields really work 'less hard' than a lawyer who bills 60 hours a week from his air-conditioned office that he commutes to in his BMW from the suburbs? I doubt it.
  - vacri 12y ago
    And yet, despite being screwed, they're still above the rest of the middle class and the working class. If it's really that onerous, take a pay cut and enjoy a drop to the MMC or LMC. Or join the working class. They don't pay much (individually) in the way of taxes, so apparently they're not screwed much. Life would be pretty sweet there!
claar 12y ago
Yeah, I feel pretty bad for the top 13% wage earners in the US (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one-percent-map.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one-p...). They really have it rough.
- mg1982 12y ago
  http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Huskrrrr/media/worlds-smallest-violin.jpg.html http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Huskrrrr/media/worlds-small...
bdcravens 12y ago
There has to be a cut-off somewhere. Too many hand-outs would destroy the values that enables a person to get to be upper middle class.
harryh 12y ago
I challenge you to provide evidence supporting your "most of the taxes" claim.
- BrandonMarc 12y ago
  Try this, for 2011 numbers: http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-earners http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-e... This chart summarizes decades of numbers pretty well: http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5033e3e3ecad049417000002-1200/here-are-the-income-taxes-paid-by-the-respective-income-percentiles-note-how-little-the-bottom-half-pay-blue-note-how-much-more-as-a-percentage-of-the-whole-the-top-5-are-paying.jpg http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5033e3e3ecad0494170... ... it's from this article, which gives lots more detail: http://www.businessinsider.com/who-pays-taxes-2012-8?op=1 http://www.businessinsider.com/who-pays-taxes-2012-8?op=1
stephencanon 12y ago
Any lower-class parent would be delighted to have the money to contribute to their child's education. Stop worrying that someone else might be getting a better deal than you are and be happy you can afford it. Why does it upset that someone else is getting help? Be happy for them and be glad you don't need it, and get on with your life.

jsprogrammer 12y ago

The poor upper middle class. Always getting screwed.

ausjke 12y ago
The UMC is also the most hard-working class, who is carefully taking responsibilities for their families etc. And guess what, it's the most exploited/punished/screwed class by either tax system or zero-tuition policy like this. it looks like getting divorced, or one couple quitting job before kids are going to apply for college, or having unlimited kids, are the right strategies for the best colleges application than otherwise. I actually know one family did just that, the college-educated mid-age mom quit her job so her daughter got all the financial support from Harvard, and she is walking her dog on the community daily to stay fit now(instead of working). I am not sure if she will be back to work after 4 years when her kid graduates. Basically, the more screwed your (family) situation is, the more helps are there for you for free, even for the most prestigious universities admission! only the sky is the limit.
- geographomics 12y ago
  > The UMC is also the most hard-working class, who is carefully taking responsibilities for their families etc. I very much doubt the veracity of this broad generalisation. Indeed I'd be most surprised if there was any correlation between hard work and socioeconomic status, given that there are such a wide range of employment roles (including self-employed) in which one can work very hard, yet with such diverse financial rewards.
  - harryh 12y ago
    Prepare to be surprised: http://www.nber.org/digest/jul06/w11895.html http://www.nber.org/digest/jul06/w11895.html
    - geographomics 12y ago
      Interesting paper, thanks for the link. However, I do wonder to what extent the extra hours are voluntary, and if this definition relates to working harder (rather than longer).
  - jsprogrammer 12y ago
    There's also the conveniently undefined term 'hard-working'. It's likely too difficult to compare 'work hardness' across 'jobs'. Does a farm laborer who gets paid less than minimum wage and spends every day toiling in the fields really work 'less hard' than a lawyer who bills 60 hours a week from his air-conditioned office that he commutes to in his BMW from the suburbs? I doubt it.
- vacri 12y ago
  And yet, despite being screwed, they're still above the rest of the middle class and the working class. If it's really that onerous, take a pay cut and enjoy a drop to the MMC or LMC. Or join the working class. They don't pay much (individually) in the way of taxes, so apparently they're not screwed much. Life would be pretty sweet there!

claar 12y ago

Yeah, I feel pretty bad for the top 13% wage earners in the US (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one-percent-map.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/business/one-p...). They really have it rough.

mg1982 12y ago
http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Huskrrrr/media/worlds-smallest-violin.jpg.html http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Huskrrrr/media/worlds-small...

bdcravens 12y ago

There has to be a cut-off somewhere. Too many hand-outs would destroy the values that enables a person to get to be upper middle class.

harryh 12y ago

I challenge you to provide evidence supporting your "most of the taxes" claim.

BrandonMarc 12y ago
Try this, for 2011 numbers: http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-earners http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-e... This chart summarizes decades of numbers pretty well: http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5033e3e3ecad049417000002-1200/here-are-the-income-taxes-paid-by-the-respective-income-percentiles-note-how-little-the-bottom-half-pay-blue-note-how-much-more-as-a-percentage-of-the-whole-the-top-5-are-paying.jpg http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5033e3e3ecad0494170... ... it's from this article, which gives lots more detail: http://www.businessinsider.com/who-pays-taxes-2012-8?op=1 http://www.businessinsider.com/who-pays-taxes-2012-8?op=1

stephencanon 12y ago

Any lower-class parent would be delighted to have the money to contribute to their child's education. Stop worrying that someone else might be getting a better deal than you are and be happy you can afford it. Why does it upset that someone else is getting help? Be happy for them and be glad you don't need it, and get on with your life.