I was listing to an NPR show the other day that basically said most of the people that think they are middle-class are actually working-class. They basically said the true middle-class are the people who control large companies. The upper class or wealthy own the company, the middle-class would be those that occupy the top-tiers organizationally of these companies. Everyone else would make up the working-class - both white- and blue-collar workers.

I know quite a few people who make more than six figures who consider themselve to be working-class rather than middle-class.

erin

www.frugalgirl.blogspot.com

That does seem to make sense. Here is a further description of the class system in the United States.

There's a lot of mythology about the rich. (They're not like you or I.) It's the movies. People have an unrealistic image of the rich. I remember when a bunch of us cashed out $1M+ during the boom. You think it's cool for a while, but then you realize you still have to work, then you forget about it. Also: it's never enough.

Good points, Anonymous. $1M "sure ain't what it used to be" but it would sure be nice to cash one out nevertheless.

In our society, it seems like the more you have, the more you spend. So while a family with a household income of $125,000 may be considered wealthy by the government, they may only really have as much disposable income as someone who makes $35,000 a year because they're spending more of it on things like their house and cars. This makes them feel no more wealthy than anyone else. Also, a household income of $125,000 means that with two wage earners, each of them is making a salary that could be considered more in-line with what middle-class earners are making. This makes them, individually, feel more like they are middle class. And yes, I do think that television and movies have distorted our image of wealthy. If you don't live in a huge mansion and have a nice garage of cars, you're just another working bum...