How much money does it take to be a "have" in today's America?

[Skidmore]

Seriously, how do we frame this for the people who think they're rich or near rich and really aren't? Do we use the median income? An average? A percentage of a range of incomes--say up to $500K?

[Yollam]

1. The top 30% or so, IMO.

Many of whom don't consider themselves to be well-off. They think everyone has their kids in private schools, a McMansion with central vacuum, maids, etc.

[LSparkle]

3. I agree -- everyone "thinks" they're middle class

when in reality many of them are what I would consider rich. I think your characterization (private schools, maids) is a good indication. Heck, in my own personal estimation, anybody who can afford to own a home is what I'd consider at least "upper middle class" in this economy.

[Odin2005]

19. People don't want to admit they are poor...

...because right wing spin has made poor = lazy and calvinism has made poor = condemned to hell

[ComerPerro]

16. Even the top 30% don't have that much

there is a dramatic difference between the people just in that top 30% and those who are in the to 1%. Usually by at least a factor of ten.

In many cases, people who have "made it" are barely getting by.

[Yollam]

20. That's because they live extravagantly.

My mom is one of them. She doesn't think she's rich, but between her and her husband, they easily make 6 figures, and living in El Paso, TX that goes a long way. But they have to have a stylish hilltop home, a maid come in twice a week, two late-model cars, they go on at least one pleasure trip a year - places like Costa Rica, Europe, and that's not mentioning the many junkets they take for work. They have basically no savings, except for house equity.

That's not getting by. It's living like a pig and crying poverty.

[hwmnbn]

2. If you have to ask, .....

you don't have enough.

Most people, even "comfortable" ones, will eventually get screwed. The poor get screwed right away.

[jaxx]

8. Color me poor.

Or close enough. A McMansion is out of reach, thank god the kids are grown cause they'd be in public school, retirement will be at age 66 and however many months they tack on to that. I think I'm mainstream.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

4. Not really "our kind of people" but thanks for keeping us in power.

AKA You aren't rich enough to vote for these Republicans.

If you make less than $10million/year, you do NOT qualify as a "have" in this bushworld. Anyone who thinks they are rich making $500000/year is just a wannabe. May sound like a lot of money to some, but, realistically, these people don't even rate in the crony-filled, robber-baron world of this administration.

[OKNancy]

5. I suppose a lot depends on where you live

I'm always shocked when I see some of those home remodeling shows at how much some housing costs elsewhere in the country.

I would say if you have enough left over each month to save and invest that would make you a "have".

[GrumpyGreg]

9. That's it in a nutshell. the median home price in my city is

$650,000.00

[MissB]

6. You are a "have" when your money works for you

rather than working for your money. There really isn't a median income or average.

For someone who makes $25k a year, they're going to think that someone making $125k is filthy fucking rich. Not true- the person making the six figure salary is still working towards that end goal.

It is the people that have so much money to burn that they can go out and spend $100k at one boutique that are the "haves".

[chascaz]

11. And you have to be able to afford bribes and lobbyists...

In order to "have" any representation these daze.

Peac - :)

[Warpy]

7. To be counted in the upper 0.5% of weatlh holders, the super rich

takes a minimum of $10,000,000. To qualify as middle class takes a minimum yearly salary in the low six figures for a couple without children, in the mid six figures for a couple with children. The real poverty level, adjusting the food budget from 1/3 of a family's budget to a more realistic 1/6, is about $36,000. The working class is anywhere between that and six figures.

The rich have managed to define us all down one class. The "rich" are now the middle class, the middle class are now the working class, the working class are now poor, and the poor are now destitute.

[Skidmore]

12. Gulp!!! By your definitions, we are poor,

and I thought we had finally made it to middle class. We make 4x what my mother was earning at the time of her death and I grew up dirt poor.

[Karenina]

14. Warpy nails it.

Rule of thumb, if you DEPEND on a salary, whether it's 12,000 or 120,000 you are NOT "rich." If you cannot live comfortably and indefinitely off the interest or dividends of your investments YOU ARE NOT RICH. Americans are too wrapped up in their consumerism to understand this.

[movonne]

10. I think that also we have to cut down on buying, buying and buying.Then

maybe we can stretch our meager finances to stay alive...

[Cleita]

13. I once worked for the Trust Department of a large bank in

Beverly Hills. Then it was and still is a center of most of the money in the west. We turned down estates of less that a million dollars as being too paltry and not worth our time. In today's money, it would be about ten million.

A lot of people make the mistake that income indicates wealth. Nothing could be further from the truth. Real wealth is assets, bank accounts, real estate, stock holding and bond holdings. People with real wealth derive income from their wealth. It's the principle that counts to make you wealthy. If you can get a million a year income from your assets then you could consider yourself to be wealthy by today's standards.

I often think that people like Bush and Cheney shouldn't even take salaries to serve their country because they are so wealthy already. Bush probably gives his salary to the twins for an allowance so they can party at tax payers expense. Many rich people do this if they have jobs, usually as a CEO of one of their companies. They give their salaries to relatives as an allowance.

[Mr.Green93]

15. Real wealth is assets.......

And that is why we need a Wealth Tax.

[Wcross]

17. We don't need a wealth tax- we need to re-write the tax code.

First and foremost- NO CREATIVE TAX SHELTERS.
Every penny that comes in is taxed at a certain rate. I think the current rate system would work well at even lower percentages if people couldn't shelter income.
Remember Leona Helmsly(probably spelled it wrong)- Taxes are for the little people. Why do the rich hire accountants if it didn't pay? There are so many tax dodges and shelters written into the tax code it isn't funny. It is a sad commentary on our tax code when a tax attorney can make a living.

[Cleita]

18. Good luck with that. The rich would just hide their assets

overseas away from the prying eyes of the IRS. I saw it happen in South America. Although I do think there should be a way to get them to cough up more in taxes than the middle class and poor do.