ok, hopefully we can have a civil discussion....(yea right)
So from the Dems I hear a lot of the "empowering the middle class" speak. In Phil Angelides succession speak last night he mentioned this again and how he still would like to "see the middle class empowered...a California for the many, not the few"
So the question is what is middle class?
From where I sit they/me look to be doing fine. No empowering needed. The working poor are the ones that need help, but I don't see anyone taking up their cause...just the cause of the middle class.
From wikipedia
"As mentioned above another theory attempting to define the vague intellectual concept that is the middle class, states that only professionals and those who would otherwise be considered upper middle class are actually middle class. According to this theory the vast majority of Americans are identified as being working class while the middle class is seen as a modern petite bourgeoisie.[3] Today many experts and writers state that the middle class or at least those with lifestyles indicative of the American middle class constitutes only a minority of the population,[6][1] and is in terms of privilege and influence closer to the top of society than the bottom or the working class majority.
In this case the middle class consists of professionals who are largely paid to conceptualize, create, and manage and therefore have some degree of influence of the workings of society and their organizations.[3] These professionals usually have incomes that rank considerable above the average wage and have had the benefit of an advanced post-secondary education, which also entitles them to a high degree of economic security.[3] This theory defines the middle class as being in the middle between the top and the working class majority in terms of power, education, and wealth. Recent studies indicating that the actual middle of the income strata cannot afford the lifestyle indicative of the middle class has lend support to the notion of the middle class as a quasi-elite.[6]
According to this chat middle class is $40,000-$100,000. I'm not sure people with that kind of income are that bad off. Other charts show middle income at $34,738. So when they talk about tax breaks for the Rich, their talking about people who make more than $34,748??? (Not exactly Rockefeller money)
Any insight?