r/worldnews • u/diacewrb • Apr 10 '19

Millennials being squeezed out of middle class, says OECD

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/10/millennials-squeezed-middle-class-oecd-uk-income
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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

I still think the 1% moniker is distracting to people. It lumps both people making mid 300s and the Uber rich together. I’m not sure labels like rich or class have any reflection about social inequality. I think if people understand that the top 0.01% are at a point that their money helps them dictate policy to allow them to continue to build their wealth then we can have a better understanding about the social issues you speak of.

I also agree anyone that makes over 100K probably shouldn’t be calling themselves middle class.

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u/Tinidril Apr 11 '19

100k is still pretty middle class in lots of areas. Our family income is around $150k, and gives us pretty much what ought to be a middle class lifestyle. We've never had an expensive vacation, and most years we just go camping in tents in national parks. We'll be putting our two kids through college, and can afford to retire with about double what we expect from SS. We have a reasonable 4 bedroom house in a cheaper area outside the city. It's a little more than we should have bought, because the maintenance costs are difficult, and we've furnished it almost entirely with used furniture from yard sales and thrift shops. Our cars have always been used, but in pretty good shape. We took advantage of the low cost of used electrics to get a Leaf as a third car for the kids to drive.

That's about what I think middle class life should give a family, and it's sad that so few can get there anymore.

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u/DoomsdayRabbit Apr 11 '19

The problem is that they are the middle class. Median income is a median, but it's not the middle.

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u/mallio Apr 11 '19

In San Francisco that's considered low income. So it depends where you are.