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Trying to label everything in concrete terms like this does nobody any favors.
I know plenty of very high earners that are just stupid with money and blow it as fast as they get it. People making $300k+ and living paycheck to paycheck with no savings or retirement because they bought two $100k+ cars, overextended themselves on buying a house, spend hundreds a week on restaurants and shopping, etc.
Are they the “working poor”?
As far as working class goes, sure if you want to break it down into only a two class structure then yeah. You’re either working class or owner class. That ignores a lot of nuance though within the working class. There’s quite a bit of difference between someone at the bottom of the working class and someone like a high earning professional that still needs to work, but has a much higher standard of living.
But they ARE still a part of the working class. Thats kinda the point.
There’s quite a bit of difference between someone at the bottom of the working class and someone like a high earning professional that still needs to work, but has a much higher standard of living.
True. But they have much more in common with each other than they have with the owner class. We’re often fighting amongst ourselves while the billionaires are laughing all the way to the bank.
Yes, they are both closer to homelessnes, than being rich enough to not work.
That really depends. A landlord with 10-20 units and a management company may not have to work, but they have a lot more in common with the working class than they do the Waltons or Buffets in the owner class.
In terms of net worth, sure. 10-20 million dollars is pretty much a billion dollars away from being a billion. But in terms of paying taxes? Unearned income pays the least in taxes. Psychology? It depends. If they have big mortgages and have to do a lot of the work themselves and be really careful with money? Then they might not feel rich (and may actually have a low net worth). If they own it all outright and have a employees take care of it all? That’s pretty different.
People who make high incomes from wages/salary are still working class, as they don't own the capital. However the higher the income (relative to necessary living expenses, mind you) the more incentives they have to have interests more aligned with the Capitalist class and can become "class traitors".
But anyhow, 99% of the people who will read this post probably aren't making $300k