One thing to remember is that everyone thinks they're "middle class".
Even the corporate VP making half a million dollars thinks she's middle class.
Even the corporate VP making half a million dollars thinks she's middle class.
it's more obvious then to see that the 20-80% middle class standard of living has unambigously become more stressed, debt-laden, fearful, and immobile over the last 50 years, while the 1% has become much freer in all dimensions.
we need to bring that back into balance (which is not perfectly equal distributions by the way).
Friedrich Merz, a politician of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, but purged by her years ago, is trying to become next party chief and chancellor.
He is a board member of Blackrock. A lobbyist, and a successful business lawyer. He owns private airplanes.
Yet, in a much laughed about interview, he claimed to belong to the "upper middle class".
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/business/france-blackrock...
In a capitalist society, class is determined by ownership of, and your relationship to, capital.
Conversely, except in SV, everyone I know that pulls over $300k thinks they're rich.