Romney out of touch...thinks middle income is $200,000 - $250,000 per year

In an interview airing on Good Morning America this morning, Romney was asked if the middle income of Americans is $100,000, to which re replied.."No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000".

Is this guy serious? Is he so out of touch that he really thinks that is what the middle or average income is in the country he wants to be leader of? In fact, the middle income is only around $50,000 but I guess when you are worth billions, the difference between 50 grand and 250 grand isn't that much.

Romney out of touch...AGAIN

I know lots of folk who have a family income in that range. They are certainly not "living large." It depends on where you live. That amount in jerk-water Nevada would be fine. In San Francisco, $200k, for a family of four, might qualify you for food stamps.

You can barely make it on $100k these days... anywhere.

Yeah..... I'd have to agree with this one. He's as bad as anyone about failing to read his own homework before talking about it....

U.S. Census - Share of Income by each 1/5th of the population

Going by the second chart, I'd say around $60,000 is Middle Class these days and that sounds about right. Upper in some places and lower lower middle class in others.

Mitt does himself no favors by this as he claims to be a budget guru or something. At least don't make it obvious when he hasn't even read definitions one needs to understand the rest. Err.... ooops.

Oh, I'd say more like a family of four on 50,000 can have a fairly comfortable living, but again, depends where you live. I am in Oklahoma which has one of the lowest costs of living ranges in the country. Lots' of jobs coming here because of it to.

Ill make a 10k bet that a family of 4 could live perfectly well on 100k in ANY american city.

How can you expect a snob like Romney to understand REAL money

he's not that far off.

you want a nice house, 3 cars, and trips to rurope, you're not getting there on 100k

Originally posted by Q33323
I know lots of folk who have a family income in that range. They are certainly not "living large." It depends on where you live. That amount in jerk-water Nevada would be fine. In San Francisco, $200k, for a family of four, might qualify you for food stamps.

You can barely make it on $100k these days... anywhere.

Not true.

I live in Calgary, one of the most expensive places in North America to live and buy food, and I make roughly 65k a year, which is only about 1000$ a week clear in Canada.

Anyways, I have lots of bills, child, student loan, visa, house! and I live pretty decent and I think I'm Middle-Class.

So take it from there?

reply to post by Q33323



Are you kidding me? You must have grown up in a high income family, I'd consider 100K to be real wealthy. If my mom was making at least $10,000 more a year, putting her in the upper $20K range on 3 people we'd barely make it, but at least make it. Right now we're not making it, and she's still pulling through.

reply to post by SamLuv


Perhaps if they were frugal and ate PB&J sandwiches every meal, drove junker cars, owned "un"smart phones, didn't have cable television, no braces for Junior's "Ferengi-esque" teeth, took no vacations, and had no savings in the bank.

I'd say take your $10k and buy every ounce of silver you can get your hands on... quick!

340K puts you in the top 1%. His "middle income" is probably the 97th percentile or so...

From a different perspective, "middle class" has a certain definition that few will probably relate to. I listen to NPR, and it's interesting to see how the understanding of what it is to be "middle class" has changed over the years!

It could very well be that the top 5% are the only ones living as if they were middle class by standards but a generation ago.

Does that make sense, or should I rewrite it

Originally posted by Q33323
reply to post by SamLuv

 

Perhaps if they were frugal and ate PB&J sandwiches every meal, drove junker cars, owned "un"smart phones, didn't have cable television, no braces for Junior's "Ferengi-esque" teeth, took no vacations, and had no savings in the bank.

I'd say take your $10k and buy every ounce of silver you can get your hands on... quick!

Of course they want to ban PBJ now.....

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by CALGARIAN


With all due respect, if you're comfortable a that level, that's fine. I have found the more money you make, the more BS and STRESS you have to deal with.

I found my comfort zone near the aforementioned amount. But, both me and the wife have jobs with 20 years of experience in our fields.

Well that certain explains a lot.

it explains why politicians think that average americans can afford $5 a gallon gas
it explains why politicians think that average americans can afford to bail out the mega rich, and mega rich corporations.
it explains why the politicians think that average americans should be able to afford health insurance or be fined for not having it.
it explains why the politicians think that poor people aren`t really poor and don`t need welfare or foodstamps.
it explains why the politicians aren`t too worried about a 15 trillion debt, they think the average american has a 1/4 million annual income and are 1/4 of the way to being millionaires every year..

out of touch doesn`t even begin to describe what these politicians believe, delusional is probably a better description.
If he thinks that 1/4 million is middle class than he probably thinks that $100,000 and less is considered poor.That would explain why he thinks that poor people don`t need welfare and foodstamps and those programs should be cut.
I agree with him that people making $100,000 don`t need welfare and foodstamps, but unlike him i don`t consider someone making $100,000 to be poor.

I wonder if he and other politicians are so delusional that they don`t believe that there are a lot of people in this country who make less than $30,000 a year?

Here in Southern California, $200-$250,000 would be an appropriate income to live in a decent suburb and have a few nice trinkets (nice car or 3, a bit of disposable income, and some nice electronics), but California has an overall higher cost of living that most other states. Personally my houselold only makes about half what Romney thinks is middle class, and we are better off than many around us, yet I still fell pretty poor.

Romney must only know rich middle class people, although he probably thinks they're poor.

You are misrepresenting Romney's statement. He did not say middle income is between $200,000 and $250,000. Romney said middle income is less than $200,000 to $250,000. If you read the article you linked you will see that is what he said. Obama actually agrees with that statement having said middle income is below $250,000.

reply to post by Ratisch


Here is what was asked directly and answered:

During the interview Friday that Stephanopoulos asked Romney if he believes that “middle income” in the U.S. is around $100,000 per year.

“No,” Romney replied, “middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less.”

Raw Story (s.tt...)


When asked if $100,000 was middle, he said "No", and then said what he said. His comment implied to me that he thinks middle is 200-250,000, or less but obviously $100,000 sounded too low to him.

So he is out of touch.

So does that mean Obama is out of touch too for saying middle income is under $250,000?

But that isn't the point. If someone asks me if I considered myself to be middle income, I would so no. I consider myself to earn less the middle income, and I earn just a tad more the $100,000 a year. I don't believe Romney or Obama are out of touch by saying middle income is less than $250,000.

Originally posted by Ratisch

But that isn't the point. If someone asks me if I considered myself to be middle income, I would so no. I consider myself to earn less the middle income, and I earn just a tad more the $100,000 a year. I don't believe Romney or Obama are out of touch by saying middle income is less than $250,000.

Then you would be wrong.

Everyone wants to believe they are middle class...But this eagerness...has led the definition to be stretched like a bungee cord — used to defend/attack/describe everything...The Drum Major Institute...places the range for middle class at individuals making between $25,000 and $100,000 a year. Ah yes, there's a group of people bound to run into each other while house-hunting.
—Dante Chinni[3]