Reply #8: Money, not religion, the real belief system ... [View All]

Chicago Tribune: Study: Earners high, low think they belong to middle class

A new report by the Pew Research Center highlights a paradox of the American middle class: Most people, no matter where they fall on the economic spectrum, believe they are part of it.

---

Yahoo : The Disappearing Upper Class

...the "upper class" is vanishing from our language

---

Washington Post: A New Poll Finds Americans Feeling a Lot More Squeezed

As many Americans struggle with declining housing values, increasing food and energy prices and growing unemployment after a long period of flat wages, well over half of respondents said they are either losing ground economically or are stuck in the same place

The squeeze is particularly tight for those who have low incomes and for the 53 percent of Americans who classify themselves as middle-class. Nearly four out of five middle-class adults say it is more difficult for people like them to maintain their standard of living.

---

Reuters: In America, millions make you middle-class

For most people around the world, earning a million dollars makes you rich. In America, it just makes you middle class.

A new book, "The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of The New Rich And How They Are Changing America", finds that 8.4 million U.S. households have a net worth of between $1 million and $10 million of money they did not inherit.