$32K is top 50% income in the US

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Nightfall

Golden Member
Nov 16, 1999
1,769
0
0
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
basically means there's a lot of poor people in the US.

Which is relative or course. $32k won't do much in NYC or LA but in small town mid-west or south, it isn't bad. And even those considered to be in poverty in the United States are still better off than just about anywhere else in the world.

QFT

Americans have got to look at the rest of the world instead of the rest of the country to get a good idea where they rank on the food chain. Americans are spoiled, no two ways about it. Even those who make 30k a year and households that make 45k are living better than a lot of people in the rest of the world.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9910/12/population.cosumption/

Sure, we all want to be making $100,000 a year so we can do what we want. The strict fact of the matter is that it isn't possible.
 

KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
If you look around at the jobs, this makes a lot of sense. For example, my company has a corporate office, call center, and warehouse in one builidng. Out of 1,500 employees, only 120 or so have a corporate job. That means about 1,300 or so make $30k or less a year with the other jobs probably average $60k and a small few making $100k or more. Even in a area dense with high paying jobs, look at how many low paying ones it takes to support the area.
 

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
I dont think I could function off that much money. Makes me wonder what my percentage is...
 

Turin39789

Lifer
Nov 21, 2000
12,218
8
81
unfortunately Americans only compare themselves to what they see on TV, and know that they will never really be comfortable/doing well until they have more than 95% of the pop.

I'm comfortably middle class and I'm just barely into the top 50%
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
76
im glad to see i finally eked my way up to the 25% line. even tho i could probably survive on 30-40k a year (i did just that with 3 kids for a few years), im ok with the 60-70k realm.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,975
1,175
126
this study is obviously flawed, I will run the same study except use ATOT'ers for the study subjects.

Then we'll see the average person is a MILLIONAIRE. All ATOT'ers fall in the top 1% it's a pretty damn impress bunch of people here.
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Originally posted by: QueBert
this study is obviously flawed, I will run the same study except use ATOT'ers for the study subjects.

Then we'll see the average person is a MILLIONAIRE. All ATOT'ers fall in the top 1% it's a pretty damn impress bunch of people here.

Realistically I'd say there's a good chance a good percentage of members are in the top 10% with many in the 1 and 5.
 

illusion88

Lifer
Oct 2, 2001
13,164
3
81
Fuck, I'm comfortable enough making 19k a year in Utah. I don't know what I would do if that doubled. Go on a vacation?
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,986
1,388
126
Originally posted by: QueBert
this study is obviously flawed, I will run the same study except use ATOT'ers for the study subjects.

Then we'll see the average person is a MILLIONAIRE. All ATOT'ers fall in the top 1% it's a pretty damn impress bunch of people here.

Speak for yourself, sir. I am a true multi TRILLIONAIRE!!!!!!




:D well, if you going to lie, may as well lie BIG!!!!
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
I made it into the top 10 one time....but it took 1,500 hours of OT to get there! :(
 

Fingolfin269

Lifer
Feb 28, 2003
17,948
34
91
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
basically means there's a lot of poor people in the US.

Which is relative or course. $32k won't do much in NYC or LA but in small town mid-west or south, it isn't bad. And even those considered to be in poverty in the United States are still better off than just about anywhere else in the world.

Exactly. I used to live just fine on $30k/yr just outside of Nashville.
 

cubeless

Diamond Member
Sep 17, 2001
4,295
1
81
Originally posted by: Nightfall
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
basically means there's a lot of poor people in the US.

Which is relative or course. $32k won't do much in NYC or LA but in small town mid-west or south, it isn't bad. And even those considered to be in poverty in the United States are still better off than just about anywhere else in the world.

QFT

Americans have got to look at the rest of the world instead of the rest of the country to get a good idea where they rank on the food chain. Americans are spoiled, no two ways about it. Even those who make 30k a year and households that make 45k are living better than a lot of people in the rest of the world.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9910/12/population.cosumption/

Sure, we all want to be making $100,000 a year so we can do what we want. The strict fact of the matter is that it isn't possible.

i probably couldn't pay my bills on $100k a year, and i'm pretty cheap...

i guess i'll put "charter member of the at 5% club" in my sig... i'm a little better than just in, and it ain't all that ritzy up here...

oh, and quebert, i am a millionaire, too... just barely, but being old and cheap helps...

 

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
6,294
171
106
I could believe those numbers, living expenses are quite cheap when you get off the coasts/major cities. Hell, in Atlanta like 5 dollars buys you a mansion, while 800 grand in a decent neighborhood in northern jersey is about enough for a smallish 3 bedroom home.

Even around jersey/nyc, many starting salaries (including mine) coming out of college are only around 35k so that makes some decent percentage of the numbers no?
 

cubeless

Diamond Member
Sep 17, 2001
4,295
1
81
u ain't been to hotlanta lately... u gotta get a ways outta town b4 it gets down to even $10...
 

JohnCU

Banned
Dec 9, 2000
16,528
4
0
Originally posted by: cubeless
u ain't been to hotlanta lately... u gotta get a ways outta town b4 it gets down to even $10...

what the fuck did you just write?
 

RichUK

Lifer
Feb 14, 2005
10,341
678
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I don?t mean to be rude, but $153k is not exactly *mega* bucks. I'm just a bit surprised that it's classified as being the top 5%.
 

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
Crap you can get $15/hr ($31200) here in SoCal for your average office/warehouse job...
 

Slew Foot

Lifer
Sep 22, 2005
12,379
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Originally posted by: Ocguy31
Crap you can get $15/hr ($31200) here in SoCal for your average office/warehouse job...

Thats because SoCal costs 3 times as much to live in than anywhere else in the country (almost).
 

CTrain

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2001
4,940
0
0
Originally posted by: RichUK
I don?t mean to be rude, but $153k is not exactly *mega* bucks. I'm just a bit surprised that it's classified as being the top 5%.

Speak for yourself.
I can retire in 10 yrs making that much per year.
 

RichUK

Lifer
Feb 14, 2005
10,341
678
126
Originally posted by: CTrain
Originally posted by: RichUK
I don?t mean to be rude, but $153k is not exactly *mega* bucks. I'm just a bit surprised that it's classified as being the top 5%.

Speak for yourself.
I can retire in 10 yrs making that much per year.

Well, I suppose it's all relative at the end of the day.
 

Foxery

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2008
1,709
0
0
Originally posted by: RichUK
I don?t mean to be rude, but $153k is not exactly *mega* bucks. I'm just a bit surprised that it's classified as being the top 5%.

It's 4.5x the average. Most people I know would shit themselves if offered a $3000/week paycheck after living on $3000/month.

I guess there are a lot of questions about who the study does or doesn't include, but the only way to appreciate the vast difference between cost of living in large cities vs rural America is to see it for yourself.

If you like your anecdotal evidence, then tell me how much my 5-acre back yard with my own well for unlimited, free water is worth to you in downtown Metropolis. :) I pay for it just fine with my decidedly "average" pay.