this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2026
113 points (96.7% liked)
Memes
53874 readers
855 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
is xi santa now?
If one paycheck is all that stands between half of the people and homelessness, can it really be called the "middle" class?
There was an article with a pretty compelling argument a while ago that basically said the true poverty line in the US is over 100.000$/year family income (when you look at what that number was originally supposed to measure). Below that you're getting fucked left and right.
Every dollar a family earns between 40k and 100k makes them poorer, because it triggers benefit losses (like health care & child care) that exceed income gains.
So what the US reports as "the middle class" are actually the working poor
It's helpful to divorce class from simple material wealth, and return to how we engage with production and distribution. The true "middle class" is the small business owner, in reality most people are working class.
Yeah cuz the lower class don't get paid at all. Homelessness is rampant all over the states
Nor even "the working class".
The precariat.
Middle: in between homelessness and millionaires
Median class? Mode class?
Brits and Germans too.
Canadians and Australians too while we're at it. ... And and and and and...
But sure. First rule of triage, tend to the most in danger first.
Just keep working harder! It'll trickle down!
isn't homeownership rate around 66%?
Home ownership rate is the percentage of homes occupied, not the percentage of people who own their homes (or even have positive equity in them).
From what I could find, 1/3rd of the adult population rents, another 3rd have mortgages with negative equity, and 1/3rd have positive or paid off mortgages. I couldn't find the number who fully own their homes.
Either way all of the above categories could still be house-poor, meaning you're spending most of your income on housing and upkeep, and could still be a paycheck away from homelessness, unable to pay rent/mortgage. I had a relative who fully owned her home, but was unable to pay the property tax and her house was seized.