one 1 guess

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KT, there is a phrase in statistics for making broad assumptions based on a single instance (as you are doing when writing about yourself and saying "I am the rule"). The phrase is "faulty generalization". Anecdotal evidence (too small a sample size) might accidentally land on the truth but is insufficient to trust.

Regarding the article on CNBC, one needs to be careful with their definition of "middle class". Since a loaf of bread costs more today than it did decades earlier a fixed number of dollars cannot work (you can have more and still starve, so the number must change). There's a confounding problem in that $50,000 is probably middle class for those living in rural areas and smaller cities away from the coasts but is poverty in areas like NYC and SF. Without taking time (that I don't have this morning) to dig into their analysis, I can't help but wonder how they are using (and possibly twisting to their own ends) statistics.

Easy expert today. g/1 guess and it was a clickfest after that.

Agreed Penguin. I did not say definitively that "I am the rule" I said "I think I am the rule" in other words, it is my opinion. I know for certain I am not in the upper class or lower class financially. The CNBC piece, and one can find many others like it, while certainly not 100% accurate, is IMO, probably close, but you are correct in stating that it is difficult to define exactly what 'middle class' means. Also, since this forum is informal, things like faulty generalization seem to be prevalent no matter what side of a political issue participants take - e.g. see helenkeller's post.

The easiest expert I can recall.

Ooooh burn KT. You cannot dismiss me that easily. Get off your semantical high horse. I stand by what I say. IF you were in any of the 'helping professions, you would be singing a very different tune. Point me out a 'faulty generalization' - you've never been to where all the poor people hang. I think you would be shocked at what you see there. Lucky for you, you were blessed in life. And, if you think at your age, unless you possess some unique skill, good luck with finding that job when yours ends. The job market is closed for people in their 60's.

And for those of you overseas, I think it is noteworthy to share that many of the 800,000 employees who are being asked to work without pay (pretty much illegal) are the TSA people. You know those guys, who as kids, sat in class, dreaming of how one day they could work in an airport, stand on their feet all day, while checking the smelly shoes of strangers. For those who are not aware - this is a last ditch job. The people who take this job, find themselves unemployable in their 40's, 50's & 60's. So, hey, don't pay these people, and then, sure, be very surprised when the crime rate goes up. Already we've had a dramatic rise in burglaries here. Clever, humane move - NOT. And yet, as KT points out, the people who don't really need the money - Congress, the Military are still getting their over-indulgences. Fair? You tell me. Who's watching out for whom? Whose job is it to do that. And fyi KT, since this is all so foreign to you, fact is that people who are not due for SNAP benefits for another 2+ weeks, have already gotten theirs for the month of February. At least someone is making sure people have enough to eat. This is not business as usual, this is a problem exponentially spiraling out of control. Go ahead, throw some baby powder on that, call it partial - there . . . sigh, all better.

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