The topic of the middle class is currently very popular. With the U.S. economy struggling and the unemployment rate remaining high, the size of the middle class has also declined. The United States is a country with a middle-class majority; according to data from the Pew Research Center, the middle class accounts for approximately 53% of the U.S. adult population.
In the United States, there have always been many definitions and varying standards for what exactly constitutes the middle class. Generally, there are two ways to classify it: by occupation and by individual or household income. Classification by occupation is controversial because there is a strong correlation between occupation and income; therefore, it is more popular to classify by annual household income. Even so, the standards are quite broad. In the past, an average of between $40,000 and $120,000 was considered the standard for the middle class, while the latest standard is an average of between $50,000 and $120,000 to be considered middle class.
The middle class can also be divided into upper and lower-middle tiers based on income, education level, and occupation. The upper tier accounts for about 15% of the U.S. population, most of whom hold master's degrees or higher, such as university professors and middle-level managers at large and medium-sized companies. The lower-middle tier accounts for about 38% of the U.S. population and is generally referred to as the white-collar class, having received a university education. In the past, when the manufacturing industry was booming, many U.S. manufacturing workers had higher incomes and benefits and were also considered part of the middle class.
There is another interesting way of classification, which divides the U.S. middle class into the "wealthy middle class," the "anxious middle class," the "satisfied middle class," and the "struggling middle class." The "wealthy middle class" mostly comes from prestigious schools, has guaranteed income, is in good health, and has a bright future. The "anxious middle class" is the unhappiest part of the U.S. middle class, belonging to the group that is neither high nor low, and is most dissatisfied with the reality of life. The "satisfied middle class," as the Chinese saying goes, are those who are content and happy; they are mostly the elderly and the young. The elderly no longer have workplace pressure, and the young have the capital of youth. The economic status of the "struggling middle class" is only slightly better than that of the poverty-stricken class; they live a tight life, and once they encounter an economic crisis and are laid off, they are immediately removed from the middle class.
Next, let's talk about the characteristics of the U.S. middle class. The U.S. website investopedia.com recently published an article proposing 6 characteristics that define the middle class: housing, automobiles, ensuring children's college education, retirement security, medical insurance, and family vacations.
Housing ranks first in the American Dream. Except for a portion of the "struggling middle class" who rent, other middle-class members own their own homes. However, with the same middle-class income, housing conditions vary depending on the cost of living in different places: in Detroit, one can buy a detached house; in New York or Los Angeles, one might only be able to buy a small house in a bad neighborhood.
Automobiles are a necessary means of transportation for Americans, and many poor people also own cars. The middle class owning cars generally does not refer to whether they have a car, but whether they own a car of a better brand. For example, the cars traditionally owned by the U.S. middle class are generally SUVs, etc. The better the brand of car owned, the higher the level one is in.
Ensuring children's college education is one of the important goals pursued by the U.S. middle class. Paying for the cost of children's education generally costs tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although it is customary for American families to require children to take out their own loans, many well-off middle-class families will still help their children pay for tuition or other expenses.
Retirement security, for the middle class, mainly consists of housing, social security, and pensions. After the pension reform in the United States, the investment risk of pensions is borne by the employees themselves. This risk is sometimes very large, and fraud and investment errors occur from time to time. According to data, after the collapse of Enron, the pensions of more than 20,000 employees, totaling over 2 billion, vanished into thin air.
Medical insurance is a crucial link in maintaining middle-class status. According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, medical costs have risen by 155% over the past 20 years, while the growth rate of median income is about 20%. In today's era of soaring medical expenses, even with insurance, there are still many items that need to be paid out of pocket. Without appropriate medical insurance, a major illness could bankrupt a middle-class family.
Finally, there is the family vacation. Going on a family vacation is not unimportant; it indicates that a family has disposable money and time, and it can also be considered a sign of career success. But in fact, it is unlikely for the lower-middle class to go on vacation.
Regarding how to classify the middle class in China, which everyone is concerned about, perhaps we should refer to the U.S. method: have a rough income standard and several obvious characteristics. This way, it will be clearer.
