Prez. Bush sending out rebates

[PrincessPerky]

I want to know who's household doesn't earn under 110k that's probably more of the country than you'd think.

Every 'old school' person my husband works with..not himself, and not those hired after, but all the rest of them take home well over 50K each, and they most all have spouses who work.

Well the folks who jumped ship to the banks before Christmas, they are not making that much, they are out of work. (banks hire, then fire, in rapid succession around here)

[LivingAlmostLarge]

So Perky you agree that it is possible for a person to make $50k and if the spouse works even in a MCOLA like NC you are making $100k for a couple then?

[PrincessPerky]

So Perky you agree that it is possible for a person to make $50k and if the spouse works even in a MCOLA like NC you are making $100k for a couple then?

Not me, but yep, loads of folk around here. Some might be at the borderline depending on OT...but most of the 'oldfellows' will have to do the math to see if they qualify.

Not to say I can't drive 15 minutes in the 'wrong' direction and find folks making less than 50K combined. Just that I know many on both sides of the coin, and a few balanced in the middle.

[Taribor]

What I don't get is where exactly this recession is supposedly happening. Lord knows it isn't happening anywhere around here. Malls are packed. Stores are packed. Restaurants are packed. People can't seem to find enough places to spend their money.

We just got back from a weekend in Lancaster, PA and it was mobbed everywhere we went. You might have thought it was a couple weeks before Christmas instead of a couple weeks after. And people weren't just browsing, they were buying. The checkout lines at several stores were 30 and 40 people long. Those registers were smoking.

Last Saturday, my wife and I had dinner at a nice Italian place. We arrived about 45 minutes early for our reservation and the place was mobbed. The lobby was packed and people were lined up outside in the sub-freezing temperatures.

There seems to be no shortage of people spending money at all.

I think it's a little more complicated than what stores and malls are crowded and I'm also willing to bet there are in fact people around you who are hurting and just because they visit a mall or restaurant, doesn't mean they are not in trouble. Poorly disciplined, maybe.

My point is that those of us not affected by this, probably have zero clue how bad it is for those who are affected by it.

Not saying government handouts are the way to go (although I will happily take my check ), but when you look at the housing problems (self created), credit debt (self created), and auto loans (self created), it is hard to deny there is a problem. The trick is what to do about it.

Part of me thinks that consumers got themselves into this mess and they need to pay the piper and let the enconomy run its course, but that is easier to say here than to the face of a auto/steel worker who just lost his job and can't pay his/her bills.

[prosper]

I want to know who's household doesn't earn under 110k that's probably more of the country than you'd think.!

JMHO

"In 2006, the median annual household income according to the US Census Bureau was determined to be $48,201.00.[3] The median income per household member (including all working and non-working members above the age of 14) in the year 2006 was $26,036.[4] In the year 2005, there were approximately 113,146,000 households in the United States. 19.01% of all households had annual incomes exceeding $100,000,"

- wikipedia.com

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

"In 2006, the median annual household income according to the US Census Bureau was determined to be $48,201.00.[3] The median income per household member (including all working and non-working members above the age of 14) in the year 2006 was $26,036.[4] In the year 2005, there were approximately 113,146,000 households in the United States. 19.01% of all households had annual incomes exceeding $100,000,"

- wikipedia.com

Thank you for taking the time to pull up that info and post it here, Prosper. There have been a few times recently when it seemed to me that many frequent posters on these forums are doing so well not just saving, but earning above average amounts, that I feared it might discourage new folks who earn a lot less.

[disneysteve]

Thank you for taking the time to pull up that info and post it here, Prosper. There have been a few times recently when it seemed to me that many frequent posters on these forums are doing so well not just saving, but earning above average amounts, that I feared it might discourage new folks who earn a lot less.

The problem is all us NJ folks.

Household income in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Take a look at the income by state and you'll see NJ is #1 with a median of $66,752, nearly 20K higher than the national numbers. In my town, the median family income was $95,559. So as a physician with a working spouse, I'm barely above average in my area. I guess that skews my perspective somewhat. I don't see 100K as being a lot of money, at least not if you live around here.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

In contrast, median family income in my city -- $32,585. No doubt we do have a much lower COL than New Jersey, but not enough to make up the difference. I'm sure a lot of people with $32,600 per year would spend any tax pre(?)-bate readily.

[disneysteve]

The problem is the stimulus check is cutting off at a certain income regardless of where you live. So someone earning 110K where you live, Joan, may not benefit from that check nearly as much as someone earning 110K where I live.

[GoodBuyGirl]

The government isn't doing anyone any favores by doing this.
What ever rebate they may send to people will only come back to haunt them in the future.
All they are doing is giving us money that is ours anyways and trying to dictate when we spend it.
It makes little sense to me that they would want to give a rebate when the normal income tax refund period is so near anyways.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I think it's $110k cutoff. Ugh. Plus Joan, 25% of households (1 out of 4) make more than $75k. That's about $30k more than average. A lot of people are falling into the $100k category, I bet a lot might be borderline as well.

And average salary where I live is $121k, MA.

[kilcher]

The $110k would be combined household income, right?

[momof1in150]

The $110k would be combined household income, right?

Yes, it is the combined income for Married couples.