are you aware of inflation?

[97guns]

This year inflation has been slamming me in the wallet nearly daily. Yesterday gas went up .25 [cents] per litre, that's about $ 1. a gallon and we live in the oil patch. Oil has dropped from around $ 100. per bbl to $ 43. per bbl, rigs are shutting down as quickly as they can and unemployment has doubled since the drop.

The cost of food has escalated beyond belief, I'm no longer buying beef but checking the ads noticed a good T-bone steak is now $ 32. kilo about $ 14.50 lb., poor quality chicken $ $ 3. lb,, lettuce $ 3. a head etc.

I've recently been discharged from hospital having had a serious heart attack and a couple of lessor which resulted in surgery. The new type/brand blood thinner I'm prescribed is not covered on our medical plan and I nearly stroked when I learned 30 tablets cost $ 300. I'm trying to find out if I can switch to the common kind that's covered...this is scary.

Yes it is VERY scary, it has not affected me here in america yet like it has you but I keep a close eye on what's happening in other parts of the world and it is indeed scary. Several countries are experiencing hyperinflation now and I only see it getting worse

[AngelineRose]

Very much so! I have always noticed inflation for a long time but recently its like to huge of a jump all of a sudden. Unfortunately, this recent jump is hurting me and squeezing me dry.

Not only that, I always predicted the middle class group will become smaller but now it seems to be wiping out rather at astronomical rate in the very recent years (I am only speaking for the Bay Area where this is quite obvious). Its going to get worse for those who are no longer well off which is why I see so many leaving the Bay area as well as more retirees leaving the country.

[corn18]

I am finding it very challenging to determine who is middle class. Ask the people if they think they are middle class, you get one answer. Use statistics and you get another. I'm a data guy and "middle" to me median and median has a very simple definition:

Median: The statistical median is the middle number in a sequence of numbers.

So in my mind, "middle" class is "median" class for no reason other than the median IS the middle. The size of the middle class is measured as a quintile around the median. By definition, a quintile is 1/5 of the total population. The only thing that changes the size of the quintile is the size of the total measured population. So, the middle class is not shrinking. It is actually growing. And will continue to grow as the population grows.

If you want to address the challenges and struggles of the middle class, that is done with other data (average/mean income, etc...), but stop saying the middle class is shrinking. Because it isn't.

Tom

[disneysteve]

stop saying the middle class is shrinking. Because it isn't.

I agree, Tom. "Middle class" is one of those terms that doesn't really mean anything, or rather, it means whatever people choose to have it mean. If someone used to be able to afford a certain lifestyle on a certain income and now they can't, they may feel that they are no longer middle class. But who defines what a "middle class" lifestyle is actually, and does it vary based on geography.

There really is no universally accepted definition of middle class, which is why people keep debating it.

[AngelineRose]

I agree, Tom. "Middle class" is one of those terms that doesn't really mean anything, or rather, it means whatever people choose to have it mean. If someone used to be able to afford a certain lifestyle on a certain income and now they can't, they may feel that they are no longer middle class. But who defines what a "middle class" lifestyle is actually, and does it vary based on geography.

There really is no universally accepted definition of middle class, which is why people keep debating it.

Generally speaking, middle class is hard to define all across the country and I totally agree with that.

When I talked about the Bay Area (which I was referring to in my post about middle class) ... Supply and Demands are very high here for the high earning tech positions, Chinese investors and so on. We even hire interns from India to come here so there is money. Not enough housing is built to keep up with the high demands here so this drives up housing and rental prices in astronomical rates. We have lines of people bidding for the the rent prices at rental open houses here. Unless someone already brought their home several years ago and locked in their mortgage rate minus the property tax, it is extremely difficult to have the income to qualify for home loans and rental applications in this competitive state. I see so many mutli-family now living in a shared home. But for the capitalists and the entrepreneurs, this is the place to be as it is indeed rich with opportunities. For 'Okay"incomes, there is an obvious squeeze that one can't deny here and I really don't even need to drill down the details of what middle incomes are exactly at this point since is mostly the affluent here. I have a temporary roommate who is an long time RN, she struggles affording home like many others I have met. I know engineers at my employer commutes 2.5 hours one way each day so they can afford to buy a home. What does that say for those who do not earn as much as engineers? Many here in the Bay area pay cash for their cars, have cash/cash loans to buy homes. I can't say its a bubble because the money is there to back up these purchases. The huge spikes in short times leaves little time for us to catch up or prepare. This is mostly an internal Bay Area problem that does not really affect outside the Bay Area but it is a personal problem for me because I am stuck living here and have to deal with it.

[Fishindude77]

The term "middle class" gets thrown around pretty freely, generally by folks trying to promote their own agenda. The term is actually pretty meaningless.

If you asked most of your peers, I'd guess anyone roughly 20% below or above their gross family income would be middle class. Anything below that range would be "the poor" and anything above that would be "rich upper class".