Here are the results of a Gallup poll regarding the question, "Who are the rich?" In my opinion, this is a disheartening set of conclusions. Understand that these folks are talking about income values before taxes. Incredible.
Before you get the wrong idea about what this chart is saying, consider this: the polling question was asked of persons in each of the 13 demographic categories. Men thought $150,000 was rich; women thought the line was $100,000, and so on.
Now, here is the problem as I see it. In communication, a great principle to follow is this axiom: People hear and believe what they thought you said. For the sake of argument, let's "go with that" for a moment. When Obama trashes the rich and defines "the rich" as folks who take in $250,000 as a married couple ($125,000 each), he is communicating with those in this survey, who think a rich person is someone who earns $100,000 per year or, roughly, $50,000 per year after taxes. . . . . . . . . .
Of course, people who "take home $50,000 or $100,000 are hardly rich. If they are, then there is no such thing as an "upper middle class." Under Obama's regime, there are only two classes: there are the "rich," and the "poor and middle class." That last phrase, "poor and middle class," is spoken quickly and in a single breath, as if it were one word.
The fact of the matter is this: there are several "classes" of citizens, income wise, in this country: the very poor ($5,000 for the year if single and $12,000 if a family of four) ; there are the poor ($11,000 for a single person and $22,350 for a family of four). The chart below, from HHS, gives us much the same numbers for the "poverty" designations.
In addition to the poverty chart below, we have these categories from the American middle class and other sources : Working class (making $26,000 to $40,000); middle class (earning up to $75,000 per year); upper middle class (earning up to $ 300,000 per year): the "well to do," who earn $325,000 per year, and the rich (worth more than a million and earning more than $325,000 per year.)
When Obama speaks, he needs to be specific and consistent when talking about the "rich." To date, he is neither. That is critical, because, in the end, we all might accept a tax on the "rich" when, in fact, we may have just given Obama the green light to tax most folks who work for a living.
Persons in Family Unit | 48 Contiguous States and D.C. | Alaska | Hawaii |
1 | $10,890 | $13,600 | $12,544 |
2 | $14,710 | $18,380 | $16,930 |
3 | $18,530 | $23,160 | $21,320 |
4 | $22,350 | $27,940 | $25,710 |
5 | $26,170 | $32,720 | $30,100 |
6 | $29,990 | $37,500 | $34,490 |
7 | $33,810 | $42,280 | $38,880 |
8 | $37,630 | $47,060 | $43,270 |
Each additional person adds | $3,820 | $4,780 | $4,390 |
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