Comments on: “Bushvilles” http://www.farrfeed.com/2008/05/21/%e2%80%9cbushvilles%e2%80%9d/ John Hamilton Farr's Living Planet Mystery Tales from Taos, New Mexico Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:50:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John H. Farr http://www.farrfeed.com/2008/05/21/%e2%80%9cbushvilles%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-626 John H. Farr Thu, 22 May 2008 19:39:50 +0000 http://jhfarr.com/farrfeed/?p=457#comment-626 I concede your point, and thanks for making it. Damned if I know what "middle class" is, anyway. My wife and I pay almost $1,000/mo. for housing, drive a NEW CAR strictly on the strength of her credit rating, have five college degrees between us, and didn't make enough money last year to pay any taxes! But no matter what we call it, it's fucking terrible. I've never been so fed up with things in all my life. That ONLY 80-some percent of the American people think we're moving in the wrong direction is a bloody miracle, IMHO. Oh, and that article did say Ms. Harvey was getting Social Security. Depending on how much that is, she might very well meet somebody's statistical standard for middle class. My wife and I would be roadkill without it, lemme tell ya. I concede your point, and thanks for making it. Damned if I know what “middle class” is, anyway. My wife and I pay almost $1,000/mo. for housing, drive a NEW CAR strictly on the strength of her credit rating, have five college degrees between us, and didn’t make enough money last year to pay any taxes!

But no matter what we call it, it’s fucking terrible. I’ve never been so fed up with things in all my life. That ONLY 80-some percent of the American people think we’re moving in the wrong direction is a bloody miracle, IMHO.

Oh, and that article did say Ms. Harvey was getting Social Security. Depending on how much that is, she might very well meet somebody’s statistical standard for middle class. My wife and I would be roadkill without it, lemme tell ya.

]]> By: Rich http://www.farrfeed.com/2008/05/21/%e2%80%9cbushvilles%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-625 Rich Thu, 22 May 2008 19:09:46 +0000 http://jhfarr.com/farrfeed/?p=457#comment-625 At risk of sounding atrocious, which is not my intention...I'm not sure one could define $8/hr part time as "middle class" in California. That wouldn't even pay rent in most neighborhoods of Santa Barbara that aren't slum. This is why I take issue both with federal standards for poverty and with generic statements like "middle class" - the realities of most localities are so completely offbase from blanket statements that large as to be meaningless. Which isn't to say I don't sympathize with her and don't agree this is a sign of how far we've fallen as a country. We've certainly lost sight of what SHOULD be the primary function of a government, which is to freaking well take care of its constituents. But my rent controlled apartment is going for just under $1200 a month in a building that now starts at $1525. Even full time, $8/hr doesn't even gross that much before taxes. That ain't middle class here. At risk of sounding atrocious, which is not my intention…I’m not sure one could define $8/hr part time as “middle class” in California. That wouldn’t even pay rent in most neighborhoods of Santa Barbara that aren’t slum.

This is why I take issue both with federal standards for poverty and with generic statements like “middle class” – the realities of most localities are so completely offbase from blanket statements that large as to be meaningless.

Which isn’t to say I don’t sympathize with her and don’t agree this is a sign of how far we’ve fallen as a country. We’ve certainly lost sight of what SHOULD be the primary function of a government, which is to freaking well take care of its constituents. But my rent controlled apartment is going for just under $1200 a month in a building that now starts at $1525. Even full time, $8/hr doesn’t even gross that much before taxes. That ain’t middle class here.

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