Ask yourself before we do: "what is rich?". Do you have an idea in mind?
Now, we are Don't Quit Your Day Job... are the first to argue that being rich is a stock and not a flow - that is, the state of being rich means you already have wealth. A high income is a flow - and people with high incomes are not necessarily rich, as many former lottery winners, musicians, actors, and athletes bear out. (We have a math heavy series on the correlation of wealth and net worth if you're interested.) We prefer the word 'affluent' for high incomes.
For the general public, though: the number to keep your eye on is a $200,000 annual salary if you're single and a $250,000 combined salary if you're married.
These, as you likely know, are the lines in the sand drawn by the current administration to determine who is 'rich' and who isn't. Does the electorate agree? For the most part. A Marist poll showed that 55% of Americans believe that a household income over $250,000 means you are wealthy (again, wealth is the wrong term.... but we digress), while 45% disagreed.
What is Rich? Probably not a bunch of Benjamins on the floor.
Can Polls Help Us Decide "What is Rich?"
Of course, the poll was a political one with questions about income tacked on to the end.
As it was a 2008 poll, one of the other questions asked "The Bush Tax Cuts expire on December 31st. Which statement comes closer to your view:", then goes on to ask about extending the cuts, extending them just for household incomes under $250,000 and not being sure what to do. Perhaps that would prime people to think politically, and the vote does change over partisan lines:
- Conservatives believe 55% to 45% that $250,000 a year doesn't make you wealthy
- Moderates believe 67% to 33% for $250,000 in income being wealthy
- Liberals believe 61% to 39% that $250,000 puts you in the wealthy category.
Regionally, only the South thinks $250,000 isn't enough to be wealthy (51% to 49%), even though historically the west and east coasts have been the most expensive places to live.
In fact, the partisan split is weird in general... the most expensive places to live in America are cities, which vote Democratic for the most part. Moving away from cities to areas which vote more often Republican are usually cheaper to live. Take a look at the Republican /Democratic vote in 2008 (from Mark Newman's awesome vote population cartogram site!):
What is Rich in the Most Expensive Counties?
Note that the most expensive counties to live (generally clustered on the coasts) vote Democratic, or at least did in the 2008 Presidential election. On the other hand, according to the poll, there is also an *income* split between poll respondents.
Those making less than $50,000 annually think 63% to 37% that $250,000 salaries are wealthy. Those making over $50,000 think the same thing, except by only 51% to 49%. More income brackets would have been interesting, but we got what we got.
Is this a case of class warfare, or simply a real life example of Mo Money Mo Problems? I want to hear what you think, leave your comments... and let us know your thoughts on what is rich!
