76
Feedback: Your ideas on what rich is
Mmmmmoney. Counting money.
To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.
Next week on Marketplace Money, the show will concentrate on one number: $250,000. It's the current line in the sand in the debate on whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts. An income of $250,000 makes you wealthy, says one side. Oh no it doesn't, says the other.
We'll hear from people like you across the nation on the topic. Some say, "A household of $250,000 is not wealthy." Others say, "Yes, in many places in the country its." What do you think?
We'll also hear from people like Robert Frank, whose book "Richistan" chronicled a dozen or so folks worth millions of dollars who say they don't feel rich.
"I had a couple, they're worth $200 million. They said to me, 'Wow, I love reading that book about those people. I couldn't believe those people in your books.' So the wealthy they don't see themselves as wealthy," says Frank. "There was a billionaire I talked to who said, 'I'm not rich. Now let me tell you about this guy who is rich.' And he genuinely meant it because, again, we're always looking at those above us and comparing ourselves to the people that we'd like to be rather than looking down at the reality."
We want your feedback: What is rich to you? Leave a comment here or at our Facebook page.
Pages
I do understand how some who earn one-quarter of a million dollars do not "feel" wealthy. They have ratcheted their spending up to levels where they must continue to receive an obscene amount of money annually to continue a wasteful style of living. In truth, they have the power -- which the *non-wealth* do not -- to change their spending and redirect their wealth into other pursuits. That is not true of the rest of us. We have very, very little room to maneuver, to cut, to redirect our spending. After cutting out eating meat, the cable TV, the cellphone, any eating out, medicines, buying makeup, replacing worn clothing, we have nowhere else to go. The wealthy may cut back on The Help (see billionaire Meg Whitman), drive the car that gets better mileage or sell the third (fourth? fifth?) car, take fewer trips, perhaps recycle last year's wardrobe, but according to statistics, none of that is happening. Why? They don't feel wealthy because they regard those things as "necessary". Here's news. They are not. By spending money that belongs in service to the citizens of this country, they believe there *is* a free lunch. There isn't; they are merely eating *our* lunch.
Actually, while my wife and I don't make quite $250K we do think we personally should pay somewhat higher income taxes than we do; we never thought the Bush tax cuts were a good idea. We don't consider ourselves "rich," but we certainly are comfortable by any reasonable definition.
If you make more money than nearly anyone else in one of the richest countries in the world, you’re rich. If you have a distorted view of reality, and deny that you’re rich, that’s a
psychological issue. It doesn’t change the economic facts.
I think the question should be "do you have enough?" The billionaire who does not think he is rich is really saying "I do not have enough." I don't think he will ever have enough. Giving to others is a great way to increase one's own feeling of "having enough."
Income alone probably is not the most important variable as to who is rich and who is poor. One's net worth in property, investments, savings, and so on is much more important in making the distinction. Some rich people may FEEL poor, but if they have property, investments, etc., they AREN'T poor.
In anticipation of next week's story, I suggest taking a look the following website which offers a relocation calculator. While it may have some flaws, it is clearly instructive. Not all $250,000 household incomes have the same buying power. We were at a profound disadvantage moving from Cincinnati, Ohio to Princeton, NJ.
http://www.bestplaces.net/col/
I retired after 25 years with state government and am lucky enough to have a pension but still work as a freelance writer in order to give what I like to our grandchildren and to charities. My husband owned his own small business so his "pension" is his IRA; but obviously our investments took quite a hit due to the banks' bundling of mortgage securities, so we are grateful for Social Security. We agree that if people are operating a small business naively and haven't broken it out separately (either LLC or incorporated), that's no excuse for saying higher taxes hurt small businesses -- everyone needs to keep business receipts/profits separate from their personal income, whether gross or net. Also, here's to the person who said our taxes are our membership dues in Country Club USA: one of the economists interviewed on NPR this past week said those taxes, proportionately, are at the same level as 1951 -- which I think is probably true, but this is a subject NPR should explore further.
There is no question in my mind that making $250,000.00 a year, whether gross or net, makes one rich, especially since such an income places one in the top 1-2% of income in the country. I feel rich at a net income of less than 40% of that number. As for taxes, we all need to pay more, not just the 'wealthy.'
When I read the question I immediately thought of the following "Rules for Life." Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worry. Live simply. Give much. Demand little. Although I've been without money, and now have more than I need, which is definitely better, I have learned that "money" will never make you "rich."
Pages
