Some of the researchers in the Luxembourg Income Study define the middle
class as those with size-adjusted household incomes (post-tax,
post-transfer) between 62.5% and 150% of the median. The poor are those
<50%; the near poor, between 50% and 62.5%; and the "well-to-do" as
>150%. By these definitions, the US has the smallest middle class and
highest share of poor and near-poor of any of the dozen or so countries
covered by the LIS.
Needless to say, $120k is a lot more than 150% of the median.
Doug
Doug Henwood [[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Left Business Observer
212-874-4020 (voice)
212-874-3137 (fax)
