Middle class? What's that anyway? I just want to point out that America is not a country of "CLASSES". Why do we use that term anyway? What does that really mean? Who CARES? And most importantly if the Left wants to "celebrate diversity" why are they always pointing out diversity? If no one NOTICED you're black, white, rich, poor, we wouldn't be having these discussions sometimes, and there'd not be this society of people that want to pidgeon hole others and make them out to be something they aren't (like Gay, Straight, special, etc)... Hmmmmm just my thoughts for the day.
It's whatever it's defined to be in any given discussion. In this case, it's that class of Americans with income between 25K and 75K. I think most would agree that today, this would describe those people who are reasonably comfortable materially, neither wealthy nor in danger of being on the street. Of course, you could pick another moniker for those with incomes in this range, eg. "centratodes" or "solventamids." You could even get tedious about it and just keep saying "those with incomes between $25,000 and $75,000" and p*ss off your editor.
The use of terms and expressions that convey distinctions between individuals and groups is useful and I usually see nothing wrong with this practice. It only becomes nettlesome when such terms are used to set up an exaggerated or non-existant significance, ie. when they are loaded.
It's whatever it's defined to be in any given discussion. In this case, it's that class of Americans with income between 25K and 75K. I think most would agree that today, this would describe those people who are reasonably comfortable materially, neither wealthy nor in danger of being on the street. Of course, you could pick another moniker for those with incomes in this range, eg. "centratodes" or "solventamids." You could even get tedious about it and just keep saying "those with incomes between $25,000 and $75,000" and p*ss off your editor.
The use of terms and expressions that convey distinctions between individuals and groups is useful and I usually see nothing wrong with this practice. It only becomes nettlesome when such terms are used to set up an exaggerated or non-existant significance, ie. when they are loaded.