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abbyhoffman Donating Member (289 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 05:49 AM
Original message
At what point are you rich?
I'm single, my only bills are a car payment & rent I make just under 50k a year am I rich?
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kodi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 05:51 AM
Response to Original message
1. when you can do & buy whatever you want without thought of the cost
.
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moz4prez Donating Member (591 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 05:54 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. no, you seem to have confused the rich with the republicans
it's an easy mistake to make, i guess
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papau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 07:42 AM
Response to Reply #2
20. In terms of Dem proposals - over $350000 income, 10 million assets
Edited on Thu Dec-04-03 07:48 AM by papau
The proposed new top bracket starts around $350 k and the restored 39.6 at 200,000 in the most progressive ideas I have heard of. The proposed estate tax change is to exempt all estates under 6 million, rising over time to 10 m.

The 13000 families that are top 1% and own an extimated 80 per cent of America have incomes near $1 million per year minimum.

I'd say rich is having great kids/family/friends - but then I am a Democratic Party member.
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moz4prez Donating Member (591 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:04 AM
Response to Reply #1
4. now there are plenty of rich people
people in my family who earn a 6-figure salary, but then there are the silkworm farmers and failed entreprenuers. the silkworm farmers' enterprise inevitably fails because the silkworms are so frikkin lazy! the failed entreprenuers are terrible with money. the few (and far between) who manage to scrape up a 6-figure salary tend to be very STINGY, for example my senile great uncle who lives in an ugly stucco mansion in a gated community out in the hill country somewhere, who refuses to pay over $20 for an excellent DVD player. but he'll die soon.
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Oracle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 12:16 PM
Response to Reply #4
48. Sounds like your typical republican...republicans are know for not tipping
Edited on Thu Dec-04-03 12:22 PM by Oracle
well either...known fact...since they hate the poor (except as slaves) why should they tip them? Money and their greed is the most important thing to them, nothing else matters.

$215,000 to $250,00 a year and over in income salary, these fucks need no special tax breaks and cuts, these people should pay taxes as wealthy...as under President Clinton.

I'd love to make $250,000 plus a year (a quarter mil or more) and have to pay more taxes...where does one sign up? 94% of people who make over a quarter mil a year are republicans, (not the party for the rich? Fuck yeah they are!)
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baby_bear Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 05:57 AM
Response to Original message
3. When you don't have to depend on the next paycheck
It's pretty clear to me...as soon as Bush's policies and economics put me out of my federal job, I will be on the street. Until then, I feel pretty solidly middle class (not bad).


s_m

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tkmorris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:05 AM
Response to Original message
5. You are rich when.......
You have enough stashed to maintain your current lifestyle until you die, without ever working again.

Or alternatively, you are rich if you you have at least one child who manages to get through her/his teen years and still loves you.
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leftyandproud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:06 AM
Response to Original message
6. I think you are rich.
yup..$50k is rich
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Spentastic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:07 AM
Response to Original message
7. Compared to about
95% of the global population, yes you are.

Compared to the richest 1 %. You're a peon.
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stewert Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:09 AM
Response to Original message
8. Depends where you live........

In chicago or new york 50k a year is poverty.

Here is peoria a single guy making 50k a year is rich.

In 1995 I made 24k a year, single with no kids. The married
people at work called me SS&L, they thought I was rich.

The SS&L was a nicname that meant Senti Savings & Loan.

The median income for a household in peoria is $36,397, and the median income for a
family is $46,882. Males have a median income of $40,879 versus $25,642 for females.
The per capita income for the city is $20,512.

Rich is hard to define, a lot of factors go into deciding if you are rich.

In new york rich might be a guy who makes a million dollars a year, in
peoria a guy who makes 100k a year might be rich.

You can buy a 3 bedroom 1 bath ranch house here for $60,000 to $80,000, the
same house in chicago goes for a hell of a lot more.

Overall I would say rich is a person who is in the top 30 percent of income earners. That
means you make more than the bottom 70 percent of income earners.

Depending where you live, you can be richer or just rich making that top 30 percent.

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Journeyman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:10 AM
Response to Original message
9. I found $5 when I was 9 years old. . .
and it proved so much money, I didn't know what to spend it on. I haven't been that rich since and don't expect to ever match it again.
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sweettater Donating Member (674 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:33 AM
Response to Reply #9
10. When I was a little girl
my mother would give me a nickel. I thought I was rich because I could go to the local mom and pop grocery store and get a bag full of 3 for a penny candy. But rich is more than money....health, happiness and family is "rich" to me. Have a nice day everyone!
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opihimoimoi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:47 AM
Response to Reply #9
12. Money is only one thing and to many its not a factor at all
Edited on Thu Dec-04-03 06:48 AM by opihimoimoi
Rich is when you have friends... that care about you, come to the hospital when you are sick.. They stand by you in lean times. Help you paint the friggen house in the summer., Help you when you are down and out.

Rich is when you are healthy, able to do all the things people do without pain.

Rich is when you are helping people less fortunate than you. When you give some friendship, some hope, some mentoring, some inspiration.

Rich is when you are a good man and people come to you for advice, friendship, and you are loved.

Rich is when you share your skills, your tools, your history on to your children, friends, and loyal staff.

Rich is when you care about others.

Live it and you will be rich with or without money

Come, I show you rich
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ima_sinnic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 07:01 AM
Response to Reply #12
13. thank you so much for that
I am printing out to share with a friend who is money-poor and depressed.

:hi:
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Brewman_Jax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 08:53 AM
Response to Reply #12
25. So true
rich is more than money. I've known unhappy people with money, and happy people with less money.

I'll just say you're rich when you have what you want, and want what you have. :thumbsup:
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Julien Sorel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 07:02 AM
Response to Reply #9
14. ROFL.
I felt richer when I made 19k a year than I ever will in my life, I think. It was the first time I had income that didn't have an immediate use, and it was a great feeling. Suddenly I could go to night shows every once in a while instead of matinees, buy my own books, albeit used, instead of using the library, and think about buying a car. No matter how much I make going forward, it's not going to match that feeling.

Nowadays I think of 'rich' as having enough money to live the way I want without working unless I want to. That's probably never going to happen, so like most folks, I'm resigned to never being rich in the monetary sense of the word.
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ima_sinnic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 06:36 AM
Response to Original message
11. you are in the top 0.9% richest people in world,
and there are 5,946,042,435 people poorer than you in the world--according to Global Rich List.

yes, I would say you are rich.
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MercutioATC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 07:15 AM
Response to Reply #11
15. I've always wondered about that site...the figures seem off.
Type in $180,000 as your income and you're in the top .121% with 5,992,712,435 people making less than you.

Type in $200,000 as your income and you're in the top .001% with 5,999,892,435 people making less than you.

Are there really 9 million people that fall into that little $20k pay band?
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Roark Donating Member (116 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:07 AM
Response to Reply #15
27. You are right to wonder
If you have an annual income of $750 per year, you are in the top 58%.

"Oh, and in case you’re interested you are the 3,519,750,000 richest person in the world."
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amazona Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:33 AM
Response to Reply #11
33. the site is a hoax
I put in my estimated annual income of $7,500 and received a comment that I was in the upper 13.8 percent, which is utterly ridiculous. I am low income by any standard except when someone (like the owners of this site) are trying to hit me up for money.

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ima_sinnic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 12:20 PM
Response to Reply #33
50. it is not a hoax
you ARE in the upper 13.8% of the WORLD's income earners.
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Lexingtonian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 07:20 AM
Response to Original message
16. When you feel able to be generous all the time. n/t

.
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terrya Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 07:24 AM
Response to Original message
17. You are rich when you have a job that puts a roof over your head, pays...
The bills. Puts food on the table.

You are rich when you can afford some creature comforts...allowing you to endulge in a nice, worthwhile hobby or interest.

You are rich when you have a loving family. When you have great friends. When you are blessed with a wife, a husband, a partner who is the very definition of love, kindness and committment.

Then you are rich.
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ayeshahaqqiqa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 07:35 AM
Response to Original message
18. Depends
Do you mean material wealth or spiritual wealth?

If you can take the time to help someone in need, you are growing wealthy.

If you can afford some money to help a good cause that helps others, you're definately getting there.

If you can tolerate others that are hard to tolerate, if you can undergo some hardship/discomfort to help others , then you have achieved true wealth.

Material wealth? Well, what I've seen is that things you get eventually erode away or are stolen or broken. Once you get one thing, you only want another. Things only give temporary happiness. At least this has been my experience. I've found that when I am indifferent to things, and am concerned about my fellow beings, I feel a lot better.
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0007 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 07:36 AM
Response to Original message
19. Rich is only a term that judges from ones standard
A single person that has 50 grand a year to live on, can live better than most who live on less.

Ain't this a no brainer?

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Scairp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 08:23 AM
Response to Original message
21. Depends
If you live here in Southern California like me, no, you are most definitely not rich. If you made 50K where I grew up in the Midwest, then yeah, that's a great income.
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Bozola Donating Member (992 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 08:30 AM
Response to Original message
22. You are rich when


you're named "Dick"
-or-
you're cooked up and served with a heavy cream sauce
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no_hypocrisy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 08:47 AM
Response to Original message
23. Question on the other side of the coin: when do you have "enough"?
n/t
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bearfartinthewoods Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:22 AM
Response to Reply #23
31. we call that "comfortable" and define it as
when something mechanical breaks in your house, you don't even consider trying to fix it yourself. you just hire someone....that's comfortable.

we have yet to be "comfortable" but i have picked up some handy plumbing, electrical and carpentry skills.
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KayLaw Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 08:47 AM
Response to Original message
24. No
You could lose your income at anytime and be thrown out of your rental and have your car repossesed. Rich to me means having enough money and real - not paper - assets to to last a lifetime. By that I mean, living well without earning another penny from your job, interest, dividends, social security, etc.
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BiggJawn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 08:57 AM
Response to Original message
26. No, you're "Working Poor".
When people who make 80 Kilobucks consider themselves "middle-class",, 50 kilobucks is poor.
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Beaker Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:09 AM
Response to Original message
28. if you rent, and make car payments, you are NOT rich.
nt
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Famine Donating Member (25 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:16 AM
Response to Original message
29. Rich relative
Someone is rich if they have more than me.
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niceypoo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:19 AM
Response to Original message
30. Permenant wealth
is my measure of rich
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amazona Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:29 AM
Response to Original message
32. if you have to work you're not rich
Certainly if you have to pay rent you are not rich. Owning your own home is a minimal requirement. A high income is not a substitute for planning for the future. Many high income people spend every cent they make.
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IrateCitizen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:33 AM
Response to Original message
34. When you have a life filled with friends and family, you are rich
Richness is a measure of quality of life. There are many things much more important in life than financial wealth. Quite often, a large circle of friends and family within which you can all depend on each other will go a lot further to help you through bad times -- and provide many more good times -- than mere financial wealth.

However, the threshold of financial wealth is one that is entirely subjective, and varies from person to person.
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Blue_Chill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 09:44 AM
Response to Original message
35. When women half your age and way too hot for you
giggle at everything you say and refuse to let go of your arm.
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grannylib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 10:10 AM
Response to Original message
36. Monetary wealth is when there is money left over at the end of the month
Real wealth is the health, happiness, saftey and company of family and friends.
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ElsewheresDaughter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 10:12 AM
Response to Original message
37. $3 million is a good place to start from
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creativelcro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 10:18 AM
Response to Reply #37
38. according to a billionaire whose been donating to our
university, you are rich when you have 300 M and over. That is the point at which there is essentially nothing you want you cannot buy, including expensive art pieces, your own island, etc etc...
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Gringo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 10:30 AM
Response to Original message
39. For a family of four...
I'd say $80K in rural/suburban areas, $120K in the pricey metro areas.

There are a lot of variables, but I'd say if you've got 2 late-model cars, a paid-off house, kids in private school and enough income to take a trip or two to Hawaii each year, you are RICH.
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slackmaster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 10:37 AM
Response to Original message
40. IMO true wealth means financial independence
Not how much money you earn. People who HAVE to earn money in order to survive are not rich, no matter how much they have.

Rich people don't have to work. They live off income from their investments.
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creativelcro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 11:32 AM
Response to Reply #40
41. Most rich people WORK hard to preseve their wealth...
They can hire other people, but then they have to check on those people to make sure they're doing their job.
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ElsewheresDaughter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 11:35 AM
Response to Reply #41
42. oh my fucking heart bleeds purple peanut butter from them
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slackmaster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 12:17 PM
Response to Reply #41
49. Most rich people I know work only because they want to
Edited on Thu Dec-04-03 12:18 PM by slackmaster
They either do volunteer work, or pursue an avocation to keep themselves busy.

To repeat what I think I said in my previous post, I am defining a truly rich person as one who does not HAVE to work for a living.

On edit, I now see that I wrote:

They live off income from their investments.

I meant to say the CAN live off income from their investments; working is optional for them.
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YNGW Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 11:40 AM
Response to Original message
43. Rich
I'll be rich right after I make the next million. Maybe.

Abby Hoffman. He died of lead poisoning, didn't he?
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thehonesttruth Donating Member (85 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 12:05 PM
Response to Original message
44. why are you...
...so concerned with wealth?, why do you have to measure your life againest others?, what kind of existence is that??? and just so y'all know i'm rich and blessed and don't need validation from no-one.
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elfwitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 12:06 PM
Response to Original message
45. When you don't have to ask how much something costs
before you buy it, that is when you are rich.
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GumboYaYa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 12:06 PM
Response to Original message
46. A wealthy person is the one who needs the least,
not the one who has the most.
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AP Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-04-03 12:06 PM
Response to Original message
47. when you can get the government to do your bidding and make you richer
without you having to work to earn the added wealth.
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