AN – But you are denying them the incentive to work harder. If a 2 nurses work 3 extra shifts, they can easily make a combine of about $250k. These people who you considered middle class profession are not financially middle by your definition, because they work 2x as hard as their peers.
I’m not sure where you get that I’m denying ANYONE the incentive to work hard to get more income.
And for the record – I’ve been known to work LOTS of UNPAID extra hours to get a product out or meet a deadline. I guess by your standards I’m an idiot because there’s no financial gain.
My employer rewards the higher cost of living here in San Diego by paying us on the exact same payscale as they pay folks in the midwest. (They used to have a higher payscale in SoCal – but did away with that a few years ago. We’ve been “adjusted” to the new lower scale by very low annual salary increases) It’s my choice to stay with this employer. I bear full responsibility. As an engineer, I make a comfortable income and can live within my means.
My employer also has a phrase they like to toss out when they announce less than generous merit increases… “It’s not the cost of living – it’s the cost of labor.” Translation – there’s another sucker ready to work for less, so we don’t have to pay you what it costs you to liver here.
Cost of living does not factor in to whether you are in a top income bracket or closer to median income. Raw data dictates it. I’m sure you’ve seen that standard bell curve type figures for salaries. It’s hard to justify calling someone on the far right of the curve as typical of the peak of the peak (middle) of the curve.
My issue is that folks making VERY good money like to kid themselves they’re “middle class” – when you look at the median income – it doesn’t make sense.
Here’s another bit of data for you. In San Diego County, for 2006 the median income was $36,081, it was $67,935 for married filing jointly.
$250k is NOT middle class. It’s 3.6 times greater the median income for a couple filing jointly. Even in expensive San Diego it’s not middle class. No matter how much it costs to live here.
