Everyone Wants To Be Monkey in the Middle

Katherine Mangu-Ward | November 25, 2008

Americans love to be middle class. In fact, 53 percent of us consider ourselves part of the middle class, including pretty much all of the rich people, and quite a few of the poor.

For example, four-in-ten Americans with incomes below $20,000 say they are middle class, as do a third of those with incomes above $150,000. And about the same percentages of blacks (50%), Hispanics (54%) and whites (53%) self-identify as middle class, even though members of minority groups who say they are middle class have far less income and wealth than do whites who say they are middle class.

An additional 19 percent call themselves upper middle class, with another 19 percent calling themselves lower middle class. That leaves a big 8 percent of people who are willing to boldly go without the word middle. No wonder promising "no tax increases for the middle class" is such an effective strategy.