Household Income, US Census Data

Household Income-2005--Part 1:
"Table HINC-05. Percent Distribution of Households, by Selected Characteristics Within Income Quintile and Top 5 Percent in 2006

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2007 Annual Social and Economic Supplement. Numbers in thousands. ]



I always get confused when I hear people talking about middle income families/households, and it alwasy seems to me that if you are in the DC or other elite groups, $100K or even $200K puts you squarely in the middle class.

As you can see by the table (if you can't read it, follow the link to the Census Bureau), the true middle, is between $37K and $60K for the true middle quintile and between $20K and $97K for the 3/5 in the middle.

Now, just to follow up on something I heard McCain (and the usual propogandists agains National Health Insurance systems of any kind) say is that you'll be taxed to death. Now, if you are in the middle 3/5, and you are paying, for argument's sake, $12K for healthcare (either out of your wages or paying it yourself), how, again, do you lose by adopting a single payer or Bismarck style insurance plan?

And I guess I learned something from Frontline and Uwe Reinhardt: I have to add "Bismarckian Insurance Plan," to my categories/tags.

Cheers,

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