[solotronics]

by your measure most people in the USA are poor

I would guess about 80%+

[twobyfour]

Perhaps that's indicative not of a problem with the measure but rather of a) a disconnect between our society's self-perception and its reality and/or b) a problem with our economic system, the opportunities available in it, and the saving/spending norms it propagates?

[chii]

this video tells what the average american thinks of the wealth distribution, vs reality (vs ideal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM

it's very enlightening.

[TaylorAlexander]

One interesting factoid I know is that 50% of Americans represent 2% of the income in America.

“The shrinking middle class” is a phrase that is part of common discourse here for a reason - I wouldn’t be surprised if 80% of Americans fit the parent comment’s definition.

[orangecat]

One interesting factoid I know is that 50% of Americans represent 2% of the income in America.

More like 15%: https://www.statista.com/statistics/203247/shares-of-househo...

[metaphor]

> One interesting factoid I know is that 50% of Americans represent 2% of the income in America.

Reference?

This recent study[1] suggests the bottom 50% income represents 12.5% pre-tax, 19.3% post-tax based on 2014 data.

[1] http://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/PSZ2018QJE.pdf see p. 39, Table I

[tomjakubowski]

That’s probably 2% of the wealth, not income. I believe that the bottom 80% of Americans together have something like 7 or 8% of US wealth.

[Feniks]

I would like to remind everyone that the trillions of US debt is financed by a global elite who LITERALLY own America.

[johnchristopher]

Which bullet points - if not all- would you exclude from the list to make it relevant ?

[jaggederest]

The only one which is not a routine part of the middle class experience these days is eating strictly junk food because you can't afford anything better.

Every other part of that entire list is, sadly enough, "normal middle class" in the US.