Commenting on today’s NewMexiKen poll, Tom has provided some interesting thoughts about being rich. I’m not certain I agree completely with his framework, but I find much of it compelling. Rich is surely better defined by accumulated wealth than by annual income.
I don’t believe you are “rich” if you cannot afford to send your children to college without incurring long term debt (you or them). I don’t believe you are rich if your home is your sole source of savings. I don’t believe you are rich if you finance your car (unless by choice). I don’t believe you are rich if you cannot, as Tom suggests, sustain your lifestyle (without debt), even if your annual income drops substantially.
You might be quite comfortable. You might have a lot of discretionary income. But to have any meaning at all — “possessing great material wealth” — being “rich” surely implies money and lifestyle markedly different from middle class.