No government-approved definition exists for “middle class.”
“‘Middle class’ means different things to different people,” according to FactCheck.org. “There is no standard definition, and in fact, an overwhelming majority of Americans say they are ‘middle class’ or ‘upper-middle class’ or ‘working class’ in public opinion polls. Hardly anybody considers themselves ‘lower class’ or ‘upper class’ in America.”
The Congressional Research Service issued a report two years ago called “Who Are the Middle Class?” And they found that, “The narrowest view of who might be considered middle class would include those … households with income between $36,000 and $57,660.”
But, they also concluded that a more generous definition would include all households with incomes from $19,000 to more than $90,000.
The Census Bureau puts American median family income (a family of four) at $70,000 in 2006. Half made less than that, and half made more.
If the Obama stimulus for families with incomes of less than $200,000 per year is $500 for each adult worker, the package would mean a total return of about $14.6 million in Bell County.
