Larry Rivette’s July 28 letter “Distinction is obvious,” saying that the middle class is between the lower class and the upper class, has no real value unless he defines the lower class and the upper class. What income level separates the middle class from the lower class? And, are there any other criteria besides income that define the middle class?
It seems to me that a person in the middle class should be able to fulfill the American dream, be able to buy a modest house, a decent car, and send one or two children to college. What does it take to do that, $40,000 a year, $50,000, $60,000? Are these amounts even close?
My grandfather was a buyer for a department store until he lost his job in the Great Depression. My mother was planning to study art in college but that opportunity went out the window. My grandparents did buy a house after the Depression. The house had cold running water and an outhouse, not exactly what most people would consider middle class. Even so, I learned middle-class values from my grandparents who raised me.
I think there is more to being middle class than where a person fits between the lower class and the upper class financially.
