Define the terms: Poor and Rich

Yes, these terms tend to be nebulous, but I have seen various definitions. Also vote which ones are closest to your views, or write in another amount? We will define these in terms of income solely rather than accounting for power, prestige, and wealth to count into our calculations. (Also, no quarreling over what counts as income countable to this ie wether only income liable to regular income tax rates or all income regardless of tax status is not part of this topic, but rather just defining terms.) Ok, here it is:

• Poor
  • <$20,000/year
  • <$25,000/year
  • <$35,000/year
  • <$50,000/year
  • <$60,000/year
  • <$75,000/year
• Rich
  • >$75,000/year
  • >$100,000/year
  • >$150,000/year
  • >$250,000/year
  • >$500,000/year
  • >$1,000,000/year

Edit: Bolded are my choices.

edited 8th Oct '11 2:02:54 PM by secretist

TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971

Absolute Poverty: An income low enough so that the basic needs (food, water, shelter, and clothing) cannot be met.

Relative Poverty: An income that is very low when compared to the average income of a nation.

Now, wealth is harder to define, as somebody making $100,000 a year could be barely above water in a place like New York or San Francisco, or a king in a place like the Deep South...

I am now known as Flyboy.

Can't say, really. It depends on many factors. Anyway, my family would be considered poor under any of those options.

The sin of silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.

Less than 20000 $$$? If so, would 18000 dollars a year work? That's like 1500 per month. Heh, I'd take it fine even in the local currency.

"Atheism is the religion whose followers are easiest to troll"

Cannot be determined from pure income.

Someone who makes 50k a year is pretty well off in the middle of Wyoming and dirt poor in the middle of Manhattan.

I'm convinced that our modern day analogues to ancient scholars are comedians. -0dd1

Where I'm from, speaking in household terms, in the local currency (slightly stronger than USD and conveniently using the same symbol):

• Poor

<$20,000 per annum
<$25,000 per annum
<$35,000 per annum
<$50,000 per annum
<$75,000 per annum

• Rich

>$75,000 per annum
>$100,000 per annum
>$150,000 per annum
>$250,000 per annum
>$500,000 per annum
>$1,000,000 per annum

edited 8th Oct '11 12:09:30 PM by ekuseruekuseru

Depends on way too many factors. A lot of people are in so much debt, troubled times, or supporting so many others that, even though their income is greater than what one would consider "poor," they're really only left with a meager amount to make it paycheck to paycheck, if that. This is why someone with multiple jobs might be making more money than someone with one, but still be poorer than them.

I'm pretty sure the concept of Law having limits was a translation error. -Wanderlustwarrior

USAF, there's variations in the Deep South. It depends on if they live a a rural little hamlet, village or town. There are also state capitals and big cities in the Deep South. Have you heard of the show Big Rich Texas? here Definitions of the South do vary.◊

edited 8th Oct '11 12:57:07 PM by secretist

TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971

There's a reason I said deep south, and linked to the TV Tropes page. I was talking about the general idea of the rural south, not really the area as a whole.

I am now known as Flyboy.

Why does the nation as a whole set poor - rich standards while Alaska and Hawaii get to have their own state standards? Each state should form it's own standard.

TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971

Poor: getting an ulcer as the first of any given month approaches.

Rich people get ulcers too. I'm poor, yet have never gotten an ulcer in my life.

TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971

Though it does vary from place to place and depend on a number of factors, I suppose something like this...

Poor

• <$20,000/year
• <$25,000/year ((+/- 5k))
• <$35,000/year
• <$50,000/year
• <$75,000/year

Rich

• >$75,000/year
• >$100,000/year
• >$150,000/year((+/-25k))
• >$250,000/year
• >$500,000/year
• >$1,000,000/year

...is about what I define them as.

They lost me. Forgot me. Made you from parts of me. If you're the One, my father's son, what am I supposed to be?

Well, I say "nation" because most countries aren't so ridiculously huge as the United States. It would, in fact, make more sense to do it by State, in our case.

I am now known as Flyboy.

Completely Missing The Point

Rich people don't worry if they're going to have enough to pay their rent.

Is there a definite link between wealth / poverty and ulcer incidence? (You assume it, but haven't given any links to say it's grounded in reality.) Also, even if stress is a cause of ulcers, we're talking about the actual rate of ulcer incidence.

Side Note: I have seen <$50,000/year several times as a definition of poor. Jeffery Sachs (progressive) uses it as the definition in his book The Price of Civilization. I have seen <$60,000/year. Wayne Allyn Root (libertarian, but duh you can tell by the title of his book) uses this figure. I didn't list this because it wasn't one of the options I saw in a question on another webpage, but I may edit it in. This is weird given that a progressive and a libertarian are almost agreeing on the same defintion of poor in view of the range given in the OP, a dif of $10,000/year is small in contrast.

Also, Harry Reid uses the >$1,000,000 figure.

edited 8th Oct '11 2:48:54 PM by secretist

TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971

Not to snark, but it's hard to tell anymore.

I'm a skeptical squirrel

Way to take a joke made to make a point and twist it into an attempted derail.

Actually, I thought it was always hard trying to make something qualitative into something quantitative.

I have no problems with snarking. I love a good Deadpan Snarker!

edited 8th Oct '11 1:56:37 PM by secretist

TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971

Well, I imagine there are Europeans and Canadians that will tell that what seems like ridiculously large amounts of money constitutes being poor (and/or being under their poverty line), but that has to be scaled to cost of living for it to make any sense...

I am now known as Flyboy.

Wulf's opinion is mine too.

If you don't like a single Frank Ocean song, you have no soul.

Poverty in the UK depends on the number of people in the household

A single person living on their own, the poverty line is about £170 per week.

Dutch Lesbian

About 10,200 GBP when you round up in a world if there were 60 weeks in a year. $20,400 in America assuming each GBP is equal to 2 USD.

Note: We're not talking about absolute poverty, but relative poverty.

edited 8th Oct '11 2:41:57 PM by secretist

TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971

You're rich if you never have to worry about going bankrupt. These days, there aren't many rich people.

That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful

Poor: Less than 35 grand a year. Rich: More than 150 grand a year.

You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it.