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Senate Household Income in the U.S. (and elsewhere)

Discussion in 'Community' started by Rylo Ken, Sep 13, 2017.

  1. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015
    From the new U.S. Census report, and a few other sources:

    2016 Gini index: .481. The U.S. has higher income inequality than all other OECD nations save Germany, Mexico, Italy, Israel and Portugal.

    The best path to financial stability in the U.S. is to be Asian American, not be black or a single woman, live in a two-income family, or get a four-year college degree, preferably a STEM degree, or some combination of all those.

    median household income Asian $81,143
    median income family households $75,062
    median household income nonhispanic white $65,041
    engineer starting salary 2017 $64,891
    median household Northeast $64,390
    median household income West $64,275
    median household income $59,039
    median household income Midwest $58,305
    median household income South $53,861
    median income men $51,640
    college grad starting salary average 2017 $49,785
    median household income Hispanic $47,675
    median income women $41,554
    median household income black $39,490
    median income nonfamily households $35,761
    teacher average starting salary, 2017 $34,891
    $15 an hour, full-time $31,200
    current federal minimum wage, full time $15,080
     
  2. Ezio Skywalker

    Ezio Skywalker Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 29, 2013
    According to the OP I make about the median income for a household in the south. But inflated cost of living ($1300/month rent for a 20 year old apartment) combined with the expenses of being a single parent with residential custody doesn't give me much opportunity to save and invest as I'd like.

    I basically need to work every week without ever taking a vacation or a sick day to meet my monthly budget requirements.
     
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  3. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015
    That's the big question, right. Affordability of life at various income levels. 12.7% of Americans live in poverty, but that doesn't reflect how many households struggle with things like housing or emergency medical expenses or job training, etc. At median income levels, a lot of Americans struggle with things like a one-time $500 emergency expense.
     
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  4. dp4m

    dp4m Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2001
    $1300 / month for what sized apartment?
     
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  5. TheAvengerButton

    TheAvengerButton Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 2011
    Yeesh, I need a better job.
     
  6. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    The official poverty level in the United States is pathetically low. I think a better measure would be food insecurity (~50 million Americans).
     
  7. Diggy

    Diggy Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2013
    $500? The iPhone X is $999 plus tax. The LEGO Falcon is $800 plus tax.

    You live in a bubble.
     
  8. dp4m

    dp4m Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2001

    And yet, it's still like top-16% for the world. It could always be worse!

    A lot of this needs to be fixed. A LOT.
     
  9. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015
    That's what revolving credit is for! A third of U.S. households carry credit card debt month to month. For households with unpaid credit card debt at the end of the month, the average I think is pretty high in the 4 figures.
     
  10. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    According to that index I'm pretty well off. And I am pretty comfortable but I'm also the poorest person in my family.
     
  11. Bazinga'd

    Bazinga'd Saga / WNU Manager - Knights of LAJ star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    These figures strike me the most. How the hell is anyone supposed to live on this amount in the US? And yet, businesses (and the GOP) complain about this constantly? :rolleyes:

    It also makes me appreciate how lucky I am.
     
  12. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Sounds totally reasonable!
     
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  13. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015
    I didn't include professional starting salaries.

    Median starting salary, full time MBA program grad: $126,000
    Average MD salary $131,881
    Average JD starting salary - big range I think. top firms start close to $200k according to Bazinga'd
    Average Masters degree engineer starting, $72,500
    RN starting salary $66,000
     
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  14. Bazinga'd

    Bazinga'd Saga / WNU Manager - Knights of LAJ star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    That may be the average attorney starting amount. But in large big city firms, starting associates begin at $180K . One New York Firm, used to pay that amount to brand new lawyers plus 100% bonus for meeting their billable hour requirements (alleged to be in excess of 2500+ hours).
     
  15. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015
    I believe it. Most of the attorneys I know started practicing in the mid 1990s, so I'm way out of date on that.
     
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  16. dp4m

    dp4m Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2001

    It's not at all. But most people who want to talk about US poverty and income inequality hate globalism, and tend more towards the "America First" side of things which... isn't good either.
     
  17. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

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    Aug 16, 2002
    Globalism as it exists is deliberately structured to primarily benefit the wealthy and large corporations which... isn't good at all.
     
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  18. Lord Vivec

    Lord Vivec Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2006
    >be Asian American, done

    >not be black or a single woman, done

    >live in a two-income family, almost there

    >or get a four-year college degree, preferably a STEM degree, done

    Time to collect the dough
     
  19. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015
    I "somewhat agree", but Ender Sai will tell you that globalism does help lift the absolute poor in developing countries out of poverty, and fewer of the world's soon to be 8 billion living on less than $2/day is a good thing.
     
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  20. dp4m

    dp4m Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2001

    Wrong STEM degree... :(

    Sorry, physics boy... whomp whomp... :p

    Also, in a more serious vein, I'd be interested in discovering that "Asian-American" in these stats would be lower/higher if they weighed out South Asian vs. East/SE Asian as that's typically where the stereotypes and casual racism come into play...
     
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  21. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Yes, let's celebrate an accident of capital's search for cheap labor as though it's the reason for the whole endeavor.

    And China isn't the whole world. The average Mexican, for example, has been negatively affected by NAFTA. And the entire continent of Africa is (still) robbed of tens of billions of dollars of its wealth (net) every year in our globalist system.
     
  22. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015

    that's a good point. Census Bureau depends entirely on self-identification for ethnicity. Don't know what that implies if anything.
     
  23. Lord Vivec

    Lord Vivec Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2006
    2015 data shows Indian Americans having the highest median income.

    MASTER RACE
     
  24. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015
    At the high end, it's a challenge I think to figure out how much debt it's reasonable to accumulate for what level of post secondary education. How much debt is ok for a 4 year degree. A masters degree. A JD, MD ($166k is the average for that), PhD. It will depend heavily on what the degree is and the quality of the school itself and how well the individual does in their degree. Doing well in school creates opportunities. Going to a better school creates opportunities. If you graduate near the top of your class in law school at University of Chicago and get an offer from Kirkland & Ellis at $200k at the age of 25, you can justify quite a bit of debt getting there. If you're going to be a public defender with a degree from John Marshall here in Chicago, maybe not so much debt.
     
  25. Ezio Skywalker

    Ezio Skywalker Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 29, 2013
    It's a 2-bedroom 2-bath unit, no balcony. Back when I was going for my MBA, I lived in the nicer apartment complex across the street, also in a 2-bedroom 2-bath, but with a balcony. That unit cost $900/month back in 2008. That exact same unit without any upgrades now costs just over $1600/month. It still contains the exact same appliances I used almost 10 years ago, along with the same countertops, etc.

    My current complex is the most affordable in the neighborhood. Admittedly, I live in a pretty large and somewhat prominent Orlando neighborhood, with easy commuting access to pretty much everywhere (downtown, Disney, Universal, Sea World, etc are all about a 15-20 minute drive), so I suppose the area can demand higher prices for older housing units due to its convenient location.

    I could move 40-60 minutes away and pay cheaper rent, but then that would increase commute time to schools (better rated schools are usually located in more expensive neighborhoods, of course), work, etc, plus those areas farther away from Orlando proper seem to suffer more hurricane damage.