The use of the word “rich” really boils down to perspective. A poor person may see someone from the middle class as rich, though that same middle class someone might not see it the same way and consider the upper class rich.
However, there’s also a threshold—a very objective one—whereby you can’t but say “yeah, (s)he’s rich.” Many would without a doubt say that an annual salary of, let’s say, $400,000 is definitely one that would define a rich person or household.
Well, turns out, for some, that amount of money isn’t all that much, and Twitter disagrees with such a statement wholeheartedly.
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This Twitter user recently pointed out an online article that claims $400k isn't "exactly living large"
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In particular, how a family of four living in a metropolitan city wouldn't really have that much money left over after all of their taxes and expenses
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A CNBC article from October 2020 has recently resurfaced online. The article discusses Biden’s definition of wealth, in particular progressively taxing those with a $400,000 annual salary. However, it considers it from a different perspective—one where $400k isn’t actually deemed “rich.”
It argues that, if you’re someone who has a spouse, two kids, and lives in a major city, $400k isn’t “exactly living large,” especially considering all of the taxes and possible expenses based on FinancialSamurai.com’s calculations.
The article based its arguments on Financial Samurai's calculations found below
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According to them, monthly net income for someone earning $400,000 is almost $22,000. Deduct the expenses—everything from daycare, preschool, mortgages, and insurance to food, gas, car payments, savings, and other necessities—and you’re left with $3. So, does that really mean someone’s rich?
Well, computer scientist and politics enthusiast Dr. Mansa Keita brought up the $400k isn’t rich statement on his Twitter, saying “I’m convinced these people have no idea what struggle is like,” leading tweeters to start debating the issue.
Well, Twitter reacted by calling it ridiculous and arguing that $400k actually is the definition of rich
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While opinions and perspectives differed, many of them did agree that it’s ridiculous to say that $400,000 is not rich. Some argued that this kind of wealth still entails that though, at the end of the day, you don’t have much money left, you still end up buying nice things, like 2-million-dollar houses and brand new cars.
Others pointed out that some of the calculations do include overspending, like the $2,000 monthly food budget. Yet others say that there are expenses that can be eliminated, like less shopping or less charity. And think of all the money you’ll save once kids leave daycare and preschool.
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Also, driving a Toyota as a family of 4 seems more sensible than driving a Lamborghini. Sure, it would be cool, but highly impractical when picking up kids from school.
Though there were some who confirmed that, for example, it is quite realistic for a family of 6 to spend as much as the table claims a family of 4 spends on food, making it quite plausible in their opinion.
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Others said that the mentioned $2M home could quite likely end up being just a 1,500-square-foot affair on a tiny lot with no yard and originally built five decades ago—nothing rich about it. But, the overall consensus is that it could have been mitigated by simply being smarter with the money.
The tweet ended up garnering nearly 40,000 likes with thousands of retweets. It also made some headlines on the internet.
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You can read more replies by checking out the tweet replies. But before you go, tell us what you think about this in the comment section below!