Brian D a écrit :
Are you in France? Doesn't sound so bad to me. Others that I've spoken to
had quite a different story to tell, so it must vary a lot country by
country I'd say. Using your 1.3 ratio BTW, my wife and I have a joint
income of $130K Euros and this is not unusual ...but our combined tax rate
(fed plus state) is around 35%. Our social security will dissolve before we
get there (or will reduce in benefits, increase in age requirement, etc
...same thing as 'going away'). If our retirement keeps on like it has (it
includes world wide investments for diversity and growth), then our income
will remain unchanged when we retire and we'll have medical at the same
rate. Sounds like you and I are doing very much the same, maybe you are
doing a bit better. In this country, I'd say we are middle to upper-middle
class. Not tooo upper though. Just OK. We don't drive Mercedes... Dodge
and Chevy is more like it.

Yes, there is no paradise for sure, but freedom to succeed on your own is a
huge factor that should never be taken away from people.

Brian

You're right, I'm in France. Of course income and taxes may vary a lot
from countries to countries in Europe too.. UK taxes are far Higher for
instance. The intersting thing here is that Social security as
unemployment insurance is mandatory and directly cut from your wages. It
refunds 70% of your medical costs, and you can subscribe to a private
complement for 30 euros a month that brings it to 100% for all medical
costs.. The interesting thing is that it is taken to the source, so when
I get a 50K income, it is after all those insurances are paid, no need
to pay further.. and unemployment refunding , although it is 57% of you
salary is calculated on a 365 days a year basis.. so if you got 50 K for
12 months based on days worked (12x20 days), you'll be paid on a 30x12
days basis.. for instance, for a 50K income, you'll get a 42.75 K income
during 3 years if unemployed during this time..
Retirement is paid partly by the social security, and partly by private
companies to whom you have to subscribe when you work (all costs are
also cut at the source) and retirement wages may vary from 80% to 100%
of your salary depending on which private retirement funds you have
chosen to subscribe while you were active. Social security applies event
when you are retired and you will in any case get at least 70% refunded.
In this country lower middle class is usually around 50K a year for a
family although upper middle class is from 60K to 150K.. But i can
comfort you.. only a very few drive bmw or Mercedes in this class, at 40
to 100K a bit, they are way to expensive even for a higher middle class
family.. most of us drive Renault, Peugeot or Citroen cars (dodge or
chevy equivalent here). ;-) French people rather invest in stone than
in cars and most families try to have a vacation house in the
countryside or at the sea which becomes their everyday's home when they
get retired..

Phil.