- 10 Dec 2016 20:56
#14748003
Classes are based on purchasing power not purely amount of money.
Middle class are considered middle class depending on how much can they afford to buy and how much purchasing power they have, thus classes are the same in all countries.
An upper class in Iran would have the same purchasing power in his\her market as that of an upper class in the US.
Same for middle class and working class and lower class.
Thats basic socioeconomics.
So no, poor people in the US are not middle class in Iran. Their purchasing power compared to their market would be the same as that of poor people in Iran compared to their market.
Articles like the one you shared doesn't consider any factor other than amount of income which is wrong.
500$ income in the US would make you poor, but 500$ in Belarus for example would make you lower middle class. True.
But the job that gets you 500$ in the US would get you less than a 100$ in Belarus for example.
Thats why purchasing power, price index, average income, and many other factors are taken into account when studying these things.
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