50K is limping by? Yikes. then we are definately in the lowest tax bracket. Of course right now my husband is the only one that makes money. i work for free rent since I rent my boss's house. I work enough hours to pay the rent and I just don't get a pay cheque. Of course, due to "child" support (no children involved but the ex is very much like a child lol) my hubby is bringing home far less than that. around 55k a year minus $550 a month for alimony until June. but I wouldn't consider myself poor by any means. We live quite a comfortable exsistence. Of course most of that money is also going towards more immigration stuff and dr;s fees for prenatal care since I don't have health insurance here. but even after all that we are still living comfortably and wouldn't consider us downtrodden or poor or less fortunate.

the bills get paid and we still have enough to do the things we enjoy. of course not all of those things cost money. We also don't own or need a 65,000 dollar vehicle, a pool, a huge house with all the trimmings to be happy.

that is one thing I have noticed lately. In fact, a few months ago (I don't know the specifics) but after the PA senate gave themselves a HEFTY pay raise... everyone raised heck because they make enough already. You know what their defense was? We need to make this much because we have to send our kids to college and we have to survive. instead of redistributing the unused tax dollars that I feel are rightfully ours and should be redistributed they gave it to themselves.

that just shows how out of touch with the real world these people are. If they need to make that much money to survive how do the rest of us survive and send our kids to college. Perhaps if they got rid of their summer homes.... their big expensive vehicles..... and lived a normal exsistence they wouldn't have to make that much to "survive"