Everyone claims the middle, but half of them are lying.
Rich people cosplaying poor: You make $250K, have equity in a house, private school tuition, ski trips, and a second car you never drive—but because you “still have a mortgage,” you think you’re just like the average paycheck-to-paycheck family.
Stop.
You’re not “middle class,” you’re wealthy with bills.
Broke people pretending they’re stable: You make $40K, rent a one-bedroom, drive an Uber on the side, and still insist you’re “solid middle class.”
No, you’re not.
You’re one job loss or medical bill away from broke.
That’s not middle class security—that’s economic quicksand.
The uncomfortable truth: The actual middle is shrinking so fast that almost nobody fits in it anymore.
It’s an identity people cling to because nobody wants to admit they’re either rich (and privileged) or poor (and struggling). So we keep up this cosplay—millionaires whining about taxes like they’re regular folks, and broke people demanding to be seen as “comfortable.”
Here’s the trigger:
Middle class isn’t a feeling, it’s a balance sheet.
If you don’t have disposable income, retirement savings, and the ability to absorb a financial hit without begging GoFundMe, you’re not middle class.
If you do have all that, you’re not middle class either—you’re rich, stop pretending.
The debate isn’t about class—it’s about denial.
Everyone wants the cultural sympathy of being “average” without the stigma of being poor or the resentment of being rich.
So… are you middle class, or are you just pretending?
-The Rational Ram
The Rational Ram 