Despite earning more than $100,000 in household income, many people feel that they are living month to month and that a loss of employment or sudden medical emergency could easily move them from the upper middle class to low income earners. This feeling of being on the “edge” of poverty, despite these levels of income, seems a bit ridiculous but it really comes down to easy credit, misunderstanding of their incomes and peer (同辈) group pressures.
Even in today’s tough economy, for those with six-figure incomes credit is easy to come by. Credit companies may have cut back offerings to those in lower income brackets(等级) due to the recent credit reforms, but there seems to be little or no effect on high income earners. Their being able to get credit without difficulty gives them a false sense of security that makes them spend way more than their incomes can afford. That’s why they accumulate credit card debt faster than average.
Many higher income earners feel like they are making lots of money now, and believe that they will continue to make big money. This may reduce their feeling that they need to watch their money carefully now. Hand in hand with that, many of them probably believe that they are making more money than they really are—or said another way, the money they make will go farther than it really does.
Meanwhile, many young professionals who are earning good incomes don’t come from particularly privileged backgrounds, and their reference point may be that they are making twice (or more) than their parents were—so they spend like that us well. They don’t take account of the effect of inflation(通货膨胀), which means that the cost of living is much higher than that in their parents’ generation. Further, the more you earn, the more you pay in tax. Rather than focusing on after-tax incomes, many high income earners only look at the top figures. A $100,000 income before tax is only about $70,000 after tax.
【小题1】Who is the text centered on?| A．The upper middle class. | B．Hie lower income group. |
| C．People living in poverty. | D．People getting into debt. |
| A．The effect of inflation. | B．Easy availability of credit. |
| C．The good economic climate. | D．Their privileged backgrounds. |
| A．They should focus on their top line figures. |
| B．They need to look ahead rather than look back. |
| C．They actually don’t earn as much as they think. |
| D．They should form good personal financial habits. |
| A．Effects of peer group pressures. | B．Ways to keep financial stability. |
| C．Harm of poor money management. | D．Tips on reducing the risk of poverty. |
