NEWSWATCH: Just who ARE the middle class?

The Associated Press’s Calvin Woodward exposes political dancing at its finest: every 2008 presidential candidate purports to help the middle class, but they each have radically different interpretations of exactly who that is.

Once each candidate’s tax plans and promises are examined, Woodward found that “middle class” definitions range from poverty level to those living the high life on $200,000 salaries.

The real middle class, of course, are conventionally defined as those households with income between 80-120% of the national median income - or, by today’s standards, $35,200-$52,800.

The article is a shocking look at how this election - and, let’s face it, probably those in the past too - is defined less by specifics and more by who paints the prettiest picture with his or her political promises.

Woodward ends his scathing report thusly:

The British, more class conscious than Americans, have had their own struggle figuring out what middle class means. Lawrence Sutton once won a British newspaper contest for the best definition:
“Wearing overalls on weekdays, painting somebody else’s house to earn money? You’re working class. Wearing overalls at weekends, painting your own house to save money? You’re middle class.”

In Campaign ‘08, owning the paint company counts as middle class, too.