Well, at least in Seattle, a 200+k / year household income from a two earner family is hardly unusual. With 10,000+ Boeing engineers, and thousands more Microsoft types its cake. Oh, and then there are the top grade rivet pounders at Boeing (IAM folks top out in about 10 years) as well....many tens of thousands more, that with a bit of OT and a shift differential can hit 6 figures. And we aren't even talking about the thousands of laywers, bean counters or doctors. Nor mid career tenure professors at the UW. Nor the tens of thousands of mid career or later government workers. A couple of 35 year olds, one bucking rivets and the other as say a metro purchasing agent....yeah, throw in a bit of OT and combined they're pushing 200k a year. With jobs like that they're hardly upper class. Hell, the rivet Bucker is clearly working class....although they earn a wage consummate with the skill and effort required.
Here's at tale on relative: ANYONE who flies is fucking rich in the absolute sense. A 30k a year schmuck can save up, find a cheap promo seat at jet off to where ever. You're a fucking king compared to the literal dirt poor in bumfuck nowhere. But you don't feel rich, since just up there you see those bastards in PREMIUM economy. Bastards can actually recline and have 6" more leg room. How rich did they have to be to afford the $1,100 ticket when king paid $400? Or course Mr and Mrs Lord Rich Pants there in premium economy feel the same.....since they catch glimpses of the Business Class cabin just in front of them. And wonder how rich you have to be to afford the $4,500 ticket there. Damn that lay flat seat would be nice for the 10 hour flight to London from Seattle. And those bastards in B Class get free drinks and no line at the lavatory.
Of course, B Class Ass is there knowing there is a pod seat in First Class. They don't even have to talk wih the person next to them.....since there isn't one. Yeah....there is that wonder of how rich you have to be to afford dropping $10,000 a seat.
Then again, our out of touch First Class Dickhead thinks it sucks. After all, they had to put up with the TSA bullshit just like cheap seat back in steerage. First Class Dickhead laments how poor he is relative to those Bizjet hopping across. Yeah, it would suck to have to fuel stop in Iceland....but then again, come and go on Yur own schedule and skip the TSA. But Entry Biz Jet Jerk longs for and feels inadequate seeing his jet parked next to G650 or BBJ guy at the FBO in London.
And meanwhile, there is a person scratching out a living, somewhere, looming up at a contrail of the jet with 30k a year guy, the same one on this thread bitching about 200k a year mid career couple, and thinks - fuck you, you envious ass. Just once I would like to be able to grow enough to be sure I had a full belly every night, and here you are, sitting in the lap of your 30k a year luxury life, FLYING! And you have the fucking nerve to bitch about it. Go fuck yourself.