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It is idiotic to cite irrelevant statistic data to make arguments. Although not comparable to the life of an American middle class family, the middle class in China enjoys far better lifestyle than a family here at poverty line, and certainly has much more buying power. Among my classmates, most of the people living in U.S. and Canada (14/34) has less earning potential than those staying in China except for 2, one working in the Street and the other in hedge fund. Of course, those classmates in China are doing pretty well, and the ones in US are mostly in beginning technical positions and as academicians. This is just to tell you that I know how the life compares between the middle classes in US and China, and the “lines” means pretty much nothing. I am also pretty sure you won’t argue any more that “Aside from the few barons we discuss, most could barely afford the plane ticket to the United States and would never imagine attending a US university.” It is really stupid to say something you have no idea of.</p>
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These are the facts that can tell you lower to middle class people in China, which most of my relatives and friends are representative of, definitely can buy much more than the tickets to America. Many are planing to send their kids to US for high school and college education in the near future. Right now, a lot of people have their children studying in Australia, Canada, and Europe due to cost and visa reasons. A household of $10,000 is working class in most of the cities. Although a different story in rural area, it is still far from being wealthy. Your knowledge of China is on the same level as those learning America from Hollywood movies.</p>