I worry that she actually is "middle class" and the wealth disparity has moved to the point that those of us who cannot spend $150 on pet insurance or drop $750,000+ on a house or $100,000 on a truck are effectively "poor", at least as far as the market is concerned.

Where does she claim to be middle class? It seems she recognizes she was middle class as a kid, but now is not, considering she said "were" instead of "are."

I have a very different take away from this and that she knows she is wealthy, and trying to impart the understanding of their luck onto her kids...I don't see her at all denying her wealth.

Erm, not arguing that this lady is middle class, but dog insurance cost is not remotely relevant to that lol. I pay that for my dog and make less than 6 figures. My dog is just really important to me, and our last dog cost us thousands and thousands of dollars on vet bills. I'm not going to be blindsided dropping $5k in a day on vet bills again. Our dog has insurance because it seems like the financially responsible thing to do, especially when your dog is extremely active and engaging in sports that it may be injured doing.

So-called upper middle class: "I'm middle class because there are people richer than me"

So-called lower middle class: "I'm middle class because there are people poorer than me"

IMO the middle class is an illusion

I can't afford $150 for my own health insurance

What if how she lives is the way middle class should be? Like, we want to create a system where most people live this way (or have the option to).

Hello fellow middle-class citizens!

Lol, have you seen the cost of daycare... $1000 per month easy in most cities. Probably not what you meant, but it still made me laugh.

She has a job and 2 kids in child care age. $25 a day seems reasonable even cheap to maintain her career. And if an accountant can pay for themselves on a journalists salary then she should right?

THUTTY SIX BUT LAHST! THUTTY SIX BUT LAHST!

That still does not answer my “why” question tbh.

But I suppose that in a country where “walkable neighborhoods” are construed to be some nefarious communist plot to rob people of their freedom, not walking its a status symbol.

Imagine spending $1,000+ when walking is free.

I can imagine someone with a disability wanting a cart like this to get around, but this woman does not need a fucking golf cart.

We're all going to die because of this overconsumption bullshit.