作为移民到美国的华人，是否进入中产阶级，或是否进入主流社会，常常是我们重要的关注点之一。最新的《美国新闻》从美国人的角度，对2010年现今中产阶级的状况和定义做了一番剖析，本报记者华牧综合如下。
所谓的中产阶级，在经济衰退中正在挣扎中，中产阶级的标准也在改变中。你是否还在中产阶级的范围呢？ 中产阶级的标准究竟有哪些呢？下面是笔者的一孔之见，见仁见智，供华人读者参考。
Income家庭收入
For the 50 percent of families in the middle of the scale, household income ranges from $51,000 to $123,000 for a typical four-person, two-parent family. The median is about $81,000. Those numbers are from 2008, and have probably fallen 5 to 7 percent since then, on account of the recession. Median income for a single-parent, two-child family is about $25,000.
在美国，百分之50的家庭进入中产阶级，对于一个四口之家，收入在51，000到123，000美元的范围内，平均在81，000，你已经进入了中产阶级。和2008年相比，这一数字降低了5-7%。
Housing Costs房产价值
For two-parent families, the typical home is worth about $231,000, accounting for $17,600 in mortgage payments and other costs per year. Housing costs have risen by more than twice as much as income since 1990, a trend that may finally be reversing thanks to the housing bust.
对于做父母的夫妇家庭，拥有房产在231，000美元，年费用（含贷款、保险和地税等）17，600美元。
Home Size 房屋面积
The housing bubble was one factor that boosted housing costs, but the typical family also lives in a much bigger home. The median size of a new, single-family home jumped by 40 percent between 1979 and 2007, to about 2,300 square feet. That may now be declining, as families downsize and some get booted from homes they can't afford.
中产阶级该住多大的房子？在房市泡沫的挤涨下，在1979年到2007年间，中产阶级的住房面积上涨了40%，大约在2，300平方尺。在泡沫的挤压下，这一数字可能会缩小。
Medical Expenses医疗费用支出
You've probably heard — healthcare costs are going through the roof. A study by the middle-class task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden says the median two-parent family spends $5,100 per year on health insurance and non-covered expenses—assuming an employer provides health insurance. Healthcare costs have risen far more than any other aspect of the family budget since 1990, with no end in sight.
坊间和政坛近来讨论最多的莫过于医疗照顾了。一个中产阶级四口之家的医疗保险的费用大约每年在5，100美元。这是1990年来，中产阶级家庭计划中增长最快的支出项目，而且未来的支出的尽头在哪里，谁心里都没有数！
Cars车辆支出
They provide mobility and represent freedom, one reason the typical family spends about $12,400 per year on two medium-sized sedans or the equivalent, with a new-car value of $45,000. The recession may have dampened our love of the road, however: Americans are driving less and car sales are off about 40 percent.
对于车价在45，000，家中拥有两辆普通车型的家庭来说，车辆的支出，大约在$12，400，美国的中产阶级在这一项上，大约节省了40%。
College Savings大学教育存款
The typical family puts aside $4,100 for college expenses for two kids, estimated to cover about 75 percent of expenses at a state university. Financial aid helps with the rest. But if possible, toss more into the college fund: As states face budget crunches, tuition and fees are going up.
典型的两个孩子的家庭，大约存款$4，100，这也大约覆盖州立大学75%的费用，其他的则要用，贷款来填补。当然，如果州立大学财务捉襟见肘，学费上涨，那就另当别论了。
Vacations度假
One week at the beach or another destination is standard, at a cost of $3,000 or so for four. More affluent families can afford two weeks, at a typical cost of $6,100.
一周标准的海滩或其他度假，四口之家的费用为$3，000，两周的假期大约在6,100了。
Retirement Savings退休计划
A median-income family that saved 3.2 percent of its income—roughly equivalent to the national saving rate—would sock away nearly $2,600 per year for retirement. Of course many families don't hit even that modest goal, and stock-market losses over the last several years have further shrunk the national nest egg.
中产阶级会将大约3.2%的收入作为退休计划，大约每年在2,600。当然，随着股市的震荡，人们已经无法预料未来自己账户里的数字。
Everyday Spending 日常费用
Clothes, food, utilities, entertainment and other living expenses amount to $14,200 a year for a median-income family. Not surprisingly, this is one set expenses many families are trying to reduce, by buying more discount brands, using less or doing without.
中产阶级的日常费用，包括衣物，食品，水电气费用等大约每年在$14，000，越来越多的家庭更会精打细算。北美华人在这一项上尤为擅长。
Number of Earners 家庭上班人数
In 76 percent of two-parent families, both parents work. The higher the household income, the more likely it is that both parents are contributing.
和往年相比，更多的夫妇同时工作，双职工的人数高达76%，不过和田纳西州华人家庭双职工人数比例的98%，还是小巫见大巫。
Hours Worked 工作时间
Few parents will be surprised to hear that Moms and Dads are working more than they used to. The total number of hours worked in a two-parent family is 3,747 per year, up 5 percent since 1990. The increased hours add up to more than four 40-hour weeks of additional work per family.
和1990年相比，双职工家庭每一年的工作时间高达3，747，上涨5%，超过每周40个小时。不过，和北美的华人餐馆从业人员的70-80小时相比，还是非常轻松的了。
Education 教育
The typical household head has a high school degree plus about two years of college education, up by more than a full year of college since 1990. Good thing—education is a key factor in lifetime earnings, and high school dropouts face a dim future by nearly every measure.
典型的中产阶级家庭教育水准在大专（两年制）水平以上。在北美，越来越多的数据表明，教育水准和收入有关。
Free Time自由支配的时间
What's your top priority? In a 2008 poll by the Pew Research Center, it wasn't healthy kids, a strong marriage or a great career; 68 percent of respondents said it was free time. (And just 12 percent said it was being wealthy.)
什么对你最重要？这一点老美老中大相庭径。2008年的民调显示，最重要的不是健康、孩子、婚姻或者职业，而是68%的人们自由支配的时间。仅有12%的人选择财富！
Household Net Worth 家庭净资产
The typical household has a net worth of about $84,000, according to the Federal Reserve. That's down 30 percent since 2007, thanks to losses in stock portfolios and home values.
根据联邦储备局的资料，典型的中产阶级家庭的净财富，大约为$84,000,比2007年下降了30%，这主要因为房价的滑落和股市的崩盘。
Debt债务
About 18 percent of disposable income, on average, goes toward mortgage payments, auto loans, credit cards and other forms of household debt. That's a bit higher than it was in the '70s and '80s. But since debt payments peaked at the beginning of 2008, at 18.9 percent of income, they've been steadily falling.
中产阶级18%的收入用于债务，包括房贷，车贷，比70和80年代略高，2008年达到顶峰，大约18.9%，现在这一数据正在滑落。
本文的数据和资料都是根据美国中产阶级的平均数据而来。华人的情形不完全相同。我们可以根据这些资料，判断我们的生活水准，让我们更好地了解美国社会和美国人。也让我们有一颗感恩的心，面对每一天。
田納西新聞(www.tncnnews.org), 2007-2008. All Rights Reserved.
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