$10,000 - $20,000 8.03%
$20,000 - $ 30,000 9.49%
$30,000 - $40,000 9.12%
$40,000 - $50,000 9.49%
$50,000 - $60,000 11.31%
$60,000 - $70,000 5.84%
$70,000 - $80,000 6.93%
$80,000 - $90,000 5.47%
$90,000 - $100,000 7.66%
$100,000 - $150,000 18.61%
Over $150,000 11.68%
Above are the results of a recent poll on this site.
There are several interesting trends in this data. First off, we see an impossible number of $100,000+ income earning households. Less than 5% of American households earn more than $100,000 a year. Considering that there are few nations that can boast a higher standard of living than the United States…it seems strange to see more than 30% of Peak Oilers claming to be a member of the 6-figure club.
Another interesting trend was pointed out my microhydro on the poll itself. There is a deficit of $60,000-$100,000 households. This could either mean a considerable decline in the Middle Class or, as I suspect, it reflects the globalization of www.peakoil.com. With many of our members coming from non-Western nations, the household income is bound to be lower. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the standard of living is lower. As I mentioned on the poll itself, $20,000 a year in India is considered very well off. But this same income is considered near-poverty for someone living in an expensive city like New York or Tokyo. What makes this trend obvious is the fact that a few people choose "Under $10,000" as their household income. This probably qualifies as well off enough for a computer in Eastern Europe but it seems rather unlikely that Americans, Japanese, or Western Europeans could be members of the internet-class on less than $10,000 a year.
Additionally, we must remember that we are looking at an anonymous survey over the internet. People are bound to exaggerate their actual household income or simply flat out lie.
Considering that ANYONE can show up on the site and hit the “Over $150,000” button…it doesn’t surprise me that we see an impossibly high number of them.
The real reason for the ridiculous number of wealthy households probably goes back to the fact that Peak Oil is a trendy internet fad. Most of the working poor and even middle class don’t have time to spend hours searching the internet. Those with higher incomes and possibly more free time are able to find out about things like Peak Oil. But if you are working two jobs at minimum wage to support your toddler because that jerk of a husband left when the going got tough…it’s unlikely that you would be able to sit in front of a computer screen for hours on end to discover an obscure site such as peakoil.com.
What's missing in the survey is a mention of the number of people in a household. Obviously a family of 5 with a household income of $40,000 is not as "well off" as a single person earning $30,000 a year in the same community. But internet polls aren't exactly the CIA factbook...so I'll let that slide.
I dunno, I thought it was interesting.
), and that in such a way that I always have 3 days off in a row, which feels like a little holiday.
)
