Since this is the second week of the political conventions, I figured I’d post about each candidate’s views on the economy.

Obama’s been running a commercial accusing John McCain of being out of touch with most Americans because McCain defined the line between being middle class and being rich as $5 million a year. It does make Johnny Boy sound all kinda crazy — I mean, $5 million?

But was he onto something?

I talked to ESPN.com writer Jemele Hill last week about what defines “middle class”. I said you need to be checking at least 80 grand a year these days. Anything else and you’re probably struggling, especially if you’re in a coastal city and if you have a family. But Jemele has an aunt who’s a tax accountant who said that middle class for a family of four these days is probably closer to $250k a year or so for a family.

To a lot of people, I’m sure that sounds just as crazy as what McCain said, but think about it: inflation is higher than it’s been in years, and wages haven’t gone up for most workers in a long time. Plus, there was at least half a decade of ridiculous housing prices that still haven’t come down to reasonable levels in many places. Gustav’s messing it up for everyone, so $4 a gallon gas is probably coming back before the end of the year, and food prices are still up.

So  how much do you have to make these days to be part of the middle class, and what’s the difference between that and being rich?

You learn a lot sometimes staring into a blank camera with a tiny speaker jammed up your earhole. Like how the poor economy is affecting people in other places: in Texas, everyone else’s misery is actually helping employment because of the booming oil industry; in Cali, everyone’s nervous about bank failures because of the collapse of IndyMac (which by context clue you should have figured out by now isn’t based in Indy).

That’s what I learned last night in the 10 minutes or so I was on PBS’ the News Hour with Jim Lehrer talking about the economy. It was the first time I was on the show and  other than threatening my sons with their lives if they made any noise while the mic was live (no nuts, please), everything went great. Either way, watch this to hear about what the panel had to say about the economy in different regions of the country, then post and tell me about your experiences. We we way off the mark or dead on? Are people in your area losing jobs or still working but hurt by high gas and food prices and long commutes?

Gas. Prices. Are. High.

Ain’t too many more ways to say it. But people can’t stop talking about it either, and I know why. I drove from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh and back in the last two days and spent $100 on gas, filling up twice. I know I got off easy: the car I drove has great gas mileage so I didn’t have to stop on the road. Still, that’s a trip that a year or so ago costs me about $75 bucks. And it’s still going up.

But here’s where gas prices get ill: the impact of how much you have to pay to fill up can cripple some small business owners and even whole towns. I was on NPR discussing it today with a gas station owner and a woman who works for a GM plant in Flint, Mich., where everyone is afraid for their jobs. Here’s the audio.

So besides the hurting it’s putting on your wallet, where else have you seen the pain from the pumps reverberating?

Not that I’m advocating that approach, but apparently some are. A friend emailed me this story this morning about the rise of gasoline thefts. People are apparently so pissed, or so discouraged, by the cost of a gallon of petro that they’re jacking gas stations. Either that or criminals have just found another way to get paid. Some of the gas thefts sound like the work of organized crime:

“Two men emerge, tinker with a gas pump and somehow manage to activate it. Before long, vehicles begin filing through, as the two men direct them and help fill up their tanks. One trucker tops off at least three 55-gallon drums. The video shows drivers paying off the two men and making calls on their cell phones, perhaps summoning friends to partake in the bonanza.”

-Newsweek.com, June 12, 2008

I’ll be on NPR this afternoon talking about gas prices. If you have a story, or outrage, to share, let me know.

I was on NPR again today. This time I was interviewed about high fuel costs along with a black trucker. Think $3 a gallon regular is killing you? This guy drives for a living and his truck uses dozens of gallons of $4-per-gallon diesel fuel. Even the cost of his tires have gone up — to about $4,000 a set.

I’ll post the audio link as soon as it’s live. Here’s the audio. One thing we were supposed to talk about but didn’t get to was tips for saving money on gas. My top tip is drive less — walk short distances, or take the subway or bus to and from work. They say if you keep your tires properly inflated it helps your gas mileage as well, although I’m not sure how.

Anyone have other tips for saving money on gas?

$3.27 a gallon. That’s the latest record for national average gas prices, according to AAA. If that ain’t bad enough, it’s already higher in some places and most economists think the cost of a gallon of gas will hit $3.50 or $3.75 within a few months.

Thing is, I don’t believe that the jump in gas prices is just a recent phenomenon related to all the other problems in the economy. I went back to look at data from the past few years, and the price of gas has more than doubled (all while oil companies have reported record profits). In Sept. 2000, the month I bought my current car, a gallon of regular cost $1.50 a gallon on average, compared to that $3.27 today.

Public transportation never looked so good.