by Isherwood

I learned about indefinite hyperbolic numerals not too long ago. Words like zillion, which don't have a exact value but convey a general number. What's interesting to me is that words like million can be indefinite hyperbolic numerals as well - "I've told you that a million times!".

I found out recently that my parents are millionaires. It was a strange thing to learn because I had always thought of us as middle class, and the middle class weren't millionaires. But in talking to my parents (mostly my mom) she's worried they don't have enough. The AARP recommends $1 to $1.5 million to retire and all she can see is that she's on the low end of that spectrum.

I think when they were growing up (and Xers and Millennials to an extent) millionaire was this indefinite hyperbolic numeral - some far off number achieved by men with monocles and top hats. But now, legitimate institutions are saying that's the bare minimum you need to retire. In my household - in white households - millionaire has changed from hyperbolic to realistic.

I'd be interested to know how the average black family thinks of "being a millionaire", and what steps can be taken for changing that.

Also, I didn't have a place to put this but 1 million today was equivalent to 8.3 in 1960 and 6.5 in 1970