The pickle

This is my first posting, so all you be gentle.

Today I was informed that my yearly salary was the bottom of the range believed to be middle class. That explains a lot. I was always wondering why I couldn't afford, well really anything.
In this city the average salary is repeated over and over like a sort of mantra. Let me tell you, it's nothing to really be proud of. That's not to say I wouldn't gladly accept the average salary, seeing as it would be over a ten thousand dollar raise for me, it's just Louisville isn't exactly geared toward the people who make the average salary.
This all got me to thinking about salaries and the median and middle class. If I'm the bottom, or the crust on the bottom of a Big Mac then how do I get to be the pickle? Hell, how to I get to be the odd conglomeration of mustard and mayonnaise under the meat?
I have worked at more than a few places in this town and have met more than a couple of people. Almost everyone I meet makes same as I do and all the jobs pay what I get paid. So I wonder where are all these people making this median income? Not even our police and fire fighters make the median, or really precious few do.
Of course it is explained to me that this amount ($43,000) is determined by taking all the salaries in the middle income bracket for Louisville, adding them together and then dividing by the estimated number of people in this bracket to get the "median" of the middle income. So although our median is suppose to be $43,000, that number can be inaccurate depending on where the bean counters capped the upper limit. Or to say, what they decided was the pickle.
So, if let's say the bean counters decided $200,000 was the pickle then although most of the middle income (the meat) is exceptionally lower the median of the middle could very likely be set actually higher than most middle incomes. Then this would mean the middle of the middle was actually the top of the middle? The problem is, standard of living in this city is set by the median number determined by the bean counters.
Oh, let me interject that although our median is said to be $43,000, this in no way reflects actual salaries. So don't be thinking you can hop a train and land here making that amount at any old job. Our city has actually lost much of it's manufacturing industry and most other industry pays about, give or take a couple of thousands, $28,000 to $31,000.
In any case, I have just gotten to a place where I wonder how can you reconcile the fact you become $25 - $35,000 in debt to college but end up earning less than that a year. Not to mention if that median income is set a little high who does that really benefit?
So far here it makes the Mayor look good and it makes it appear our city economy is stronger than it really is. So I guess it could work to attract business, but that doesn't solve the problem of all us crust people not making enough to actually live in the city limits. Plus if our middle income were truly represented by a Big Mac, then the meat would be the saddest piece of meat you ever did see.
So essentially our middle income Big Mac is "little in the middle but it's got much back."