I'm also skeptical a family (of let's say, four) ceases to be middle class at just 130k, even in Houston.
Above $130,000 is squarely in the top quantile of incomes, and folks in that bracket (between top 20% and top 1%) have increased their incomes dramatically over the last four decades: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2017/07... (see the second chart).
For example, in the US you have to pay your own health insurance, but in many other places it may be covered by taxes. Therefore your US on-paper salary it may be higher due to this fact because you would have to pay for health insurance.
That leaves about $11,500 for clothing, entertainment, emergency savings, vacation, education, etc.
Regardless, people and families do it all the time and do it on less.
You could argue that it is money that they could otherwise be paid as salary, but then they would either have to pay full cost for private insurance or be taxed more to pay for public health care.
What they are paying for that the average middle-class German may not be (at least not as much) is savings for educating their children and for their own retirement.
Scholarships do not exist for normal kids.
Honestly, this sounds harsh but in the US, if the scholarships don't exist (and are needed) then maybe those kids shouldn't go to (that? or any?) college. There is a perception that everyone needs to go to college that we clearly have to quash. There is nothing dishonorable or lowly about being a tradesma, the 'need to go to college' stigma needs to die.
No cable? :P
Kids are super neat--it's just interesting seeing if that was from marrying into additional kids (have seen this with second and third marriage couples) or if they come from the marriage directly.
Think about what it: you're asking about someone's love life. It is no business of yours. So if you're going to ask a question like that, please be respectful. For example, say "If you don't mind my asking, why did you have so many kids?"