America In Five Classes Essay

My parents were persistently working, day in and day out to support the life they had. If they didn't have work as strenuous as they did, the lifestyle they tried to obtain would not be possible, which is why it made them a "wage-slave." Yes, the working-class is a part of the middle class, but in reality, the working-class can be a challenging class to be a part of, due to being on the verge of poverty. Individuals are doing what it takes to keep their head afloat above the water to get by and not crumble down to poverty. For that reason, I believe that's why there are so many working-class individuals. Middle-class people don't want to live in poverty but being wealthy is a difficult task to achieve, so they do the bare minimum to just get by and not to be classified as part of poverty and that's how they land in the context of the middle-class but rather more as a

The American middle class is supposed to be living the American dream life. They would be able to afford a home, 1-2 cars, take 1-2 vacations within a year, be able to send their children to college and live comfortable lives. Middle class Americans would shop stores such as Wal-Mart and Kmart and splurge on department

America’s classes appear to be split up in three sections: Upper, Middle, and Lower class. People categorize each other depending on what they wear, where they live, who they associate with, and what jobs they have. Income and wealth have a substantial part of the American class.

Despite the debates about social class, the United States is usually described as having four major social classes, the elite or upperclass, the middle class, the working class, and the lower class (Goldscmidt). Classes are generally differentiated by income, education, and occupation although other factors do have an effect. The upperclass consists of about 1% of the population making 750,000 dollars or more a year as investors, top executives, or heirs to large fortunes (Hughes and Jenkins). There tends to be no question about who is in the upperclass as they are pretty clearly isolated in their power and wealth. The middle class makes up about 40% of the population making anywhere from 40,000 to 749,999 dollars a year (Hughes and Jenkins). The large disparity in income and wealth have led to a further division of this class into upper-middle class and middle class in some circles. The middle class usually work white collar jobs as professionals and managers, however some highly skilled blue collar workers are included. Those in the middle class have usually obtained higher education degrees and place a high value on individual responsibility for one’s class (Goldschmidt). The working class is composed of about 50% of the population earning 13,000 to 39,000 dollars a year (Hughes and Jenkins). Some also divide this class into a working class and a

* Working class: The lowest category and lived poorly and worked for long amounts for limited amounts of money and resources.

Since the beginning of time there has been separation of economic classes; the poor, middle class, working class, and upper class. Most people are considered or identifies as middle class or the working class.

Americans also hold idea that theirs is a “classless” society. Derived from revolutionary ideas in Europe and shaped by American dislike for special privilege based on birth or rank, this classless notion had denied culturally derived differences based on caste or inheritance but extolled differences in status based on ability and achievement. This concept of classless men obscures the fact that blurred and non-rigid stratification lines based on achievement and wealth, position and power, do exist in America. Sociologists generally divide American society into three strata or class: Upper class, middle class and lower class. Frequently they make gradations within these three

People are deemed poor if their incomes are insufficient to obtain the basic necessitates for themselves or their families. The most common and stereotypic explanation of poverty is the poor cause their own poverty because in America anything is possible if you want it. This “blame the poor” point of view is does

In the Middle Class it states, “54 million Americans households earning roughly between $20,000 and $40,000 for a family of four” (Colombo, Cullen, and Lisa 352). This signifies how there are more people in the poor working class rather than the middle class. The importance of this is how there are more, poor working

The social stratification for the United States of America is stratified into social classes based on wealth, income, educational attainment, occupation, and social networks (Boundless). There are three basic social classes in the United States. You have the upper class, middle class, and the

The working class covers all races, all nationalities, genders, and age groups. The working class is that part of society that breaks their backs in exchange for a pay check. This would include workers in factories, stock yards, steel mills, or filling orders at Amazon.com, etc. (N.A. n.d.1). This included children until the early 1900 when states started adopting child labor laws. It also included the majority of women during World War 1 and 2 when most of the men were off being killed. The working class in generally thought of as uneducated. There could be chances for upward movement, but they are still considered working class. Sometimes even after achieving an education, they looked down upon. The income depends on your life style, and what part of the country you live in.

The working class are those minimally educated people who engage in manual labor. Most of the people who made up this groups are unskilled workers and are usually underpaid. People that belong to this group are most like to have a stroke as well as suffer from diabetes. Just like the middle class this group of people have minima access to healthcare and are under the risk having more health problems. People that are part of this class suffer from stress and are very vulnerable to heart disease

Thee middle class is constantly referred to as the “working class”. Former President Richard Nixon explains this in his speech address to the nation on labor day September 6, 1971. This speech was given to talk about something Nixon felt America has failed to achieve: a home without war or inflation. In his speech, he describes that this nation is under the impression that “it is immoral… to strive for a higher standard of living” (Nixon). He was explaining that this nation has come to know that where you are is where you stand you do not shift from that position. If you are making a life for yourself, you should be happy. Middle income Americans, however, cannot be held at a stand still. Because so many people make up the middle class, it is always a question to many Americans if they qualify as “middle class”. Richard Fry and Rakesh Kochhar are two of the many minds behind Pew Research Center. PRC is specific on being unbiased and developing har facts from both sides of a situation. In 2016, they made a study that provides a solution of who is considered middle class. It has been proved that over 51% of all workers are a part of the middle class (Fry and Kochhar). Thus, making up a little more than half of what our economy runs on. These middle class people are people with jobs like a secretary, a truck driver, even a high school teacher. These people contribute in everyday life throughout our society. Because the middle class makes up most of what is the working class, they definitely economically benefit the

Of this group, about 1/3rd belongs to the upper-middle class. The annual income of person belonging to this group is $70-$75,000. The jobs that the typical upper-middle class person holds would have a prestige rating of 65 or higher. 2/3rd?s of the middle-class population is the lower-middle class. White-collared individuals make up the majority of this class, earning anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 a year. Lower-middle class Americans have a set standard of priorities. They take pride in the fact that they are financially stable, and promote hard work, and press on education. Without education, the members feel that they would not be where they are economically, and preach the importance to their children so that they, too, can live a lifestyle very similar to that of theirs (Norton).

            The United States is a nation of diverse cultures.  People are classified as rich, middle class, or poor.  The rich are considered well educated and highly paid professionals; the middle class are semi-professional and educated working middle class; and the poor are the working under class with very little to no education.  Income is the most prominent indicator of class status, and education to occupation and income.