People Can Get Bored About Their Own World And Curious

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

In America today, without much knowledge, Americans play an important part in the social class system. In the article, “What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?” by Robert Bird and Frank Newport, income is a powerful determinant of the social class into which people place themselves, as is, to a lesser degree, education. Meaning, it would not make much difference whether what degree or education a person has had because the income is the powerful dominant in all those other variables. Whether or not people recognize social class deliberately, media pictures affect how Americans understand and identify the class groups and how people perceive the social class and socioeconomic status to work.

Blue collar workers and white collar workers are seen by society as two very different types of occupations. Blue collar workers can be found doing hard, physical labor. A blue collar worker could be working on a construction project on a busy highway, repairing the plumbing in a house, or even driving citizens around town in a taxi. White collar workers can be found behind a desk doing paperwork, in emergency rooms treating multiple sick patients, and even teaching in classrooms at all academic levels. The social stigma is that the blue collar jobs are those tasks that most people do not want to do. However, those jobs are vital for society to run smoothly. Without blue collar jobs, communities just would not run properly or efficiently. Just imagine how terrible the condition of the roads and highways would be if it were not for the tough

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

After reading Michael Zweig's “The Working Class Majority: America's Best Kept Secret”, I read and was able to determine his own perspective of class. Zweig says that the United States is not a middle class society and that the majority of Americans today are part of the working class. He defines class as power, power in the workplace, cultural, economic, and political and in the larger society and not so much the income. I think he defines class as power due to the fact that we as people have the power to experience class in many ways. We are all born and raised differently and all come from cultural backgrounds. He briefly explains how there is a high class and low class depending how you were raised. I can agree with him on that statement to an extent personally due to the fact that sometimes the worst parents in the universe can raise you, but you alone can show yourself a thing or two about morals and life lessons simply by living them. That does not mean that your parents don’t play a

There are many different types of jobs in the world; some of which people feel are better than others. Factors like the amount of money and amount of education affect the stereotypical perception about certain jobs. There are two different types of work, blue-collar and white-collar. Blue-collar jobs are seen as the “working class”. The “Working class” refers to low-wage workers that are void of a college education, who struggle to get by economically. It is also perceived that the “Working class” is lazy, unproductive failures who have limited upward mobility, or relics of earlier era of industrialization. It’s important that people realize the amount of skill level it takes to do different types of jobs, and although pay may not reflect the effort or the soft and technical skills needed, or physicality that is respective for those jobs; these jobs should be viewed respectfully. Jobs like cashiers and waitressing have a bad reputation, but they take a certain skill level that people have to develop just like any other white-collar job. People skills, public speaking, ability to sell items on the menu, multi-tasking, and so much more are necessary to be a success in this type of career choice or job. Matthew Crawford talks about this in his book, along with Mike Rose, on how there is a lack of appreciation and respect for the skill set it takes to do blue collar jobs, and how the stereotypically stigma couldn’t be further than the

Mike Rose has spent most of his life watching those defined as “blue-collar” workers with much appreciation. He would watch his mother, Rosie, and his uncle, Joe, work to their fullest potential with skills he had never really seen anywhere else except in their “blue-collar” world. Mike believes that the way his family worked, as well as others considered “blue-collar”, are intelligent in their own ways and are underappreciated compared to the way he sees them.

Author of “Blue-Collar Brilliance,” Mike Rose, writes about observing his mother and uncle working while he is a child. His mother, a waitress, and his uncle, a foreman, both have a career considered “blue-collar.” In the magazine Newsweek, Bob Muldoon writes “White-Collar Man in a Blue-Collar World,” and explains his journey from a white-collar to a blue-collar job. Throughout the essay, while defending against the assumptions of blue-collar employees, the authors discuss the importance of blue-collar jobs and the skills equipped with them.

Have you ever looked down upon a Blue-collar worker? Well, no need to anymore. Author Mike Rose, a professor at UCLA, wrote "Blue-Collar Brilliance," published in a reputable magazine in 2009 in the American Scholar. Rose argues that Blue-Collar workers are often overlooked. Additionally, Rose brings an overwhelming measure of thankfulness and support as this article assertively endeavored to persuade white-collar workers who before it demonstrated almost no appreciation for blue collar workers. He claims that in effect, intelligence cannot be determined only by the knowledge we collect in school but also through how we learn skills in our daily lives. Rose effectively argues his claim by using pathos, ethos, and logos through personal stories, and comprehensive counterarguments.

Nowadays, the middle class is shrinking, while majority of people are either moving into the lower or upper classes. This is due to the major economic and policy changes that have occurred throughout the past thirty years. Based on the Basic Economy Security Tables, one in four full-time working-age adults are not earning enough income to meet economic needs for themselves or their families. This is a serious problem in America today, the fact that the median income today is six hundred dollars less than it was in 1989 is proof of this epidemic. It is much harder now, than ever, to work your way into the middle class, much less stay there. The percentage income growth since 1967 for the top 5 percent of earners is 88%, top 20 percent of earners grew 70%, and middle-income households only grew 20%. (Camp) In simpler terms, the upper classes income has increased tremendously, while middle-income households have seen very little growth in their income. Since the middle class is not receiving any income growth, it is declining and moving towards the lower class. It is not nearly as easy as it was thirty years ago to get a decent job and make

The spectacle of working-class subcultures erupted into a gap between class relations as they are lived by working-class youth and the classless categories according to which capitalist markets are structured. Ever since W.L. Warner's (1960) classic study of social class in America, the marketing establishment has measured consumers against typological grids on

Author, Mike Rose, in his article, “Blue-Collar Brilliance,” recounts his experiences with growing up around blue-collar workers. Rose’s purpose is to reveal the misconceptions that people who are not on a higher social ladder face. Rose shares firsthand experiences to convey blue-collar jobs as being more than just physical. Mike Rose builds credibility and emotional connections by sharing specific childhood memories his writing that makes him appear both intelligent and real. Throughout his article, Rose uses various strategies that are effective in persuading his audience because Rose utilizes emotional appeal, language and structure in order to logically connect his past memories to the present reputation of blue-collar jobs.

            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.

The lower class, also known as the “working class”, were those individuals whom partook on the strenuous and dangerous jobs. These individuals were expected to work each and every day for multiple hours as a time and without a break. Although they worked extremely hard, the lower class was not paid well for their effort. Instead, they received the very minimum wage that one could, and were expected to live off of this (Allingham, 2002). Because the people of this class did not have as much money, their material items such as; housing, clothing, and food were very minimum. Even with the small amount of income that they received, the “lower section of the society was also burdened with numerous taxes that made their life miserable.” (Bishal, 2008) Lastly, the working classes remained shut out from the political process, making these individuals in reality separated from the rest of society (Allingham, 2002).

C. Wright Mills defines the meaning of work for white-collar workers. A white-collar worker is an educated person who performs non-manual, professional, managerial, or administrative work. He states “ White Collar stands, after sixty years, as the most comprehensive work that American social science has produced in the study of the new middle class. “ classifying white collar workers as the new middle class full of intellectuals in intermediate positions, to what he describes as the “enormous file” of clerical labor. C. Wright Mills connects the meaning of work for white-collar workers to the types of leisure activity they pursue. Modern white-collar workers attach an extrinsic value to their wage work because they work to live. Jobs have lost their intrinsic value due to the emptiness that comes with the job. For example, white collar workers are subjected to manipulations and control of their superiors thus in return; they lose their creativity and freedom of action.