Social Issues: Class Change

Social class is a “tag” to define your status in a community. One of the main requirements you must have to be in the Upper class, is to have wealth and power. That is basically it, and obviously the absence of those characteristics could mean you are in a Middle or even in the Lower class. Sports are an activity that people do for pleasure that requires physical activity and sometimes has rules for the players to follow in order to play the game. It is most commonly played outdoors. It can improve your cardio, health, and physical condition. For example, it can prevent things like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer or even mental illnesses like depression.

societal ladder Times have changed since then, but social class is still a major factor to people’s success.

Poverty is one of the most devastating realities of life. Those who live in poverty experience poor living conditions, worse health care, worse education, homelessness, low wages, lack of opportunity, and lower self-esteem. Poverty generally occurs mostly in children or young adults, minorities, and women more than any other age group, race/ ethnicity, and gender. Ultimately, poverty is more common in certain social categories such as race, gender, age, and ethnicity and will factor into whether an individual is more likely to be

Using sociological imagination we can explore beyond the common assumptions that relate to poverty. The issue of poverty goes beyond just the monetary value of one’s wage. Health, education, living conditions, social status, income, and coping skills all play a role in poverty. It is not a black and white issue and thinking outside the box brings greater understanding of how poverty is indeed a social problem that affects society as a whole. If society as a whole is not providing enough individuals with a wage to meet their basic needs then this can lead to stress or other health issues.

Unfortunately, poverty is a complex phenomenon. It occurs on a structural level, as seen when discussing poverty rates, and on a personal level. In order to help individuals living in poverty, professionals must move beyond any myths and biases they may hold. Poverty cannot be fully grasped without an appreciation of the social environment in which poverty exists (Seccombe, 2011).

Poverty is defined as lacking in money and/or possessions. Poverty perpetuates, infests family health and well being, hinders the ability for proper nutritional growth, chips away at personal resilience, deteriorates educational systems, widens the social gaps of “us” versus “them” feeding into stigmas.

During my research, I have found that depending on where you look there are a variety of Social Classes in the United States. The most obvious and probably the best known are the six social classes primarily used in the United States today. Below, I have compiled some facts that help describe and support each class.

American economist and statistician, Mollie Orshansky, was the woman who gave America the way on how to measure poverty that we call the Orshansky Poverty Thresholds. The Census Bureau issues the poverty thresholds every year and that produces the status of the American people economically. The very term “poverty” continues to evoke debates on what it actually means to be poor. There are many studies that have been conducted to determine what is the cause of poverty in America and what we can do to help diminish it. From a sociological standpoint, one thing everyone should focus on when it comes to poverty is to ask yourself why people are living the way they are. People do not just wake up one day and decide that they want to be poor, let

The American dream of rising in wealth and social class has been popularized for decades and it has become a part of America’s culture. But we must question the likelihood of achieving this appealing dream. By attaining wealth and prosperity, one can move up the social ladder. However social class is based on a number of different factors: race, demography, family background, level of education, environment, culture, politics, economics, and more. Considering these factors, many are restricted in drastic movements in social class because their background limits them by discouraging and demolishing their motivation for a better life.

Before this class I never gave a second to think about how and why people decide where to live. I thought people went looking for houses and bought the house they liked. I didn’t know all the other factors that went into finding a place to live. But truthfully I didn’t really care. I now believe the interaction of economic development strategies and spatial form in urban environments comes down to three things. It comes down to appealing to different people and cultures, segregation and inequality, and the three T’s of development (technology, talent, and tolerance).

Poverty concentrates attention on one segment of society: those living below a certain level of income, or below a certain level of resources.

Poverty can affect a person’s life by making them unable to obtain a stable job, unable to provide proper nutrition and healthcare for them and their family, and making them suffer from stress and heartbreak.

Between the Civil War and World War II, the United States went through drastic economic change. The industrialization of America was going full force and resulting in the expansions of technology and factories. The industrial revolution lead to the urbanization of major populations and most people to turn away from agriculture. Large cities and factories brought benefits to certain social classes and brought struggles to others. The working class were greatly mistreated by the upper class employers and given unfair working situations. Although the working class was suffering, the upper class was only making more money and ignoring the terrible working conditions.

Poverty also means lack of educational and professional opportunities and shortage in legitimate employment opportunities meaning that only a few will be able to work. Those who are fortunate enough to work are usually men, which leaves women with even less opportunities and extreme vulnerability thus providing even bigger targets on their backs to predators.

Poverty is an issue that is faced by multitudes of people around the world. Poverty itself is defined as, “the state of being poor” (Merriam Webster). According to Sara S. McLanahan, of Princeton University, “In the United States, poverty is defined as not having enough income to pay for basic needs, such as food, clothing and shelter. Poverty is a family attribute. In other words, if a family is classified as poor, all the members of that family are also poor” (McLanahan, n.d.). The U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013 shows, “there were 45.3 million people in poverty” just in the United States (U.S Census Bureau, 2013). From those living in poverty, in the same year, “the ratio of the female poverty rate to the male poverty rate was 1.2---women were 20 percent more likely to be poor than men” (Mykyta, 2013, p. 2). Also, “of all people categorized as in poverty in 2011, approximately 56 percent were women” (Mykyta, 2013, p. 2). Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, director of the Human Development Report, portrays a simple truth, “women are poorer than men” (Fukuda-Parr, 1999, p. 99).