What Circumstances Force Individuals Into Certain Classes?

Living in America is said to provide an opportunity to anyone who works hard and strives for prosperity. Despite this saying, many people still reside in the lower-class after years of working laborious jobs. Indeed, some people have miraculously found their way out of the gutters on the system, but most people happen to not be as lucky. Through experience, author Barbara Ehrenreich finds that the social divide in America makes the American Dream much more difficult than it is perceived to be by the upper class. The truth she finds by living as a person in poverty incited her frustrations and disgust with the system. The attainability of the American Dream is definitely unlikely, but still not impossible.

Welfare is a system that was put into place to give financial help to people or groups who can't support themselves. A problem with welfare is that it usually leaves out the people who are in extreme poverty. The definition of extreme poverty is anyone or any family that are under less than half the poverty brink. For these Americans it is often to hard for them to maneuver themselves through the the welfare system. Other people can also have addictions or poor education and are unable to navigate through the system either. This is one reason why there are so many home less and unsafe people.

“The United States is a nation where people are supposed to be able to rise above their origins. Those who want to succeed, it is believed, can do so through hard work and solid effort.” (Andersen, pg 1) If this was only true we would live in a world in which we would all prosper based on how hard we work. The truth of the matter is that income inequality and institutional classism were simply built into the sheer fabric of this nation. Income inequality has affected many in the United States. For many the American Dream is simply that a dream.

For the common people the lower-class makes a paltry amount of money, then the middle-class and upper-class. The lower-class is sixty percent of all Americans living in the United States. Yet this class only makes seven percent of the fortune amassed in the United States. Therefore it can be cognized as to why there would be different discernments of the American dream for the different classes in society. Most of the lower-class Americans are just trying to be able to pay off monthly bills to provide fortification and nourishment for his or her families. For most of the

Here, in the United States, the “American Dream,” is a popular belief. There is a strong relationship between hard work and success. In this perfect scenario, those who put in multiple hours are on the road to success and can move up the social ladder. Thus stating, one could be thrust into the lowest of the social status, and with some hard work, one can elevate into the world of the social elite. As a demonstration to this global view of the United States, immigrants from all over the globe have made the excursion to the “land of opportunity” in beliefs of better education, employment, government, communities, religious freedom, and lives for not only themselves but the generations that come pursuing behind them. All of this survives based on a game of social stratification – a diagram on how to successfully obtain the American dream. This observation of social class is based on many mechanisms, some of which is bestowed to people at birth, and not rewarded for hard work and dedication. The class system at play in the United States has become incredibly complex – it no longer has the fundamental class values of our forefathers. Those trying to move up in the social ladder of America are often caught replication the actions of the rich and famous, but this alone cannot make them part of the higher social class. Some think that there are simple rules to follow to climb higher into another social class ladder, but there is more to being upper class than just talking the talk or having the right identity.One way to look at class is the model developed by Janny Scott and David Leonhardt's article, “Shadowy Lines That Still Divide,” in The New York Times. They assert that “one way to think of a person’s position in society is to imagine a hand of cards. Everyone is dealt four cards, one from each suit: education, income, occupation and wealth, the four commonly used criteria for gauging class” (Scott and Leonhardt 27). While being sure on these four criteria, a basic understanding of a person’s predicted class can be made. While this model works fine for providing an elementary level of perception, it must be recognized that a person could rate well on this scale and still be in a different class than those

Welfare gives individuals the opportunity to get back on track and receive financial aid for their families and themselves. Welfare comes in many forms such as: monetary payments, subsidies and vouchers, or housing assistance. By receiving welfare each individual is responsible for meeting certain criteria. The criteria required to meet is made so that it is made “fair” to everyone. For welfare to be fair though the rules must be forced upon to all of the individuals that are requesting the extra help. Many people abuse the welfare system, but someone has to put their foot down and say that enough is enough.

When people think of the American Dream, most think of the good that arises with it. They don’t consider the hardships and obstacles one must overcome. Many immigrants come to America in hopes of accomplishing their dreams and aspirations, and if they can’t, maybe their children can. Haspel debates how “The U.S. has changed drastically in the last several decades. The middle class, which was the heart of the American Dream, is dwindling, and the disparity of wealth among social classes continues to grow.” (41) This defends the popular phrase “The rich get richer while the poorer get poorer.” In essence, the American Dream can be viewed as the aim to climb the economic ladder. As the economic gap between the different social classes grow, it becomes harder for certain groups to see the American Dream as an attainable goal. The American Dream entails a variety of opportunities, and it is hard for minorities to grasp such opportunities with limited resources. Haspel also debates that “Another issue contributing to the decay of the American Dream is the country’s changing family

Throughout modern human history there has been an ongoing struggle of whether to help the poor and how to help them. In today’s political scene in the US mostly only extremely staunch conservatives feel that we should offer no aid to the poor of America. So, then the argument becomes how to best help them. Welfare is widely considered to be the main way that America helps the poor. So what is welfare exactly? Welfare can be defined as aid in the form of money or necessities for those in need distributed through an agency or program. In general liberals feel that America should offer a large amount of aid and pull people out of debt with government funds while still trying to get them back to work. In general conservatives feel that the poor should have to already have a job before we help them and many also call for drug testing before offering assistance. To try to create these scenarios, parties use welfare reform. Welfare reform is a bill that alters the current program so that it operates in a different way. The most recent welfare reform was in 1996 by Bill Clinton and was called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. This act in general aimed to hand over

What is the American Dream? This question is often asked and argued, having an unclear definition of what it really means. Many believe that it is a collection of ideals in which freedom gives anyone the opportunity of having job security, owning a home an obtaining a great education. While others, believe it is a promise that anyone may rise from poverty to wealth. The concept of having such high aspirations is often related to class structure and power. These terms are often linked as two abstract ideas that determine the basic framework of how we live in the United States. Furthermore, they represent the power to confine people into a socioeconomic status as Sociologist Karl Marx explains through his conflict perspective theory. Some believe that class structures are becoming more apparent as economic power continues to rise and the presence of the recent recession, still remains. This idea has made a clear distinction among social positions as people are classified into upper, middle and working classes. Although, some may argue that class structure and power can be modified, the social differences built by the minority in power still continue to be deeply rooted and cannot be adjusted.

The American Dream is an elusive, unachievable notion that has been around since the founding of the nation. The idea of working hard and achieving success, the potential to become anything one wants to be, and the capability of moving up the social ladder are all popular characteristics that exemplify this delusion. Although it was once achievable, the American Dream has long since faded away due to the large income gap that exists between the low and high classes resulting in the inability to move up the social ladder and the inequality of education which inhibits the ability of applying to bigger and higher paying jobs.

The American Dream. The dictionary defines it as “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to available to every American.” The American Dream is a different image to each individual. To some it is living comfortably in the suburbs with their family. To others it is owning a large mansion and along with fancy sport cars. Class, a status based on social factors, has long played a role in the process of achieving the American Dream. In the first chapter of Class Matters, a book written by correspondents of The New York Times, the authors dive into the subject of class and class mobility, which is the ability of individuals to move up or down in their class status. The correspondents discuss class and class mobility

Everyday in America, every citizen faces the burdens and restrictions of the class structure. But America is known as the “Land of the Free,” so how can these restrictions and burdens exist? Unfortunately, Americans are not as free as we think, because we are as equal as we think. Due to the class structure, most Americans can no longer reach the “American Dream.” The issue is a lot easier to notice than you may think, and it is easier than you may think to do something about it. Because change is already occurring within America, and it’s not too hard to add to it. So, the question is, what can you do?

In today’s society, the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. America, with the “American dream,” prides itself in its operation of a meritocracy. Meritocracy is the social structure that rewards merit. In the US, the system of meritocracy is designed to provide hope and equal opportunity for people to rise to success. However with the system of meritocracy in place, the United State’s income gap continues to rise. The widening chasm prevents the mobility of people to work their way up to achieve the “American dream.”

The American Dream is one dream that many worldwide wish they can accomplish and have access to. Many want to obtain the American Dream because it provides opportunity which would eventually lead to success and happiness. The problem with this dream is that it is only accessible with hard work and a few circumstances which are only obtainable to very few individuals. These few individuals known as the “top 1%” are the ones mainly capable of obtaining this dream without any hard work. Even though this dream may sound impossible for lower classes, it is still obtainable through much more hard work. This dream should be attainable and reasonable for everyone, however difference caused by the changes of development, social inequality, and immigration

“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” Welfare is defined as a procedure or social effort designed to promote the basic physical and material well-being of people in need. Welfare was a system created to help those who could not help themselves; today that system is being misused and abused. The government collects money from working individuals in the form of taxes and distributes it to assist those who cannot work on their own, or those who simply choose not to work.