Middle Class Research Paper

209 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social class in the US today

The idea of lower and upper middle class is extinct in America’s economic and social state. There are only extremes: you are either extremely rich, extremely poor, or extremely in debt. People do not understand that the idea of middle class is misconstrued. When you take into consideration the challenges the needy face on a daily basis can be compared to the challenges of those who are considered “middle class”. In both social castes people are faced with ridicule, one just more apparent than the other. Both parties have to worry when they will get their next meal, when will the government system actually be of viable help, and when they will ever actually stop struggling. If I were accepted into Rutgers Newark, Honors Living Learning Community

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Class In America By Gregory Mantsios

    1572 Words  | 4 Pages

    Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George

    Read More

  • Summary Of Class In America By Gregory Mantsios

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Gregory Mantsios many American people believed that the classes in the United States were irrelevant, that we equally reside(ed) in a middle class nation, that we were all getting richer, and that everyone has an opportunity to succeed in life. But what many believed, was far from the truth. In reality the middle class of the United States receives a very small amount of the nation's wealth, and sixty percent of America's population receives less than 6 percent of the nation's wealth, while the top 1 percent of the American population receives 34 percent of the total national wealth. In the article Class in America ( 2009), written by Gregory Mantsios informs us that there are some huge differences that exist between the classes of America, especially the wealthy and the poor. After

    Read More

  • Summary Of Dream Hoarders

    296 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the book Dream Hoarders in the chapter “Dream Hoarders” by Richard V. Reeves, the gap between the upper middle class and everyone else is described. The issue of the upper middle class was revealed as recently as the Obama presidency, in the form of the proposal to remove the tax benefits in 529 college plans (pp. 1). The party instantly was against the plan and, Democratic Party member Pelosi ended up talking Obama out of the plan (pp. 1-2). These upper crust members of the Democratic Party, the 5 percenters, were defending their own legacy for their offspring while disadvantaging other children already truncated (pp. 11). This is a running theme for all members of the upper middle class. By way of exploiting skills handed to them through

    Read More

  • Class In America By Gregory Mantsios Summary

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    America is divided into two main groups, rich or poor. There is some grey area among these groups which is referred to as the middle class. The problem with the middle class is that most people think they belong in the middle class because they do not want to associate themselves with neither rich nor poor; there are stigmas attached to each side of the spectrum.

    Read More

  • Race And Myth In Horatio Alger, By Harlon Daltons

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    The media portrays the upper class as something to strive for. Obtaining wealth and material possessions will bring you a happy life. The only way to get ahead is to emulate the rich and powerful and to live vicariously through them (Kendall 316). The media’s emphasis on the upper class takes away from people living life for themselves. Instead, they are persuaded to obtain a lifestyle that is realistically out of their means. Kendall states, “Largely through marketing and advertising, television promoted the myth of the classless society, offering on one hand the images of the American dream fulfilled wherein any and everyone can become rich and on the other suggesting that the lived experience of this lack of class hierarchy was expressed by our equal right to purchase anything we could afford”. Exaggerated views of the rich and successful in America are largely portrayed via television. Which gives a false idea of what happiness, wealth and material possessions can bring (Kendall 317). The poor and homeless are at the bottom of the class structure and are often overlooked, ignored and only portrayed as deserving of sympathy. They are stereotyped to be people who have problems such as drugs or alcohol (Kendall 318). Kendall goes on to explain that the middle class is considered the “working class” and are

    Read More

  • Gregory Mantsios Class In America Analysis

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    In "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios says that "when politicians and social commentators draw attention to the plight of the poor, they do so in a manner that obscures the class structure and denies any sense of exploitation." Based off our readings, class discussion and films, income inequality is known to be erased or ignore. Our society frowns upon the expression of income in our daily conversations, as it could be seen braggy or a complaint depending on your status of income. Because it's frowned upon to talk about, the topic of income inequality becomes erased or ignored. In addition, income inequality in America's class structure can affect people's ability to reach their American Dream.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Affordable Housing

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the the 1%, are secured, no one is addressing the rest of the people. As the economy flourishes, housing, higher education and health care, and child care increases with it to the point where 30 percent of a person’s income goes towards housing. People are finding it impossible to purchase a house with their middle class incomes. People begin to fall out of the once stable middle class because too much is needed to be sacrificed in order to live in a stable home. In the shrinking middle class, “40% or more of the residents live below the poverty

    Read More

  • The Secret Shame Of Middle Class America Analysis

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    Published on the cover of the May 2016 issue of The Atlantic is an article titled “The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans,” in which one journalist writes about his own financial struggles, the embarrassment of what he calls “financial impotence,” the “social suicide” of struggling financially, and the inability of 47% of middle class Americans to easily obtain $400 in an emergency (Gabler 2016). Of course, as with any touchy subject, this article had both its’ supports and its’ critics. Scott Winship’s response on nationalreview.com titled “The Middle Class is Doing Okay: No Need for Gloom and Doom” (2016) attacks Gabler’s idea that the odds are stacked against the middle class. Winship cites Gabler’s personal financial choices as the main reason for his financial plight, contradicts most of the statistics presented in the The Atlantic article, and instead advocates the benefits of frugality; insisting the economy is not, in fact, working against the middle class.

    Read More

  • The Privilege Line Activity

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    We talked about how we probably would have taken more half steps if we knew that was an option. I did take a few half steps: one was for prep school (had an athletic scholarship so wasn’t completely sure), and one for owning another house (when we moved, we didn’t sell our old house immediately and instead rented it out to try to generate some extra revenue.) When we were asked about how we felt about being place in our group, we all agreed that we felt quite comfortable. We brainstormed a few ideas as to why, and we concluded that in general, being middle class is easy because they never really get blamed for anything. It is not uncommon to hear social and economic problems blamed on the rich or poor, while the middle class tends not to get any negative connotations associated with them. However, I think that can be dangerous this might cause the middle class to not think that socio-economic issues are their problem to solve. As mentioned in the Language and Silence excerpt, “the privileged characteristic comes to define the norm.” Before coming to IGP, I was under the impression that my economic status was very average. I wasn’t spoiled, but my family never had to truly struggle financially. This led me to falsely believing that most people don’t struggle that much economically, which I learned is actually a common myth from Class in America (myth

    Read More

  • Middle Class In America Essay

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many problems are being shown and expressed in America today. One of these problems is amongst the classes in society. I believe there are major problems amongst the classes, but most importantly the middle class, which include many different solutions for fixing these problems in the class.

    Read More

  • Middle Class In America Essay

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is the working class becoming the new middle class? Contrary to popular opinion, most American households actually fall into the working class category. To be considered middle class your household must have an annual income in between $65,000 and $100,00. Slowly more and more Americans are falling below this line. Why? Although the unemployment rate has consistently been on the decline since Obama was elected into office, The GDP has also been on the decline. This is usually a sign of an economy in recession, but this is not the case in America. What’s actually happening is the average annual income is decreasing. Annual income has decreased 8 percent from 2007 to 2013, according to the U.S census bureau .This is giving companies incentive

    Read More

  • Social Problem Of Income Inequality

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    Those who are at the bottom 20 percent don’t have access to things like health care and proper education. Health care is a major issue in most cities in America. While watching the movie “Poor America” there was a scene when the people making the movie decided to film outside a center where doctors and dentists would be performing free services. The line was extremely long and people would be camped outside just so they could see a doctor. Many people who were there had serious injuries and sicknesses and hadn’t seen a doctor or a dentist in a very long time. One gentleman in particular was so sick that the doctors strongly suggested he go to the emergency room, that his sickens could be fatal. However at the end the gentlemen refused to go to the emergency because the medical bill would be extremely

    Read More

  • Social Problems Perpetuated

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout United States history, power of the upper class has been maintained by assigning “different” people a lower, less desirable, place in society, predisposing them to social inequalities. Social stratification creates a system of social classes in which people born into a specific class have different “life chances” (Macionis 28). These classes are somewhat maintained by the fact that people tend to “take care of their own,” meaning that members of the upper class generally favor other members of the upper class and offer opportunities for advancement in society to those they feel most similar to (Doran). People from lower socioeconomic classes generally experience less life opportunity, have increased poverty and therefore have increased health issues, increased crime, decreased education, and decreased job opportunities (Macionis 38-39) These people are also often politically alienated, and therefore also lack the appropriate government influences to change their current status (Macionis 39).

    Read More

  • Middle Class Essay

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Birdsall, Graham, and Pettinato states that middle class is “the backbone of both the market economy and of democracy in most advanced societies” (Banerjee and Duflo 3). Everyone has freedom to decide what they do, where they live, and who they get married. However, there is an aspect that people are fell into when they are born, social classes. The social hierarchy of America consists of three classes, they are upper, middle, and lower class. The vast majority of Americans fall into the category of the middle class. Because of their buying power, the middle class greatly influences the American economic system. The term middle class gets thrown around too much and it is time that a more concrete definition is introduced.

    Read More

  • Political Inequality Essay

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the past few years, a number of occurrences have displayed the growing economic and political inequality of the United States. The currently dissipated Occupy Movement did draw the general public’s attention to the ridiculous strides made by the rich, whose incomes have skyrocketed within the past four decades. Those pertaining to the middle-income and poor have sadly had their incomes stagnate. According to Caroline Fairchild from the Huffington Post the middle class incomes steadily is on the decline. In 1968 the middle class earned about 53.2 percent of national income in 1968. This number has now fallen to 45.7 percent. Super PACs became a concern as more individual donors willingly wrote up enormous checks to support their particular candidates. As a result, this gave prominence to the growing political inequality, as well as highlighting the rich’s ability to have their words have much more weight over the average citizen in America.

    Read More

More about Middle Class Research Paper

Open Document