Dr. Docka-Filipek Becoming an adult is signified differently in every culture, in America, reaching middle class status is one way that is used to indicate adulthood. To obtain middle class status one would need to acquire a job, become financially stable, get a house, and have a family. The “Mood Economy”, self-reliance, and distrust in institutions, as stated in Silva’s Coming Up Short, have reshaped what it means to become an adult. Replacing the traditional white picket fence ideals with new neoliberal ones. Although middle class status is still a goal for a lot of individuals, the number of people who reach middle class status has diminished significantly over the years. By examining the new milestones that mark adulthood and evaluating how the state reproduces little social mobility through “Attacking Solidarity” mentioned in Requiem for the American Dream, we can get a better idea of how the middle class disappeared before us. As stated earlier to achieve the traditional middle class status one would need to get a job, a house, become …show more content…
Noam Chomsky used an example, in Requiem for the American Dream that said in the 1950’s people paid their taxes so that the kid down the street could go to school (Scott 2016 Solidarity is basically a safety net, you help someone when they are in need and they help you when you are in need, the state turns this around by attacking it and saying that solidarity is causing more problems than it is fixing problems. “Attacking Solidarity” is a tactic used to reinforce the idea that the people that need help are lazy, no good, junkies who just want a free ride. Causing serious distrust, not only the benefactor, but also in the recipient, by placing distrust in others around you. Silva (2013:97)
According to Shipler, the working poor need remedies to improve their circumstances. Throughout his novel, Shipler addressed potential solutions that seemed to adjust the lives of the working poor. To help combat low self-esteem and competence more programs should be created by the state or local communities that could be created to assist the working poor in getting their GEDs, personal hygiene if necessary, learning skills that are necessary for job training, balancing daily personal finances, and learning how to eat healthier on a limited income. The more confidence an individual has the more likely they will be outgoing or assertive and will be more willing to apply for jobs. Applying jobs is intimidating for a college graduate who has
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.
Growing up in The United States, people are given this idea of an American Dream. Almost every child is raised to believe they can become and do anything they want to do, if one works hard enough. However, a majority of people believe that there is a separation of class in American society. Gregory Mantsios author of “Class in America-2009” believes that Americans do not exchange thoughts about class division, although most of people are placed in their own set cluster of wealth. Also political officials are trying to get followers by trying to try to appeal to the bulk of the population, or the middle class, in order to get more supporters. An interesting myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how Americans don’t have equal opportunities.
“Confronting Inequality” by Paul Krugman opens our eyes to the fact that, in America, we are becoming more and more unequal based on our standing in society. Our standing in society is directly related to the amount of money that we make and what class our parents were in while we were growing up. However, being judged based on parents’ status is not justifiable. America is full of injustice when it comes to the social structure of it’s’ citizens. The majority of America used to belong to the middle class, now there is less middle class and a widening gap between the high class and the low class of people.
Diversity is part of the American lifestyle. America is a country built on capitalistic principles, where a countries’ economy is controlled by a small number of people. People who tend to have power in the society tend to separate themselves from the rest. Looking back at different time period of American history diversity has shaped up the lives we live as Americans, whether it is because of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, socioeconomic background, and capabilities/ disabilities, there is always diversity in society. Although, diversity is increasingly being viewed positively, and as much as people are proud of their differences. There will always be a way for human beings to diversify themselves into groups in which share similar interests.
When we first broke into our groups, I was a bit confused as to why we were doing this exercise. I thought that it was probably had to do with sharing ideas of being in a privileged socioeconomic status so we could merge groups afterward and share what we brainstormed, which turned out to be correct. I wasn’t surprised to be included in the middle-upper class group because for where I stood during the “privilege line” activity. One difference that was noted in our group was how it felt to be in the middle-upper class group. I said that I felt a bit of pride because the reason for why I was in this class was because of how my mother worked to overcome oppression. Other people said they felt guilty because they didn’t have to work for anything they had today, and almost everything they had was inherited. I now understand why they felt that way because of the reading for this week.
What comes into my mind when thinking on how to categorize those people that belong in the middle class, I look at such things as education, race, family, income, gender and how many people are in your household. I look at it as those people who are making between $40,000 and about $85,000 to be in the middle class while the next step would be the upper middle class and then to the upper class. Maybe I am wrong here, but like I said before, everyone wants to have that “I am middle class” attitude. The most recent Census Bureau survey data shows that the share of households with incomes of $75,000 or more has doubled in the past 24 years. Other studies, however, discover that more people who depart the middle class move down than up, at least temporarily.
Middle class Americans represent more than half of the United States’ population. They are the backbone of U.S. economics, and have been since the very beginning of the country’s history. However, an unstable job market, created by outsourcing, combined with a minimum wage which has not been raised since 1989, is gradually shrinking this economic group. To avoid the extinction of this critical class, the next president of the United States will have to go to extraordinary measures. Without major reformation, the middle class will continue to be absorbed by the lower class, ultimately resulting in the complete loss of one of America’s most important socio-economic bodies.
Over the past few decades, factors such as globalization, de-regulation, credentialism, and technological progress have brought momentous transformations to the economies of the world. Wealth imbalance between countries has contracted, while income inequality within countries has expanded. The demand for highly skilled workers has increased, and so have the salaries for the most successful individuals in society. Less educated people, however, have fared relatively worse. This is quickly attracting the attention of governments of many countries, including Canada.
... values as the middle class does. The working class has to first follow the same cultural values as the middle class if they hope to one day become part of the middle class. This thinking is not entirely flawed but unfortunately it is not enough to raise ones ranking in society.
Growing up in a middle class family I had mostly everything I wanted, but in my infancy I grew up with kids that were in the wealthy class and the low class too. I was able to experience and observe the way they lived. In society they compare the wealthiest and lower class on how they act, on how much they give, and other types of norms.
When the word America comes to mind, one thinks of a land where opportunities are equal among all citizens, and dedication to hard work comes with an abundance of chances for all. In this society, wealth and well-being are highly valued, and Americans seek to own property and have a high income. However, the country is plagued with a stigma that no matter how strenuous a resident works, the rewards they receive are inadequate to the work of their wealthy counterparts. Due to a snowball effect of wealth distribution in the United States, the 1 percent of affluent money makers are consistently on the top of the country’s economic food chain, while the middle and lower classes are held in a continuous cycle of debt. Since low-income households
What is social class? It is a term used to describe a large group of people who share similar social or economic positions in society based on wealth, income, job status, education, skills or power in the political sphere. Class is not just about what you own or earn but also who you know. Class affects not only how we feel about ourselves, but how others judge and consequently treat us. Those at the top of the class structure, the elite, have more power than those in the middle and even more power than those at the bottom who are of lower class. Education is a highly valued commodity in our world. In his commentary on society Freud, claimed, “ No feature, however, seems better to characterize civilization than its esteem and encouragement
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.
Income inequality continues to increase in today’s world, especially in the United States. Income inequality means the unequal distribution between individuals’ assets, wealth, or income. In the Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes, a liberal journalist, states the inequality gap between the rich and the poor are increasing widening, and there need to have things done - tax the rich, provide better education - in order to shortening the inequality gap. America is a meritocratic country, which means that everybody has equal opportunity to be successful regardless of their class privileges or wealth. However, equality of opportunity does not equal equality of outcomes. People are having more opportunities to find a better job, but their incomes are a lot less compared to the top ten percent rich people. In this way, the poor people will never climb up the ladder to high status and become millionaires. Therefore, the government needs to increase all the tax rates on rich people in order to reduce income inequality.