Tag Archives: working class

Am I Really In The Working Class? Ruminating On The Middle And Other Social Classes

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I Just Re-categorized Myself Out of the Middle Class!

I’ve come to this conclusion because after thinking I understand what middle class is, and what it takes to be a member of it, lately I’ve changed my mind because now I’m not so sure.  Typically, my mind changes when I’m doing something mundane like mowing the lawn.  I’m behind the mower and WHAM, I think “Hey, I’m not really middle class, instead I’m more within the working class, and here’s why…“.  My mind is evil that way, continuously raining on my parade!

To backup my new reclassification, I reference Felix Dennis, who believes that I’m not even comfortable poor!  Under his definition, you need 2 to 4 million to be within the range of comfortably poor, thus meaning that I’m “uncomfortably poor“.  The more I think about it, the more his argument makes sense to me!

Why I May Not Belong To The Middle Class

  1. History!  Since we are a newer country than most, we have to look at Europe and England in particular for a more true definition of what being in the Middle Class means.  According to them, the middle class of yesteryear were rich merchants but not in the nobility class.  Some of the merchants of the middle Class were even richer than the aristocrats.  You see, to them (England in particular) the middle class isn’t the same as middle wage earners.  So in their society, the new rich are more in the middle class than the nobility that fell upon hard times.  Since I’m not rich, perhaps I’m not in this group!  I’m sure if I lived in England, I wouldn’t be considered Middle Class.
  2. I must work for money or else my family goes hungry.  Since I have to work, doesn’t that naturally put me in the “Working Class“?
  3. I don’t have one million dollars in net worth yet!  So if I were forced to live on all my assets invested in stocks or/and bonds, I would be below the poverty level for a family of four.
  4. I don’t have any power in my community.  In my town, when I talk, nobody listens or at least goes out of their way to do so.  Now if I had money to support local community goals, then people would listen, or if I created special events that benefit my local community, then people would listen.

Perhaps I Am in the Middle Class?

  1. I have a college education, and advanced training
  2. My net worth is much higher than average for even the middle class category.  This is from years of being frugal and investing.
  3. I usually go on a nice vacation (at least one or two a year).
  4. My kids are in sport and will probably go to college without paying anything or taking out a loan.
  5. I’m in a continual state of learning.
  6. I have power within my small social groups, where  my ideas are listened to and sometimes acted out.  This is true among my friends and work peers.
  7. I look middle class…

Or Am I Upper Middle Class… (not)?

Nope, I’m not even close to being in the category!  Actually, I use to fancy myself being on the line between middle and upper middle classes.  However, if examined my salary, I’m close to making an Upper Middle Class salary (according to some measures anyway).  As for education, I only have a bachelors degree, but as I mentioned before, I’m in a continual state of learning.

I’m a home owner and I’m totally debt free.  My kids have some of the finer things (my son recently got a ipod touch and soon will get a cell phone).  We go on nice trips for vacations and mini-vacations.

Even with all of the points above, I know that I fall short in this group, so I won’t waste anymore time thinking about it, perhaps in future.  Check out my financial pyramid for the way I define my progress…

So in the end, I guess it’s how I look at what I do and what I am.  One could argue that I’m a member of all of the social classes: Working Class, Middle Class and possible the Upper Middle Class (again this is stretching it).

For more great reading material on this subject, check out Roshawn’s brilliantly written article called “The Impossible Question: Just Who Is The Middle Class?” about why it’s so hard to determine who is in the middle class and not!

Thanks for ruminating with me!

MR

Memories of Poor Friends In My Distant Past

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Coal

Coal

 

When I was a young kid, I remember being at my neighbor’s house and experiencing a lifestyle that was very different from where I lived.  I didn’t realize that they were poor at the time though.  I’m going to describe the setting and lifestyle of this charming couple from my memories.

One of the most vivid things that I remember wad that their heating system was a coal furnace in the basement (which had a dirt floor).  It was kind of hard to breath in the house, it has a distinct smell that I will never quite forget.  One time, I remember riding in a pickup truck to pick up some coal.  The coal was literally poured into the back of the truck through a metallic chute of some sort, or so I believe.

Next my neighbor drove the coal home and we feed the coal through another chute that open down to his basement.  He had a pile of coal in his basement in some kind of large bin.  I helped shovel for a little bit, but I was so young that I didn’t last long… so I went home.

Another thing I remember is Jesus paintings and pictures and bible quotes throughout the house.  This family was minimalist before the term became popular… although not by choice.  I remember a couple of mini-statues of Jesus throughout the house too, along with other religious symbols.

The other things that I remember in the house was a very small TV, a second hand small couch and a non-matching chair, a beat up dinette set (used of course), and a bed that was small and appeared lumpy.  In their 2 bedroom house, they had a small lumpy bed in the guest/storage/sewing all-in-one room.  The other bedroom was the one that they slept in.  I never went into that room.  The total size of their house was less than 1/2 the size of my current house.

So what did they do for entertainment?

Mostly free stuff, they had a garden where they grew their own food and they also socialized with family and friends.  I remember that church was a very important function in their life.  The wife went two or three times a week, mostly riding with other women since I don’t believe she had a car.  The husband mainly watched TV while chewing tobacco.  Most (if not all) of their cloths were either made by the wife or bought second-hand.

You might think that they were miserable, but actually they seems fairly happy, especially the wife.  I only live in that neighborhood for a few years, so I’m not sure how they did as they aged.  I think not having money in your later years would mean it would be hard to get decent health care.  So their retirement might have been rough.

At the time I didn’t realize how hard they had it financially, but as an adult, I now realize that they were quite poor.  The husband had injured his back and was on some form of disability, while the wife didn’t work.  They had a frugal lifestyle so they were able to get by though.

They weren’t rich or even middle class, but they were charming in their own way.

Being wealthy doesn’t make you a better person, but it does make life easier.

MR