Three Socioeconomic Classes of the United States
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Three Socioeconomic Class of the United States
The United States is one of the wealthiest countries across the globe. Despite its high gross domestic product, the United States is highly stratified. This paper explores the characteristics of the working poor, the middle class, and upper class in terms of their percentages, perspectives, activities, and beliefs.
The Working Poor
One of the groups that form the lower class is the working poor. The working poor comprises 13% of the American population (The class structure in the US, n. d.). Individuals in the working poor class have low-paying jobs. People in this group work as housecleaners, day laborers, and sharecroppers. These individuals believe that there are no or few opportunities for advancing their lives. Also, they believe that they are victims of an oppressive system that favors the rich and disadvantages the poor. At the same time, these persons value obedience than leadership and creativity (The class structure in the US, n. d.). This may explain the low social mobility among the working poor is very low.
The Middle Class
A significant proportion of Americans consider themselves to be middle classes. However, only 40% of Americans are in the middle class (The class structure in the US, n. d.). Two groups of the middle class exist. The first one is the upper-middle-class which comprises people with advanced levels of education in areas such as medicine, law, business, and management (Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States, n. d.). The upper-middle-class consists of 14% of the American population (The class structure in the US, n. d.). On the other hand, the lower middle-upper class comprises of people who hold associate’s degrees from technical colleges or two-year community college as well as those with bachelor’s degrees from four-year colleges (Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States, n. d.). The lower-middle-class comprise 26% of the American population (The class structure in the US, n. d.) The individuals in the middle class aspire to be comfortable. As a result, middle-class individuals work very hard to afford a fairy comfortable lives (Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States, n. d.). Besides, these people pursue career paths that come with comfortable incomes. As a result of their relatively high incomes, people in the middle class spend their money on buying nice cars and large homes. Also, they spend their vacation skiing or boating (Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States, n. d.). However, individuals in the lower-middleclass earn less money than their counterparts in the upper-middle-class. These persons try to engage in behaviors associated with the upper-middle class when it comes to the purchase of cars and houses and vacation options (Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States, n. d.). As a result, this group of people suffers negative outcomes, such as stress, since they can hardly maintain their lifestyles.
Upper Class
The upper class is divided into two groups. In America, 1% of the people owns a third of the nation’s wealth (Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States, n. d.). These are individuals in the upper-upper class. The second group of the upper-class is the lower-upper class, and it comprises 2% of the population (The class structure in the US, n. d.). The people in the upper-class control most of the country’s factors of productivity, especially when it comes to labor, media, and capital. These individuals run radio broadcasts, publishing houses, newspaper, magazines, and network television stations. As a result, the upper class shapes the beliefs and conducts of the rest part of the society. People in the upper class have unique beliefs pertaining to issues, such as money and politics. For example, these persons believe that they cannot work for wages (Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States, n. d.). Also, they believe in making money by being ravish, for example, celebrities.
In conclusion, American society is highly stratified, and people belong to different social classes, depending on one’s wealth and education status, among other parameters. The specific group one belongs to affects his or her perspective towards life and behaviors and norms. Also, a person’s social group determines his or her career path and income level.
References
Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States. (n. d.). Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/social-stratification-and-mobility-in-the-united-states/
The class structure in the US. (n. d.). Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/the-class-structure-in-the-u-s/