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How social class in America is divided by income, education, and standard of living/wages

Social classes can be perceived as a group of people within a society that share the same socioeconomic status. Such a definition therefore implies that the society is indeed stratified and the basis for this being on the grounds of economic as well as social factors. A class could be taken to mean a single unit of analysis by which certain kinds of people having or controlling certain elements are grouped. However, the earliest definitions of class referred to the categorization of citizens by wealth and which much later, were translated into the ranking of individuals and groups on their wealth status in the social hierarchy.

Within the United States, the social class issue has been a controversial issue as different analysts have come up to either question its nature or deny its very existence. The class distinctions are so subtle that it would be very difficult to pinpoint instances where it exists. The majority of the Americans can however relate with the three common classes that include the rich, the middle class and the poor. These classes are based on wealth and income as the primary criteria, education, and type of occupation as the other major ones. The American upper class is characterized by powerful economic and political moguls, the middle class being occupied by professional skilled people while the lower class has the poorest people (Jaher, 1973). In analyzing the social class situation in America, the main areas of discussion shall be on income, education and standards of living.

The upper classes in America have the largest incomes of the three with the total financial base of this class rivaling the GDPs of some third world countries. Upper class occupants are distinguished by immense wealth passed on from generation to generation. These classes of people receive huge payoffs in form of salaries, dividends and bonuses from their investments, jobs and associations. Most of the individuals in upper class are not directly employed. They chair boards or committees of the estates and firms they own. Data from the Economic Policy Institute article showed that the upper class(0.1% 0f the population) seized around 36% of the country’s income, earned 47 times more than the average low class American and owned up to 225 times more wealth than the average middle class household.(Mishel & Bivens 56)

Within America, most of the businesses and rich establishments are owned by the upper class for example Coca Cola, Rockefeller, Ford and Wal-Mart. The upper classes within America are by far the majority with their percentage being around 1.5% of the population. Apart from having numerous investments, the upper class also exhibits close family ties as well as prestige. Therefore, it is difficult for someone to have upward mobility into this class. Therefore, they do not have monetary issues as such and mostly engage in expansion of their empires and other recreational hobbies like fox hunting and automobile collection.

Within the middle class, there is more stratification into lower, middle and upper middle class. This occurs mainly due to categorization on the grounds of income brackets that each sub group possesses. Within this category, there are mostly the working people in corporate America. The lawyers, consultants, bankers, secretaries and other bureaucrats mainly fall in this category.

The poor or lower class consists of jobless individuals, low wage earners and dependent individuals. These are people who either were laid off or have not managed to get proper employment For this class, the idea of employment security and retirement benefits are not remotely realized as most of them engage in day jobs which pay them the minimum amount in America’s economy. Their main areas of employment are in manufacturing industries for example the automobile and food industries, which employ most of the casual laborers. The lower class within America has been cited to contributing to the high crime rate in America.

Most immigrants or black people found in the downtown area of America are perceived to be criminal. However, the driving force behind this huge inclination to be criminals by most of the lower class comes from the conditions set by the upper class in controlling the economy. Subsequently, the control the availability of jobs and the wage levels forcing most unemployed people to work for very little pay that may not sustain them adequately. The reality of sleeping hungry while the property owner exploits the tenant forces many youth in low class America to crime and drug peddling alongside other illegal activities in order to survive (Fussell, 1983).

Within America, a person’s social class will ultimately affect that person’s educational opportunities and in the end, their future. The marketization of secondary and tertiary institutions of learning is responsible for entrenching social classes within the education sector. The upper classes have bigger incomes and therefore can afford the tuition fees for the most expensive universities for example Harvard and Oxford. These rich parents provide the best for their children in terms of wholesome education. Such prestigious schools may even reject applications by upper middle class students whose parents may afford tuition fees. Studying in these private schools would almost certainly guarantee one a place in high paying jobs in corporate America for example CEOs and presidents of corporations were all Ivy-League students at one time.

Most of the middle class professionals achieved tertiary education. For this class, education is a tool that can present the transition from the middle class to the upper class. With this perception of education and the ability to make substantial incomes, they can afford to take their children to public universities where they get average quality in terms of education. The success of students in the employment sector after graduation is however questionable owing to limited networks and low ratings by the virtue of being in regular public universities.

The education factor plays a big role in shaping the lives of lower class people. The lower class perceives education to be the gateway to success and prosperity but they cannot achieve this, as many do not even posses basic education. The few that progress up to the college level end up dropping out to seek employment or because of the high cost of tuition fees. Most low class people cannot therefore get high paying incomes as they lack qualifications. In 2007, the median earnings of household headed by individuals with less than a 9th grade education was $20,805 while households headed by high school graduates received $40,456, households headed holders of bachelor’s degree earned $77,605, and families headed by individuals with professional degrees earned $100,000 (US Census Bureau, 2007). In this case, the correlation between income and education is clearly brought out.

The association between different living standards and social class has always been present ever since the inception of the social classes. When addressing the standards of living between the different classes, focus shall be on health, food and nutrition as well as access to public amenities. In terms of health, the different elements include general and infant mortality rates, life expectancy and maternal mortality.

Within the upper classes, the life expectancy is found to be the highest as compared to the other two classes. Most of the people belonging to this class have access to the best medical care in America. They also have the money to service their medical plans like Medicare that offer them permanent health care. They also have excellent living conditions. They have access to piped water, proper sanitation infrastructure, comfortable housing and other basic and secondary needs in life. In relation to food, the upper class occupants can afford all their meals. Furthermore, they have the option of choosing to consume highly nutritious foods while engaging in healthy lifestyles. All these factors combine to provide the upper class the best living standards in America.

The middle classes also have nearly similar high life expectancies. The upper middle class particularly live longer and are in better health than the middle class or the lower class. This is because they can afford the rising costs of new medicine propelled by new advances in disease prevention. Therefore, this new medical technology has benefited people with education, money and connections. They can therefore learn about information early, modify their behavior and take advantage of the latest treatments.

The lower classes have the lowest life expectancy among the three. A study done by Edwin Chadwick on the general sanitation levels within Great Britain in 1842 disclosed that “…the average death rate in Liverpool was 35 for gentry and 15 for laborers, mechanics and servants”(Chadwick & Flinn 67). The material explanation is that poor people do not have access to proper housing conditions and other basic needs like clothing. Moreover, their occupations involve being exposed to very dangerous elements for examples chemicals and minerals like asbestos and poisonous gases. Therefore, being poor naturally predisposes them to low health standards.

Conclusion

From the above discussion on the different dimensions through which social class has been realized within America, the following conclusions can be deduced. Within the education sector, social stratification has influenced the career paths of individuals who have had an impact on their incomes, standards of living and their final position within the society. Originating from the lower class within America seems to have carried all the disadvantages with it. Meanwhile, the economic dominance of the upper class in America has ensured that this status quo is maintained and in the process, perpetuating the negative effects of social classes.

Work Cited

Chadwick, Edwin, and M Flinn. Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Laboring Population of Gt. Britain. Edinburgh: University Press, 1965. Print.

Fussell, Paul. Class: A Guide Through the American Status System. New York: Summit Books, 1983. Print.

Jaher, Frederic C. The Rich: The Well Born, and the Powerful: Elites and Upper Classes in History. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1973. Print.

U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Survey. People in Families by Family Structure, Age, and Sex, Iterated by Income-to-Poverty Ratio and Race: Below 100% of Poverty — All Races. 2007