Social Classes
Anthony Garcia
Professor Cathleen Armstead
SYG2000
17 March 2013
Social Class Research Paper
The United States has a very unique social class structure. In the US while there do exist many different branches in this structure, each branch has their own set of individuals and incomes that all serve a purpose to make this economy function. There are three main core classes: Lower Class, Middle Class, and Upper Class. This paper will deeply analyze each of these classes including their subclasses as well as looking at several theories and reasons as to why our social class has been set this way.
The Lower class is the group of individuals who make less than $32,000 and are the biggest group in the social class ladder. In this group there are two sub-classes: Poor and Working Class. The poor account for 15-20% of the social economy and in this group there isn’t much chance of them to move in the social class ladder due to the inability to better educate them or find the necessary connections to move up. The people mostly categorized in this group are homeless, welfare recipients and unemployed. The working class makes up 30-40% of the social economy and while they may seem similar to the poor they have many distinct differences. While they may not have the education to obtain higher salaries they are the people who fill the positions that require little to none skills and do usually have high school education. They are referred to as “blue collar” and make about $29,000-$48,000.
Middle class individuals make up about 40-50% of the economy and have a wide range of individuals and incomes. Lower Middle class make in between $48,000-$122,000 and they usually attend colleges and universities but do require them to apply for loans or work studies. The upper middle class, which is the other sub-group in this class, make up to $120,000-$330,000. They are highly educated and most of the time obtain advanced degrees and live in households that have
Professor Cathleen Armstead
SYG2000
17 March 2013
Social Class Research Paper
The United States has a very unique social class structure. In the US while there do exist many different branches in this structure, each branch has their own set of individuals and incomes that all serve a purpose to make this economy function. There are three main core classes: Lower Class, Middle Class, and Upper Class. This paper will deeply analyze each of these classes including their subclasses as well as looking at several theories and reasons as to why our social class has been set this way.
The Lower class is the group of individuals who make less than $32,000 and are the biggest group in the social class ladder. In this group there are two sub-classes: Poor and Working Class. The poor account for 15-20% of the social economy and in this group there isn’t much chance of them to move in the social class ladder due to the inability to better educate them or find the necessary connections to move up. The people mostly categorized in this group are homeless, welfare recipients and unemployed. The working class makes up 30-40% of the social economy and while they may seem similar to the poor they have many distinct differences. While they may not have the education to obtain higher salaries they are the people who fill the positions that require little to none skills and do usually have high school education. They are referred to as “blue collar” and make about $29,000-$48,000.
Middle class individuals make up about 40-50% of the economy and have a wide range of individuals and incomes. Lower Middle class make in between $48,000-$122,000 and they usually attend colleges and universities but do require them to apply for loans or work studies. The upper middle class, which is the other sub-group in this class, make up to $120,000-$330,000. They are highly educated and most of the time obtain advanced degrees and live in households that have