Social Classes Summary
America is not in a downward spiral of mobility. The American dream is the idea that economic mobility is possible. The idea that someone can work their way up the economic ladder and move up in “Social Classes”. Holly Sklar writes a piece entitled “The Growing Gulf between the Rich and the Rest of Us” where she expresses her idea that the rich are only getting richer and there is no idea of the American dream. However, Bruce Barlett argues that the poor are not as poor and the rich are getting richer in his writing “The Truth About Wages”. Michael Kamber also gives a great example in his article “Toil and Temptation” giving a real life story of someone who lived the American Dream. The American dream is possible and people are living it. If people are living the American dream then they must be moving up in economic mobility.
The American …show more content…
people are working their way out towards an upward economic mobility. Bartlett makes comment stating “… the percentage of households with low income has fallen and the percentage of those with high income has risen” (314-315). Bartlett is showing us that there are less people making “low income” and more making “high income”. If there are less people in low income housing then that proves that people are working their way out moving upward. Showing us that the poor are becoming wealthier and moving into high income housing. Bartlett also shows statistics “those with an income above 75,000 (in 2005 dollars)-rose to 28.3 percent last year from 27.9 percent in 2004. In 1995 only 24.4 percent of households had that much income, up from 20.2 percent in 1985 and 14 percent in 1975” (314). What these numbers show us is that the number of people making more than 75,000 keeps going up. These numbers just keep going up showing us that there are more and more people starting to get wealthier.
A story of an immigrant who moved up in the world threw upward economic mobility.
In Kambers piece he tells a story about a man named Lupe Gonzalez. “Lupe Gonzalez came across in 1987, in the trunk of a car with holes cut in the floor. The coyotes gave him a straw through which he sucked fresh air as he bounced on the roads near San Diego” (5). Lupe is immigrant who came across the Mexican border in the trunk of a car, sucking the only air he could get through a straw in the hole of the car. Kamber writes this because he wants to show how hard it was for Lupe and where exactly he came from. Lupe came over when he was 18 and started as a messenger and then soon started working as a hair dresser. Lupe then went on to buy his own place and expanded with two more. “As an openly gay man, a successful business person, a legal resident of the U.S., and a fluent English speaker…” (6). Obviously Lupe is doing well for himself and this is a great example of some one who came from the bottom and now owns three salons in New York City. Lupe came from the bottom and threw the American economy he became a successful business
owner.
Sklar’s addresses the fact that “the number of Americans in poverty is a group so large it would take the combined population of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, plus Arkansas to match it” (310). She is trying to show us that if we combined all those states populations together that’s how many people are below the poverty line. She goes on to say that it is 37 million Americans. What she fails to say is if that number has gone up or down in the past years. It may be getting better but she does not tell us that. Sklar goes on to say that “America is a downwardly mobile society instead of an upwardly mobile one” (310). This showing her stand on what she thinks about Americans economic mobility.
The American Dream of economic mobility and moving up the ladder of success is somthing I believe in. I do not agree with Sklar that there are too many Rich people and everyone is in a downward economic mobility. I like Bartlett’s statistics he has and the idea that everyone is going up. The proof is in the numbers there is more and more middle class every year. Lastly Kambers story about Lupe is very convincing. It is a real life example of someone who came from nothing and worked hard and made it somewhere in the end. I think the American Dream is a possible thing and is something
The American …show more content…
people are working their way out towards an upward economic mobility. Bartlett makes comment stating “… the percentage of households with low income has fallen and the percentage of those with high income has risen” (314-315). Bartlett is showing us that there are less people making “low income” and more making “high income”. If there are less people in low income housing then that proves that people are working their way out moving upward. Showing us that the poor are becoming wealthier and moving into high income housing. Bartlett also shows statistics “those with an income above 75,000 (in 2005 dollars)-rose to 28.3 percent last year from 27.9 percent in 2004. In 1995 only 24.4 percent of households had that much income, up from 20.2 percent in 1985 and 14 percent in 1975” (314). What these numbers show us is that the number of people making more than 75,000 keeps going up. These numbers just keep going up showing us that there are more and more people starting to get wealthier.
A story of an immigrant who moved up in the world threw upward economic mobility.
In Kambers piece he tells a story about a man named Lupe Gonzalez. “Lupe Gonzalez came across in 1987, in the trunk of a car with holes cut in the floor. The coyotes gave him a straw through which he sucked fresh air as he bounced on the roads near San Diego” (5). Lupe is immigrant who came across the Mexican border in the trunk of a car, sucking the only air he could get through a straw in the hole of the car. Kamber writes this because he wants to show how hard it was for Lupe and where exactly he came from. Lupe came over when he was 18 and started as a messenger and then soon started working as a hair dresser. Lupe then went on to buy his own place and expanded with two more. “As an openly gay man, a successful business person, a legal resident of the U.S., and a fluent English speaker…” (6). Obviously Lupe is doing well for himself and this is a great example of some one who came from the bottom and now owns three salons in New York City. Lupe came from the bottom and threw the American economy he became a successful business
owner.
Sklar’s addresses the fact that “the number of Americans in poverty is a group so large it would take the combined population of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, plus Arkansas to match it” (310). She is trying to show us that if we combined all those states populations together that’s how many people are below the poverty line. She goes on to say that it is 37 million Americans. What she fails to say is if that number has gone up or down in the past years. It may be getting better but she does not tell us that. Sklar goes on to say that “America is a downwardly mobile society instead of an upwardly mobile one” (310). This showing her stand on what she thinks about Americans economic mobility.
The American Dream of economic mobility and moving up the ladder of success is somthing I believe in. I do not agree with Sklar that there are too many Rich people and everyone is in a downward economic mobility. I like Bartlett’s statistics he has and the idea that everyone is going up. The proof is in the numbers there is more and more middle class every year. Lastly Kambers story about Lupe is very convincing. It is a real life example of someone who came from nothing and worked hard and made it somewhere in the end. I think the American Dream is a possible thing and is something