I've wondered this for quite some time now. Everyone generally has different opinions on middle-class, but we'll assume it means you grew up in a stable household that was able to afford vacations every year to Florida, the occasional cruise, and being able to go out to eat to nice restaurants a few times a month. You probably had the latest nintendo system, a bike, new clothes, and grew up in a safe neighborhood. You had a decent car in high school and went to a decent or good public school. Your family was able to afford sending you to college, even if they had to take out a few loans. Most in your neighborhood were successful insurance salespeople, or worked middle management in a white collar industry with some well paid blue collar people like construction company owners nearby.
Contrast this to upper-class, which again, everyone has different definitions of. We'll assume upper-class meant country club membership, trips around the world to Europe or Australia every year, or an "old money" connection in the family with strong connections to landing you a great job after college. Your family never had to worry about money or being laid off from work. You never had to wait until Christmas to ask for new video games, they were simply given to you. You may have gone to an expensive private school, or a high-ranked public school in a rich suburb. A prestigious college was able to be afforded provided you had the grades/test scores to get into it. You had a brand new car in high school, even if it wasn't luxury. You grew up in a neighborhood where most were doctors, lawyers, or high-paid financiers.
Lower class, grew up not knowing what school district you'd be in next year. Food stamps were there sometimes. Kids knew you shopped at Goodwill or Salvation army. You had generic food at home. You didn't have the latest technology, and having a computer was a big deal at home, where the middle or upper class kids had their own separate from the family.
These are only generalizations, but I wanted to set a baseline for everything.
Conventional wisdom would say the middle-class has it the easiest after the upper-class, but I wonder if this is the truth.
The upper-class have their family wealth to fall back on. The lower class have nothing to lose if they don't succeed, it was never expected. Being the first in their family to goto college is amazing. While it's expected, the upper class don't even have to goto college if they don't want to. The middle class have to at least finish some basic 4 year degree to appease their family and not be seen as lowering their family's status. The upper class already have the status and one kid or two not having a degree really won't matter, regardless of how mad the parents get about it. The middle-class have to maintain the middle or move up.
When you look at this, it does appear like the middle-class have the most pressure. The upper-class have it made for the most part. The lower-class have very few expectations.
The upper-class can literally do whatever they want, and contrary to what most think, upper-class families usually help out their kids a lot. Middle-class do not. Lower-class probably would but they are unable to.
What I'm getting at, is that there's a pressure for middle-class to sustain middle-class, where the upper-class don't have to worry about sustaining upper-class, and the lower-class don't have to worry about it either since the only direction is up.
The guys I've personally known with the most game where either from the upper or lower classes and wondered if there was some sort of correlation.
Upper & lower class also tend to have the least rules growing up, where middle-class are typically expected to be the perfect boy scouts. Another way to look at it. Middle-class guy marries a single mother, it's typically seen as moving downward. Upper-class, they won't like it but be quick to admit sometimes that happens (upper-class are typically more open minded than middle regardless of political affiliation). Lower-class, it's basically expected.
I thought this could provide some interesting discussion.
Contrast this to upper-class, which again, everyone has different definitions of. We'll assume upper-class meant country club membership, trips around the world to Europe or Australia every year, or an "old money" connection in the family with strong connections to landing you a great job after college. Your family never had to worry about money or being laid off from work. You never had to wait until Christmas to ask for new video games, they were simply given to you. You may have gone to an expensive private school, or a high-ranked public school in a rich suburb. A prestigious college was able to be afforded provided you had the grades/test scores to get into it. You had a brand new car in high school, even if it wasn't luxury. You grew up in a neighborhood where most were doctors, lawyers, or high-paid financiers.
Lower class, grew up not knowing what school district you'd be in next year. Food stamps were there sometimes. Kids knew you shopped at Goodwill or Salvation army. You had generic food at home. You didn't have the latest technology, and having a computer was a big deal at home, where the middle or upper class kids had their own separate from the family.
These are only generalizations, but I wanted to set a baseline for everything.
Conventional wisdom would say the middle-class has it the easiest after the upper-class, but I wonder if this is the truth.
The upper-class have their family wealth to fall back on. The lower class have nothing to lose if they don't succeed, it was never expected. Being the first in their family to goto college is amazing. While it's expected, the upper class don't even have to goto college if they don't want to. The middle class have to at least finish some basic 4 year degree to appease their family and not be seen as lowering their family's status. The upper class already have the status and one kid or two not having a degree really won't matter, regardless of how mad the parents get about it. The middle-class have to maintain the middle or move up.
When you look at this, it does appear like the middle-class have the most pressure. The upper-class have it made for the most part. The lower-class have very few expectations.
The upper-class can literally do whatever they want, and contrary to what most think, upper-class families usually help out their kids a lot. Middle-class do not. Lower-class probably would but they are unable to.
What I'm getting at, is that there's a pressure for middle-class to sustain middle-class, where the upper-class don't have to worry about sustaining upper-class, and the lower-class don't have to worry about it either since the only direction is up.
The guys I've personally known with the most game where either from the upper or lower classes and wondered if there was some sort of correlation.
Upper & lower class also tend to have the least rules growing up, where middle-class are typically expected to be the perfect boy scouts. Another way to look at it. Middle-class guy marries a single mother, it's typically seen as moving downward. Upper-class, they won't like it but be quick to admit sometimes that happens (upper-class are typically more open minded than middle regardless of political affiliation). Lower-class, it's basically expected.
I thought this could provide some interesting discussion.