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Essay On Middle Class In America

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The middle class of the united states is diminishing. Middle-income Americans have fallen further behind financially in the new century by so much that median incomes have dropped by 4% since the year 2000(PRC). There are varying hypotheses working to understand why the middle class is failing, and whether or not America can survive without them. One of the leading struggles endured by middle class adults 17-25 is the rising cost of an education and finding the work to pay for it. It really is an unproductive paradox. Jobs in demand right now are predominantly white-collar and require, at minimum, a certificate of excellence or an associate's degree. For students who do not have the luxury of a full ride scholarship or parental funding, it is near impossible to pay for an education if they are already paying for the cost of living with a minimum wage job. Education is significantly more expensive than it was for …show more content…

In America, anything you want can be at your fingertips if you can pay for it. This availability strengthens business and economy, but what is it doing to the pockets of Americans who are spending most of their money on recreational accommodations like fast food, alcohol, tobacco, entertainment, smartphones, and various other things that aren't a necessity? Many Americans say they can not get ahead even though they work hard in their middle-class careers (TankersleyTA), could it be because the media has casted a consumer mindset with 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week propaganda exposure in all areas of our life? This idea that you need to have certain material things to achieve a social status in life may be deterring Americans from making productive investments with their money like buying a house, or going to

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According to Henry Bienen, president emeritus of Northwestern University speaking as a panel member in an Intelligence Squared debate “Too Many Kids Go To College, “. . . more years of school, post-secondary, are positively correlated with earnings over one’s lifetime, and also correlated with lower rates of unemployment and shorter duration being unemployed when a higher degree is obtained. ” (8) The American middle class is rapidly shrinking. More and more people are dependent on their own earnings in order to just be able to meet their expenses and survive. They have no family that is able to support them if they don’t make it on their own.

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Work Cited Madland, David. " Growth and the Middle Class." Democracy Journal. 04 Mar. 2011. Web.

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In the book “The Vanishing American Dream”, Daniel Markovits, Professor of Law at Yale Law School, recalls that over the past 30 years, the gap between the top-quintile and bottom-quintile of enrichment expenditures has tripled. When observing the average middle-class family compared to a lower-class family, the difference in spending on education is about $5,000. When set side by side comparing the middle to the upper elite class, the difference can be up to $60,000 (Ludwig 87). This remains just one way the system exemplifies being “broken”. Even if a student comes from a lower income and can compete academically at the same level as a student from a higher income, they are far less likely to make it to secondary education, and in turn, the skilled sector of the American job market.

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Many americans are not able to become rich or even middle class in this day and age. Many Americans aren't given the opportunity to make money and save to the point of becoming rich or middle class. The American Dream is not achievable due to the racist, classist, and sexist views, perspectives and actions of Americans in society today. The American Dream is not achievable due to racism and segregation that play a heavy influence in living the American dream.

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Discussion about Social class and poverty in America According to the textbook of Introduction to sociology, a social class is defined as a social ranking according to the economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility. Sociologist Daniel Rossides describes five social class: the upper class, the upper-middle class, the lower middle class, the working class and the lower class. Social class is decided by achieved and ascribed characteristics, and we can change our class by achieved work. Social class has powerful impacts on a person’s life.

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Some Americans cannot qualify for student aid and pell grants are starting to feel unobtainable, the idea of college without the debt for students seems unattainable. In a society where higher educated people are needed in the workplace, we sure don't have many options to actually get that education and not live working with low wages, paycheck to

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Classism is a major issue that plagues American society. Classism separates groups by their economic status in society. America is perceived to be a middle class society, however in reality the middle class does not hold majority of the nation’s wealth. Most of the nation’s wealth is held by 1% of the population in America which consists of 34% of the nation’s wealth, meanwhile “the richest 20% of Americans hold nearly 85% of the total household wealth in the country” (Adams et al, 2013, p. 151). American citizens that are a part of the upper class are privilege because they have access to majority of the resources.

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A stable and strong middle class is important to any society, but particularly Democratic countries, since the majority of the voter base is made up of the educated middle classes. The fortunes of the middle class are tied to economic policy and the current market system, however effecting a change in economics, and therefore the middle class through policy, is a very complex process, often taking years to be fully realized. It is not simply a question of passing a new policy bill and having a change overnight. This is even truer today in an era of mass globalization where national markets are tied together by the American dollar, and the fortunes of one affects the fortunes of all, to a greater or lesser degree. Therefore to examine the policy

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Since tuition has risen 3 times higher the rate of inflation in the past 10 years, this increase a student’s chances of not being able to afford higher education and also gives them a better chance of accumulating debt post-graduation. Some people think that the college education they acquired did not fit the amount they paid for it, even if they pulled out loans or were an ideal candidate for a scholarship. This is a scary fact because higher education can determine if you thrive

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