Class & Socioeconomic Status
Kelly Jones, Jordan Leach, & Lily Sooter
Upper, Middle, or Lower?
Discussion Question:
What comes to mind when you hear the word class?
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Understanding-Social-Class-Video
Definition of Class:
Class is a system that differentially structures group access to economic, political, cultural, and social resources
Class is socially constructed by society and its institutions determining the relationships between families and people who have little or limited financial resources and those who are wealthy
Club Sports (Middle to Upper Class)
Class Identity
Social Stratification
- Most people remain in the socioeconomic strata, or class, in which they were born into
Ranks individuals and families on the basis of their:
- Most people can identify to a certain extent with a specific class
- The things in which you socially participate in usually correlate with your identified class
Examples:
Free after school care programs (Lower Class)
People receive rankings on the basis of characteristics of which they have no control
Club sports (Upper to Middle Class)
Discussion Question:
How would you feel if you were told you had to have the same wealth status or occupation that your parents do?
Factors that Determine SES
Factors that Affect SES
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Wealth
Income
The economic condition of a person or group is measured using a criterion called SES
- The wealth of a family includes savings accounts, insurance, corporate stock ownership, and property
- The amount of money earned is in wages or salaries
- As opposed to income which shows the amount of money earned per year
- The gap between high and low income is greater in the US than most other industrialized countries
A family's SES is usually readily observable in factors such as the size of their home, part of town in which they live, the schools in which their children attend, etc.
- Wealth can enhance power and prestige as well as security
- One perspective is that those who have contributed at high levels in their jobs deserve more money
- Income sets limits on the general lifestyle and welfare of a family
Factors that Affect SES
Occupation
Factors that Affect SES
Power
- Income is usually determined by occupation
Education
- It is a way to enhance ones economic status
- A job provides a relatively objective indicator of a persons SES
- Individuals at higher SES levels exert more power
- It directly affects your occupational prestige and income level
- In addition to providing an income, a persons job is an activity that is considered important
- The education level of your parents usually influences the education level you try to achieve
- Often families use their power to ensure their children have better education than lower SES familes
- The conditions in which a low income student can make it difficult for them to go to school
A Cycle that Can Be Broken
Budget for Necessities and Luxuries
- You must spend your entire amount of money
- Housing: $550
- Electric/Gas/Water: $300
- Health Insurance Only: $100
- Car Insurance Only: $145
- Car Payment: $250
- Car Gas: $100
- Children(per child): $150
- Groceries: $400
- Eating Out: $100
- Clothes: $50
- Latest Technologies: $90
- Security System for House: $45
- Coffee: $25
- Internet/Cable: $110
- Savings Deposits: $500
- Vacations: $1000
- Traveling: $1500
Class Differences
Unemployed and Homeless:
Working Class
Middle Class
- Long-term poor fall into this category but most others are temporarily at this level
- BLUE collar vs white collar
- blue collar vs WHITE collar
- The occupations pursued by the working class are those that require manual labor
- Incomes in the middle class vary greatly
- More than half of the population will have lived below the poverty line at least once before they turn 75
- Maintain a more affluent and better lifestyle
- They have been hurt the most because of job losses
- Children are the most affected by poverty
- McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act
Economic Inequality
Teaching for Equality
Class Differences
Upper Class
Class Differences
Income inequality in the US is one of the highest in the world.
Upper Middle Class
1.) Controls inherited wealth
2.) Includes top level administrators and professionals
- Includes professionals, managers, and administrators
- Have most money, power, and control
- Usually have professional or advanced degrees
- Actively participate in civil and voluntary organizations