The Increasing Class Divide in the United States

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   gmwilliamsposted 11 years ago

   
   Once upon a time, there was a thriving middle class.  However, with the current socioeconomic situation, the middle class is shrinking and transforming itself.   Those of the white collar and educated middle class are either advancing into the lower upper classes or are devolving into the new lower class. Those of the blue collar and less educated middle class are just devolving into the new lower class.
   
   The middle class as we knew it is hardly recognizable.  The upper classes are thriving and becoming even wealthier.   However, there is a steady rise in the lower class and underclass.  These last people are damned to their fate to say the least.  Those who are in the lower classes at this point have a VERY SLIM chance of ever leaving their class of origin.   Do YOU believe that the lower classes will remain stagnant or will many of them become more affluent or better yet will there a class revolution between the lower and wealthier classes?

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      JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I disagree. Reports have shown that the lower classes have very good chances of leaving their class of origin. In a couple years we will get a new report covering the last decade as well.
      
      It's up to people to improve their situation. In this day and age, it's easier than ever to start a business, work from home, or find a new job.

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      1. 85

         gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Jaxson, good point.   I am of the school that each particular social class have a mindset which has been inculcated in them for generations.  Many people of the lower class, particularly the hard core underclass, have this passivist mentality. 
         
         They believe that society and others owe them a living.   They also do not believe in the premise of education and self-improvement.   They clearly do not have the concept of ownership in their lives.   An example of this are people who have been on public assistance for 4 generations.   The poor in America for THE MOST PART have no excuse at all for being in their socioeconomic situation.   Many times they are in their socioeconomic situation of their very own choosing.

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            JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            It really is sad, when you consider that anybody can sign up at an upfront-pay article site and write articles for anywhere from $5-$50/hr. Customer service jobs can be done from home for $8-$15/hr. Almost anybody can work one or two of these kinds of jobs, work hard, save up, start a business, etc etc etc.
            
            Most just don't do it. You're right, there is a huge entitlement mentality.

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         maxoxam41posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         What are you talking about? The US is among the countries that counts the lowest upward social mobility. Our system is based on it. If you can't access higher education, no higher income. We need soldiers not intellectuals. The more you think, the more you oppose, and it is not what our society desires. It needs order. It entails that at the top you have the general, the corporation, the government and at the bottom, the soldiers, the enslaved workers (their rights are diminishing) and the people. At the top loopholes and right to corrupt, abuse and steal, at the bottom, the right to go to jail. At the top, the right to impose rules, at the bottom the right to obey.
         The sad reality is the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, and the rest is (shall I call it propaganda? I shall.) propaganda.

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            JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Go look at the census studies on mobility in the US.
            
            Yes, we have lower mobility than countries that have lower income inequality, but that's normal. The bigger the gap, the harder it is to move between groups. For absolute movement though, the US has great mobility. The average lower-class American at least doubles their income in a decade.

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            HowardBThinameposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Maxo- your stats are skewed. The US isn't the top in upward mobility - but we're in the top few.
            
            And we're ahead of the UK.
            
            http://www.verisi.com/resources/prosper … bility.htm

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   maxoxam41posted 11 years ago

   It is a glaring mistake from the corporations that dictate government's moves because it is the class that represents the economical term of demand.
   Realism pushes me to think that the US will become at the image of many european countries now dichotomic. I want to believe that the people will fight for their rights to the point of a revolution if necessary. If our ancestors did it against the English's yoke why couldn't we?

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