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People in the upper classes actually can follow their dreams, as can many people in the upper-middle. However, most people misuse these terms and consider thems

People in the upper classes actually can follow their dreams, as can many people in the upper-middle. However, most people misuse these terms and consider themselves a class or two higher than they actually are. Upper class starts around $5 million per year and requires extensive family connections. It's probably less than 0.1% of the population. What a lot of people call "upper class" is upper-middle. What is usually called "upper-middle-class" is barely middle. Middle class (bourgeois) means that you can have 3 or 4 kids if you so desire (and afford an appropriate house in a big city), you have sufficient help and amenities not to need to do housework, you can send your kids to whatever schools they desire, and have sufficient connections that they can do pretty much whatever they want for work. Most people we consider middle-class are actually the high end of the proletariat-- working-class, not middle (but not "underclass" either). They do their own housework, can't afford to send their kids to the top schools, are fucked if their health insurer chooses not to cover an expensive treatment, and only can only vacation occasionally, and never for more than 2 weeks. Below that are the outright poors, who are probably the majority of American society. This society is pyramid shaped, despite peoples' desires to believe the contrary.

wallflower 17y ago
"When the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune makes a highly acclaimed documentary about being rich, his father’s unexpected feedback is what sticks with him the most. Jamie Johnson is a documentary filmmaker and the great-grandson of the founder of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company." http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast
yummyfajitas 17y ago
Below that are the outright poors, who are probably the majority of American society You should visit a country besides the US to discover what "poor" really means. The US poor are overfed and underworked; real poor people are not.
- pw0ncakes 17y ago
  The US poor have a lot of trinkets and junk food, but can't afford housing in any place worth living in, will go bankrupt if they have any health problems, have shitty jobs and no chance of advancement.
  - yummyfajitas 17y ago
    Real poor people (c.f. India, China, Africa, the US in the past) don't have a lot of "trinkets" (like cell phones, cable TV, AC, refrigerator, flush toilets, a car or a house), are typically skinny due to lack of food, can't afford housing in any place worth living in and will likely die if they have any health problems. Last I checked, death is much worse than having your debts discharged but losing some of your assets. A place not worth living in: http://i.pbase.com/o6/54/380754/1/73947048.Hk41wYFV.Bombayslum.jpg http://i.pbase.com/o6/54/380754/1/73947048.Hk41wYFV.Bombaysl... My neighborhood in the USA, which is full of poor people: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Journal_Square_Station.JPG http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Journal_S... Dude, get a clue.
    - Snoddas 17y ago
      FYI: first link 404
    - pw0ncakes 17y ago
      It's obviously better to be poor in the US than to be poor in sub-Saharan Africa or rural China. I will grant you that. This is like arguing that, because Northern coal miners in 1840 were treated marginally better than Southern slaves, describing the miners as oppressed and downtrodden would be somehow inaccurate because someone is worse off. American poverty is physically a lot better than in much of the world, but the ennui and inability to advance are the same, and the conditions for the American poor are getting worse right now and will reach a state of true poverty if we don't intervene.
      - yummyfajitas 17y ago
        The American poor overeat, work very little (80% of the poor have no job and are not looking for one, only 10% work full time), and still have all their material needs met. This is not a life of poverty, it is a life of leisure. Fun fact: the term "ennui" historically described the boredom suffered by idle women from rich families during Victorian times.

wallflower 17y ago

"When the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune makes a highly acclaimed documentary about being rich, his father’s unexpected feedback is what sticks with him the most. Jamie Johnson is a documentary filmmaker and the great-grandson of the founder of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company." http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast

yummyfajitas 17y ago

Below that are the outright poors, who are probably the majority of American society You should visit a country besides the US to discover what "poor" really means. The US poor are overfed and underworked; real poor people are not.

pw0ncakes 17y ago
The US poor have a lot of trinkets and junk food, but can't afford housing in any place worth living in, will go bankrupt if they have any health problems, have shitty jobs and no chance of advancement.
- yummyfajitas 17y ago
  Real poor people (c.f. India, China, Africa, the US in the past) don't have a lot of "trinkets" (like cell phones, cable TV, AC, refrigerator, flush toilets, a car or a house), are typically skinny due to lack of food, can't afford housing in any place worth living in and will likely die if they have any health problems. Last I checked, death is much worse than having your debts discharged but losing some of your assets. A place not worth living in: http://i.pbase.com/o6/54/380754/1/73947048.Hk41wYFV.Bombayslum.jpg http://i.pbase.com/o6/54/380754/1/73947048.Hk41wYFV.Bombaysl... My neighborhood in the USA, which is full of poor people: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Journal_Square_Station.JPG http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Journal_S... Dude, get a clue.
  - Snoddas 17y ago
    FYI: first link 404
  - pw0ncakes 17y ago
    It's obviously better to be poor in the US than to be poor in sub-Saharan Africa or rural China. I will grant you that. This is like arguing that, because Northern coal miners in 1840 were treated marginally better than Southern slaves, describing the miners as oppressed and downtrodden would be somehow inaccurate because someone is worse off. American poverty is physically a lot better than in much of the world, but the ennui and inability to advance are the same, and the conditions for the American poor are getting worse right now and will reach a state of true poverty if we don't intervene.
    - yummyfajitas 17y ago
      The American poor overeat, work very little (80% of the poor have no job and are not looking for one, only 10% work full time), and still have all their material needs met. This is not a life of poverty, it is a life of leisure. Fun fact: the term "ennui" historically described the boredom suffered by idle women from rich families during Victorian times.