It's not how much you make, it's how you make it: - dependency: allowances, public welfare, UI, grants, bursaries, inheritances and trust funds, scholarships e

It's not how much you make, it's how you make it: - dependency: allowances, public welfare, UI, grants, bursaries, inheritances and trust funds, scholarships etc. - labour: paid for fungible work. (piece work, hours of labour) - time: paid for individual time spent. (salary) - knowledge: paid for things that can be taken and reused e.g. analysis, opinion, assessment, advice, teaching. - performance: paid for outcome only you can deliver. e.g. litigation, sports, music, prizes, bonuses, gambling. - risk: paid for taking/holding risk, priced-in compensation for perceived potential loss. e.g. leverage, brokerage, insurance, liquidity. - capital: charging rents on a capital asset. e.g. real estate, dividends, loan interest, franchise fees, IP licensing. - power: taxation, tributes, bribes, etc. We can dress up the amounts people make and make up vanity excuses, but these are what you get compensated for, and there is definitely a hierarchy. Everyone likes to think they are middle class, but what really defines social position is how and for what you are compensated.