The Middle Class and how the Upper Class Views it

Individuals are presented with their means of survival in a particular way by society. Unfortunately, it is up to the members of society to figure out how to scale the social ladder. In terms of money, there has been a social construction that has been based on people's efforts. There are those in the lower class, referred to as the poor, those in the middle class, and those at the top of the social ladder, referred to as the wealthy (Main 10). The USA has defined these social classes and has the boundaries for being poor, in the middle class, and at the upper class. The primary argument is that the people in the lower class are the ladders that the people in the upper-class use to attain and maintain their social status. The upper class will always associate with both rich and poor but are more close to the poor. Besides, it is the same society that makes the people in the lower class to be plunged into their state thus making it difficult for them to come out of it.

According to John Kenneth (10), inequality is one of the issues that has made it easy for the people for the upper-class individuals to deem the people in the lower class as a ladder. According to Kenneth, it all starts with the government. Most of the cases, people have complained about the unequal distribution of resources in the economy. An example is evident in the United States of America.

Most of the individuals living in the areas dominated by low-income earners do not have the essential resources that they can depend upon (Main 15). Proper schools are only found in the areas where the rich live. It, therefore, means that the children from the poor background cannot have a proper education that will make it possible for them to sustain their family and uplift them from the poor states. It is quite ironical that the rich individuals have their children attending a great school and they become great people in the society, a situation that protects the social status of the people in the upper class.

The other reason why the people in the upper class deem those in the lower classes as ladders to their richness is that they will do everything manly possible to make sure that the people in the lower classes are at their service (Main 14). Most of the people in the upper class do not have a lot of time for those in the lower level because they have a belief that they should be serving them. It is for this reason why it is common to find it difficult for a low-level worker to improve his status while working for an individual in the upper class as opposed to when he or she is working for an individual in the middle class. The people in the upper class have to make sure that they do not lose the grip of their subjects.
Another idea that can be linked to the need of the upper-class individuals to maintain their social status in the society is the structure of the government. One thing remains for sure that the top leaders in the state do not know what the local citizens feel (Toffler 40). A cabinet secretary, for example, does not know how it feels when a local citizen is unable to raise money for school fees for example.

It is, however, a great irony that the people who fund the lives of these top-level officials are the citizens who are looked down upon. The government, through the different agencies, will have to deal with any person who is not willing and ready to pay taxes as should be the case. The relationship is quite symbiotic depicting the manner in which the people in the upper class deem those in the middle and the lower classes.

The gap that exists between the middle class and the upper class is increasing yearly. Today, statistics has it that the average income of an individual in the upper class is at $650 and that of the middle class is at $95. The difference between the two groups of people is so large, and it is the reason why the people in the upper class will do everything to make the gap be at the same level. One of the things that have to be noted is that the individuals in the upper class do not pay taxes (Toffler 44). The structure of the government has been set in such a way that the rich should continue being rich whereas the poor remain in their poor state. Is it not a great irony of times? A society where the rich feed on the poor without giving much to them is quite extortive.

Although one would say that the gap is widening as a result of the fact that the rich do not pay taxes and would want to maintain their social status, the truth is that other issues affect the widening gap. The unfortunate part is that the individuals in the upper class do not take a lot of attention to address these issues and bridge the gap between the people in the upper class and those in the lower classes. A good example is immigration.

The United States government has for a long time experienced the problem immigration, the only mistake that they do is playing deaf to the issues and failing to design different ways through which the problem can be solved. Empowering the immigrants will not be difficult if the government makes that choice to do so. Among the immigrants, there are literate individuals who, if given an opportunity, can contribute positively to the development of the United States of America. Out of their income, the government will be able to impose taxes which can be put in another sector to realize growth in the growth of the economy in the United States of America.

Looking at the three classes of people in the societal framework, one thing that stands out is that there is a little ethnicity in the classes. If a researcher chooses to conduct a random study about the people making up the different classes in the United States of America, there are high chances that the people who will dominate the middle and the upper classes will be the whites. Majority of the individuals will be in the lower class, a situation that makes it more of an ethnicity issue (Bhalla and Lapeyre 34). In the past, the African Americans have been marginalized hence the laxity to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

The idea of defining these social classes concerning culture and ethnicity is the reason why the people in the upper class can never want the gap to reduce through all means. In a system where people are considered economically powerful by social status and ethnicity, one of the groups of people have to benefit massively, and the other might end up becoming poor from time to time.

Today, the gap between the middle class and the lower class is diminishing because of, the greater gap that exists between the upper class and the lower class (Bhalla and Lapeyre 34). Due to the close relationship between these groups of individuals, there is a link between the middle-class individuals and the poor. The people in the upper class in the United States fight as much as possible to make sure that poverty is eradicated. The big question is how the poverty can be eradicated if the poor are not empowered. Very few people struggled their ways out of poverty and are in the upper-class today. Most of the people in these upper classes were born and found their families fully established, and the only thing that they were left to do is to take care of the wealth that had been created by their families.

The idea is that a person in the upper class will use every means possible to make sure that they do not associate themselves with poverty and thus, the difficulty of bridging the gap especially that which exists between the people of the lower class and those of the upper class. The only friend of a poor individual is the working class because to an extent; they know what it feels to be poor. Therefore, it is very common to find the people in the middle-class fighting to eliminate poverty and at least make sure that the living standards of the poor are improved to a particular level (Bhalla and Lapeyre 34).

A clear illustration is that of an individual elected to a powerful political office from a humble background. There are imminent chances that the person from the humble environment will improve the lives of the people who elected them to office as opposed to an area where the person who has assumed office is a person from a rich background. Such is the way of operation of the lower class.

It is very rare to find a person from a lower social level seeking job positions in offices of the rich, especially those from the affluent class. The implication is that they do not only have what it takes to convince the rich that they can deliver whatever it is that they seek to give to the rich in the society. They will always stick with the people in the middle class to give them these jobs because they can easily associate with the middle-class group of people.

The Bible comments about the rich and the poor, the idea is that poverty separates an individual with a neighbor. The same case is experienced in the current world, and that is why these gaps exist. The poor individuals in the society are expected to be on their own as the people in the upper class sets their standards. With the inherent idea of eliminating the poverty from the American society, it is vital to find the place of the poor in the society and give them something that can at least boost their way of living to get to the middle class.
Adverse poverty is at times quite disturbing, and if care is not taken, there are imminent chances that people the gap will increase and greatly affect the people of the United States. The gap has to be bridged; an economy can properly run if most of the state residents contribute positively in the job sector (Bhalla and Lapeyre 34). Leaving the job market only for the upper and the middle-class individuals is a misguided notion. The poor should have their space as well.

While discussing the different classes of individuals in the society, it is important to look into the issue of corruption because it no doubt leads to the increase in the gaps between the poor and the rich. Most of the individuals do not want to address the issue with a lot of concern, but the truth is that it contributes to the widening gap (Shashi). It is quite shocking that the most corrupt individuals are those who hold the public offices. The other sad part is that the amount of money wasted in the corrupt dealing is the taxpayers’ money.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Elizabeth Warren and John Kenneth build a concrete case on the widening gap between the rich and the poor (Shashi). They talk about matters of equality, which have a great contribution to the issue of social classes. As illustrated, the issue is that the rich or the individuals in the upper class would want to be in a position where they can adequately maintain their gap and distance themselves from the poor in the society. They indeed deem the people in the other classes as stepping stones to their riches and would take a little of their personal time to ensure that their lives are improved. As for the middle class, they will always struggle to associate with both the rich and the poor in the society.

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Works Cited

Bhalla, Ajit S., and Frédéric Lapeyre. Poverty and exclusion in a global world. Springer, 2016.
Main, Jackson Turner. The social structure of revolutionary America. Princeton University Press, 2015.
Suman, Shashi. "Poor Vs Middle Class Vs Rich In United States Of America." Money Connexion, 2017, http://moneyconnexion.com/poor-vs-middle-class-vs-rich-in-usa.htm.
Toffler, Alvin. "Revolutionary wealth." New Perspectives Quarterly 30.4 (2013): 122-130.