Abstract
The different social class divisions have always played an important role in America. The different class distinctions are unfair on all Americans. Americans from different socioeconomic back-rounds tend to live different lifestyles and have different opportunities available to them. The one way to consider a person’s position in society is in terms of four factors – wealth, income, education and occupation. Unfortunately, this is not a subject people like to discuss because we want to believe that America is a society free of social classes and castes.
Social Classes in America
Socioeconomic status is a way of describing the stratification system in America. The class system, which is not perfect in classifying all Americans, never-less offers a general understanding of social stratification. The United States has six different social classes. They include the upper class, new money, middle class, working class, working poor and poverty level. We are going to talk about the upper middle and lower classes.
Upper Class
A main differentiate feature of upper class people in America is where their income comes from. The vast majority of a persons and households obtain their income from salaries, people in the upper class obtain their income from capital gain and investments. The upper class actually has two different layers (the upper-upper class and the lower upper-class). The upper-upper class makes up less than one percent of the population. These people are born into the money and never have to work. The Rockefellers are a good example of the upper-upper class. The lower upper class are often called “new money” these are people who earn their money rather than inheriting it. An example for lower upper class would be professional athletes or actors.
Middle Class
Middle class people make up around 34% of the U.S. population. The members of this class earn their money working in...