Everyone is Middle-Class

After doing the classroom exercise at the beginning of class on Monday, it seemed to be apparent that everyone is in the middle class.  If the Huckstables could bring in over $300,000 and be in the same class as Joey who makes less than $20,000, then almost everyone falls somewhere in the middle.  It is almost like class is not defined by income specifically but by standard of living.  The living situations for the Huckstables are very comparable Joey’s.  They are grouped together in a class system because they live similarly, even though Joey makes 15x less.

Another issue that comes up is where do we come up with the idea of middle class?  I think that the middle class in the media represents the standard.  It is what is expected for all Americans to strive for.  Though, it is so vague that almost anyone can consider themselves to be a part of it.  A person could see a “middle class” person in a movie with a cell phone and an ipad.  If a low income person saved up for both devices, they would most likely consider themselves middle class because their standard of living with the person’s in the movie.