It intrigues me to know who the average mises.org user is and what background they come from. So, how would you describe your socio-economic position?
I would classify myself as lower middle class. My family background is 100% working class but now we live in a nice suburb in a detatched house. So what about you?
Yeah, my parents worked for a living too [no looters (politicians) or moochers (welfare queens) in my family]. What is it about SES that you find interesting? Also, how do you define the different classes? Are they based on income alone, wealth, occupation, position in the “structure of production”, etc…?
Could you define “lower middle class” versus “upper middle class.” I never really understood the difference.
I suppose it is the link between class and ideology that I find interesting. For example, the Conservative Party are mostly from public (meaning private) schools, wheras the Labour Party are traditionally working class (although they too seem to have a higher than average representation of upper class folk).
I guess I have two different goggles through which to look at class. The first is the typical English way of looking at it - Working class is manual labourers, factory workers, tradespeople, service workers on lower pay etc. Middle class ranges from the well paid tradespeople to certain office workers. Upper class contains financial sector workers, land owners, CEO’s etc. Finally the aristocrats are the minor royals, landed gentry, lords and ladies etc.
This outlook is becoming more redundant as the economy has evolved however, and a more nuanced look at class would be more about a persons access to institutions of class mobility. I haven’t thought it through enough to give a detailed answer in this respect though.
Lower middle class people still have a memory of working class lifestyle. Upper middle class people went to minor public schools, read The Telegraph and eat Couscous. Of course, these are generalisations and a little tongue in cheek.
My dad is a family practitioner/M.D. and my mom doesn’t work, but I’m not rich or anything. The most he ever made was $~240k in 1995 which is $~280k or so today. I’m probably not going to make anything near that much.
I’d say that I grew up lower middle class, and later during my high school years moved up into the lower-upper-middle range as my father worked more hours and my mom went back to work. Father works as a swing-shift lab tech at a chemical plant, and doesn’t get weekends or holidays off. Mother is an art teacher. We grew up in a detached house with a little over an acre of property, although it was in a semi-rural area and the house had it’s quirks. Like for a while we had to go outside, and down into the cellar to turn on the hot water in the bathroom. Not pleasent for a 12 year old at 5AM in January. 
My grandfather on my mother’s side was a math teacher, and they grew up in a rented duplex, with uncles and aunts staying with them on and off. My grandfather on my dad’s side was an electrician and foreman at an industrial plant, and had preivously worked a bunch of smaller jobs when they were younger.
Personally I’m 25, with an annual income in the mid-40’s, about $20-30k of student loan debt and rent a single-bedroom apartment.
I come from thoroughly middle-class parents and had the misfortune of going through public (meaning state) schooling.
It seems odd that the quintiles of household income in the U.S. break in the following fashion:
| Data | All households | Lowest fifth | Second fifth | Middle fifth | Fourth fifth | Highest fifth | Top 5% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households (in 1000s) | 113,146 | 22,629 | 22,629 | 22,629 | 22,629 | 22,629 | 5,695 |
| Lower limit | $0 | $0 | $18,500 | $34,738 | $55,331 | $88,030 | $157,176 |
(Wikipedia)
If that’s true, I actually grew up in the upper spectrum of the Fourth fifth of American households, which I find quite odd b/c my mom was a teacher and my dad operates a small business (he’s the owner and employee). Considering our lifestyle, I’d have said it was typical middle class and I knew a lot of people who made bunches more than my folks did.
Personally I’m 25, with an annual income in the mid-40’s, about $20-30k of student loan debt and rent a single-bedroom apartment.
I’m similar age, but you make 50% more than me. Fortunately, I have no student loans and live with my parents. I still have to pay for my car, cell phone, and I pitch in for food, but I suppose we’re about even considering the circumstances!
This is a survival story…true ghetto story…this is my story…real ghetto story…
yup all that stuff in that song. (haha i won’t bother with all the details though,)
lol its like I never actually thought about it while I was growing up, because as a kid I only knew what was in front of me so I figured that’s how life is. My dad made a modest 20-25k a year, my mom was a painter(just her personal hobby, she didn’t sell anything) and sometimes volunteered at the public school I went to. My friends and I when we finally got bicycles on our hands would always ride it straight to the nice areas where lawyers, doctors, and whatnot lived even though it was a looong way from home. Because riding around at home means getting punched in the face and having all your stuff stolen.
We had TV though so every show I saw whether it was full house or family matters or whatever, I was thinking “Oh my god they live in mansions!! THAT KID HAS HIS OWN ROOM? His parents talk to him about his problems? A BACKYARD? whaaat” .
Where my parents came from (Pakistan/India) was much worse off than over here in Jamaica NY anyway so to them it was an upgrade. To them - in America at least the cops wouldn’t directly rob you, you could go to school get a degree and earn real good money so thats why they chose to live here.
Well so I dunno I always defined my background as lower-middle class since we at least had enough money to eat and pay the rent even though sometimes times were hard and not all the bills could be paid- and hand me downs always helped for things like clothes. I always considered people who live in suburbs to be upper middle class just because they’re living in suburbs.
I was born poor. I remember my grandmother and i used to go to the local high school and look for cans in the trash bins everyday after school. What is cool about my family though is that they had too much pride to go to the government and ask for assistance… we were poor but at least all the income we recieved, we earned ourselves…
Yup. My parents used to get mad that people who got government assistance just seemed so much better off than we did at times. But my dad was like hey as long as I can walk I can work.
Ha, yeah actually probably. My girlfriend makes about 20k a year after taxes working at a small catering deli. However she’s lucky enough that she’s got “free” housing. She’s housitting some guy’s family home, and he lives out in California. The place isn’t in a condition where he can rent it so he lets her stay there and pays the utilities if she takes care of the place. He pays for all major repairs too. We worked it out and she ends up with more disposable income than I do, even though she makes like less than half of what I do.
Regional cost of living is very important. Looking at a nation as diverse as the US, “average” statisitics won’t tell you much. You can make $150,000 a year in NYC and still be middle class. But if you look at the national quintiles you end up in the “rich” category.
Gotta love that old hard-working attitude. It’s what we need.
None of your business, really.
Unless he has an IRS card.
Unskilled working class.
Parents came to this country as poor immigrants in debt. My dad pulled us up to middle class since then, but he really worked his ass off doing it.
Not sure how this fits, but my dad was in the military for most of my young life. After he got out he worked as a delevery man for Fed Ex…my mom is a CNA she was going to go get her nursing degree, but never completed it.
I work at a warehouse in a furniture store, and write and sell comics.
I dont know where that puts me in terms of ‘class’ though…
QFT