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What are thoughts on labels like these? Earlier someone on here assumed that because my username has 75 in it that I was born in 1975. They were like, ohh well you should know the answer to that because if you were born in 1975 then you are middle aged! Made me chuckle because at 38 i was born in 1978...but i guess 38 years old today still means close to middle aged?? It feels like a bit of a dated politically incorrect term. I had 2 babies iver 35 so i can take being called old...my medical records always showed advanced maternal age or even elderly a few times.
Also the term working class is also thrown around a lot. What is working class today? Anyone who shows up to a job is working...why arent we all working class. What really is the difference between middle class and working class?
Unemployed is another kind of potentially offensive term to some people. Some people choose not to work...does unemployed only refer to someone who has been recently laid odd and/or can't find a job?
God forbid someone be middle aged and unemployed...or middle aged and working class.
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"Working class" has always meant working with your hands class. So at this point, that would be the lower 1/3 economically of working people - waiters, clerks, shift workers, janitors, etc. They're the people who do the heavy lifting, who if they didn't show up for work you'd immediately miss them and feel their absence, although they are the lowest paid. The CEO of a company doesn't show up for a week and you wouldn't notice it at all - the janitor doesn't show up for a day and HELLO, WHERE IS HE??
Middle age typically means about 45-50, although at 38 you're really more realistically middle aged. Double your age and you get 76, and so yeah. 38 is middle aged.
In my opinion, middle aged is 40s and 50s. So someone who was born in 1975 would be middle aged. 38 years old wouldn't be, but getting close enough it might depend on the individual. I don't find the term offensive.
Working class might be the trickiest of the 3 terms you've listed...In my opinion, and only my opinion, working class would include bottom end of middle class. Working class would include lower-middle class and just below, but above long-term government assistance or government housing. Working class people might be "poor" but they're not in poverty. People in the working class might work for tips, most likely aren't salaried, nor have access to a company 401K type savings plan. They didn't finish college. Their jobs are more likely to be manual, or rote non-specialized work. They are unlikely to have an emergency fund, and even a small unexpected expense could devastate their delicate financial situation. The person who owns a successful labor-intense company, even if they do the work alongside their employees, is not in the working class. I can see how this term, like any economic term (middle class, upper class, affluent, etc) is loaded and people could feel uncomfortable with it.
Unemployed, again in my opinion, does not include those who choose not to work. Most folks who choose not to work would not say they are unemployed since it literally is a negative term (un-) and they are not "lacking employment", they would tell you they are "staying home to raise the kids" "caring for an elderly parent" "full-time volunteering" "starting a business" "taking classes" or whatever it is they are doing in lieu of earning income.
So if someone is a contractor making $80 an hr they are working class simply because they arent salaried? Nurses do shift work...are they working class? Plumbers?
So if someone is a contractor making $80 an hr they are working class simply because they arent salaried? Nurses do shift work...are they working class? Plumbers?
No. Of course not all hourly employees are "working class." I don't think anyone would try to make that argument.
So if someone is a contractor making $80 an hr they are working class simply because they arent salaried? Nurses do shift work...are they working class? Plumbers?
AC offered a pretty good explanation, but you seemed to have missed it. It's a bit more complex than you're thinking. Salaried/hourly, shifted/scheduled are not the only criteria. An entrepreneur who owns a landscaping company and makes $100,000 a year isn't working class, even if he digs holes/mows grass alongside his employees every day. A contractor or business manager might spend 75% of his day servicing customers and not be working class. Is the work skilled or non-skilled? Does it require higher education or advanced skills? Do they have equity in the business? Plumbers and nurses are not the same as assembly-line workers, bank tellers, waiters and janitors.
What are thoughts on labels like these? Earlier someone on here assumed that because my username has 75 in it that I was born in 1975. They were like, ohh well you should know the answer to that because if you were born in 1975 then you are middle aged! Made me chuckle because at 38 i was born in 1978...but i guess 38 years old today still means close to middle aged?? It feels like a bit of a dated politically incorrect term. I had 2 babies iver 35 so i can take being called old...my medical records always showed advanced maternal age or even elderly a few times.
Also the term working class is also thrown around a lot. What is working class today? Anyone who shows up to a job is working...why arent we all working class. What really is the difference between middle class and working class?
Unemployed is another kind of potentially offensive term to some people. Some people choose not to work...does unemployed only refer to someone who has been recently laid odd and/or can't find a job?
God forbid someone be middle aged and unemployed...or middle aged and working class.
Middle aged, is middle aged. There's no way around it, and it's not insulting. It's when you're around half way there, which is around 40-50. Same with advanced maternal age. It's not a personal insult. It's a fact.
To me, working class is more or less the same as blue collar. Yes, everyone who works could be "working class." Also not an insult.
Unemployed means you would be employed, but for whatever reason, you aren't. You'd like to be employed, but you aren't. I guess it's only offensive if your job loss was your fault.
AC offered a pretty good explanation, but you seemed to have missed it. It's a bit more complex than you're thinking. Salaried/hourly, shifted/scheduled are not the only criteria. An entrepreneur who owns a landscaping company and makes $100,000 a year isn't working class, even if he digs holes/mows grass alongside his employees every day. A contractor or business manager might spend 75% of his day servicing customers and not be working class. Is the work skilled or non-skilled? Does it require higher education or advanced skills? Do they have equity in the business? Plumbers and nurses are not the same as assembly-line workers, bank tellers, waiters and janitors.
You're putting UAW line workers in the same category as bank tellers? Many make 6 figures don't know any bank tellers that do. Assembly line workers for Fortune 500 companies usually make very good money.
You're putting UAW line workers in the same category as bank tellers? Many make 6 figures don't know any bank tellers that do. Assembly line workers for Fortune 500 companies usually make very good money.
As a UAW line worker, thanks for posting this. I don't think the vast majority of the people understand that many of us make 6 figures, have full employer paid healthcare, pensions, 401k etc. I have no problem being referred to as working or blue class but the assumption that everyone who works in assembly line jobs or in the trades are struggling is just ridiculous. Assembly line workers at the big 3 make a very nice living.
Are there any estimates out there as to what percentage of "assembly line workers" are UAW?
EDT: Serious question. I know nothing about this field.
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