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It is not what it is. That is the problem. People define words, there is no innate definition.
And often, when people put two or more words together to create a phrase, it can be defined to mean something very different than the individual words were intended to mean. If a phrase is coined, and gains popularity, it becomes part of the language.
But there is another word that has been defined a long time ago. The word “misnomer”.
I never use the phrase “working class” because it is a misnomer. There is no data proving that they are working any more than the middle class, the upper middle class, or the upper class. If I am to accept that the lower middle class is the “working class”, then I would have to accept that the other classes somehow do not work, or work less.
“Working poor” is a more accurate term, or “lower middle class”, but working class sounds better, so some people use it. I don’t. That’s the only point I was making.
Of course you're entirely free to make up whatever "personal definition" you care to, but the term is universally understood with a few exceptions here and there by those with an agenda.
There is such a thing as paying more for better quality as well. For example, you can get a steak for $15 at Applebee's or for $45 at Ruth's Chris or Morton's; and I would get the Morton's steak over the Applebee's one.
And with tools, you can buy a cheap Harbor Freight ratchet that will break after 100 uses, or an expensive Snap On one that is guaranteed to last for life through heavy use. A mechanic will buy the Snap On tool instead of the cheap Harbor Freight tool
Why do hard working people at Applebee’s not deserve the $45?
Of course you're entirely free to make up whatever "personal definition" you care to, but the term is universally understood with a few exceptions here and there by those with an agenda.
Every taxpayer within a taxing authority pays the same rate. In a school district we pay the same rate on a $100,000 house as a million dollar house. Does the electric company, the water company the phone company give better services to the owners of the million dollar house because they pay more dollars? IMO, it is the same with schools.
As our culture decided, if the rich are not satisfied with public schools they can create private schools for their kids.
In my state there are many communities where the middle class taxpayers have chosen to forego high property taxes and instead send their children to private schools. The public schools in those areas are underfunded to the point where the students who attend are in second-world conditions--decrepit buildings with substandard resources. In communities like mine, where the middle class sends their children to public schools, the buildings are resources are first-world quality and even the poor children get a good education. It's not just the rich who only want to fund schools for only their children.
It should be possible to fund schools separately from property taxes and ensure that even poor children with absent parents can get the same services that a middle-class child with active parents gets. We can't be a first-world country when a quarter of our students are growing up in second-world conditions. Other industrialized nations have poor children, but they don't underfund the schools for those children like we do.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lifeexplorer
But we shouldn’t respect their choice?
Settle means they see the value they gain exceeding the value of their labor.
Nope, it means they only choose not to starve to death in the streets. I'd say half the working population get paid less than they're actually worth due to fear and a lack of information. I've quit jobs that try to pull that crap with me, I don't see any value in accepting low wages
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