#HaccSoci201 Social Class

[beegebaby-blog]

This cartoon is self explanatory by showing the way the government moves money in society. The rich trying to get more money from the rich, then they try and get more money from the poor. There is no middle class in this society anymore. You are either very rich or very poor, there is no on between. For a very long time in this economy, there has been no equality of condition,”the idea that everyone should have an equal starting point”, (Conley, 2017, p. 246), no equality of outcome, “the idea that each player must end up with the same amount regardless of the fairness of the game,” (Conley, 2017, p. 247), or even the  equality of opportunity, “the idea that everyone has an equal chance to achieve wealth, social prestige, and power because  the rules of the game, so to speak are the same for everyone,” (Conley, 2017, p. 245). To me, this depicts American society today. There is no fair beginning, middle or end point. The rich keep getting richer by moving our jobs away for cheaper labor to save money. They replace us with robots for more efficiency in production. Little do they realize, we, as the people, are the ones buy and support their wealth. So when they take these things away from us, they are taking away from themselves. Eventually, this will catch up with them, and their money will mean nothing. We do not start equally in this country, unless you are poor. When you start at the bottom the only way to go is up. That’s what we were taught “the American Dream”. That does not exist anymore. You work hard, get an education and all it gets you is more debt, more hours working to pay that debt, and nothing to show for it. You cannot afford a house, and you cannot get the job you went to school for. There is a cut in pay right away, and there are no jobs. Higher costs of living and low wages or no wages is killing this country. I hope and pray that one day we can return to a country that is proud, works hard, and loves hard. That I feel is the only way to change what we have done to this country.

Word Count - 383

References:

Conley, D. (2017). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction To Thinking Like A

           Sociologist. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

[dicelaynyz-blog]

The Inequality in Public Schools

Well-off kids who don’t get a private education still have significant advantages over their peers.

              Inequality is an invisible monster that is felt but not always seen by everyone.  The education system in america is just one of those places that inequality exists.  The fact is that education in the United States is segregated, by socio-economic status.  An example would be the article above inequality in public schools.  As Conley discussed the Equality of Condition some children may have been ascribed (born into)  the middle or higher class, giving an automatic advantage for a successful education versus other children ascribed into a family who lack the finances having a large amount of debt, a job paying minimum wage, and no finances saved for their children’s education.  These middle class children will be more fortunate with their future than, a child living in a low income area they will now not have the same education offered to them as those children coming from middle and higher income homes.  The system is failing to provide equivalent educational opportunities to all children.  There is a standard in america concerning the education children are receiving, and the determining factor, is which side of the track you come from.  

              Another significant aspect is the quality of the teachers education the children from low income homes.  Teachers are paid less, and there is a large percent of turnaround; therefore, the quality of education that is offered is not the same as the education that children from higher income homes receive.  A lack of teachers can cause an increase in the ration, causing 1 teacher to teach 30 plus students versus wealthy schools 15-20 students for 1 teacher.  We must not allow our children to be subjected to this injustice with the technological advancement we presently have in this era in which we live in.  We must not only acknowledge the problem, but be  part of the solution to eradicate the war against inequality.  The next generation depends on us to do the right thing.  Stand up and be counted as one of the hero’s that made a difference.

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References:

(Conley, 2017)

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself an introduction to thinking like a

         sociologist. New York: W. W. Norton.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/06/inequality-public-schools/395876/

[sxj97899-blog]

The diagram above shows the percentage of people within a social class in two different years. This illustrates the changes that there have been in our economy. While in 2008 there was about 6% of the population in the lower class, it seems to have doubled by 2014. There has been an increase in the percentage of people in the lower classes, and a decrease in the middle and upper classes. What does this mean? It means that our economy has gotten worse and increasingly more people are falling below the poverty lines. Meanwhile, those in the upper class are the ones who are going to take advantage of the situation as they can use their money and power to provide and multiply their wealth. After all, there is less competition as the years go on. This takes away social equality “a condition in which no difference in wealth, power, prestige, or status based on nonnatural conventions exist” (Conley, 2017, p. 239). This condition no longer exists therefore those with some power can take control of everything as those in lower classes cannot afford to fight back and help prevent the monopolization of properties.

The problem that comes with this monopolization is the inability of people in lower classes to progress and move up in the social classes. This can also be called a society with no social mobility which is “the movement between different position within a system of social stratification in any given society” (Conley, 2017, p. 267). Also, it takes away multiple standards of equality like equality of condition and equality of opportunity.  Equality of condition is “the idea that everyone should have an equal starting point” (Conley, 2017, p.246), and because not everyone has an equal starting point it also takes away equality of opportunity defined as “the idea that everyone has an equal chance to achieve wealth, social prestige, and power because the rules of the game, so to speak, are the same for everyone” (Conley, 2017, p. 245). Not everyone has the same chance to achieve wealth, therefore those who have a high chance most likely will achieve it. Those who do will maintain their good starting point as well as helping their close friends and family get to a higher social class. All the while making it harder for those in the lower classes to ever catch up.

This is what I believe explains why there has been such an increase in people in the lower classes but a decrease in the upper classes. Those with the high chance to achieve wealth and power are achieving it and not leaving room for new people to achieve such prestige. Lower class population do not have the same starting point and do not have the same opportunities to succeed, that what is making our society more sided to those with power. The small percentage of people who are in the upper class make enough money to feed all the poor people in the lower classes.

Word Count: 500

References

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

[megadeepdreamer-blog]

This photo is a simplified display of social stratification. Upper class, Middle or Working class, and poor is the way the United States social hierarchy is organized. In other regions of the world and at other times in history there were many more classes and different labels are applied. Members of the reigning upper echelon look down on both of the lower classes with disdain. However, there must be a lower class and working class for the upper class to exist in the manner that it does. The middle-class individual in this cartoon looks down on the poor man as if he is not trying hard enough, he believes that one day he will make it to the upper class. He may but it will not be easy and honestly, it will require a lot of luck and perhaps the assistance of someone who is already upper class. A working man in America keeps working with the hope of individual success or individual upwards mobility. The lower class individual has no one to look down upon so he stares in the faces of the individuals above him declaring that there isn’t anything he can do about his position. He feels as if his particular group has little to no upwards social mobility. Considering the way the lower class person is dressed he is most likely a farmer or a factory worker. With advancements in technology replacing the need for skilled manual labor, he may be required to change his trade. This inevitable loss of necessity is an example of structural mobility. In recent times there is a case being made for class-based affirmative action. The previous way affirmative action worked was that a company or school had to admit a diverse group when it came to races. If we altered this concept into basing diversity on social class we could combat the structural roadblocks of social class and racial inclusivity all at once.

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Reference:

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

[scm1062-blog]

               This image depicts the inequality in pay and the gap in society between the middle and upper-class. As seen is one individual with a barrel full of monetary items, such as someone of an upper class would have based on the amount they make, while many individuals are on the other side of the plank that this one man is balancing as they are on a cliff.

               Sociologist would see this as the inequality of pay between the middle class versus the upper class. As the middle class supports the economy with their spending because they are the consumers. However, a vast majority are just or barely getting by while one individual is financially stable such as an upper-class member of society who makes a large amount more than the middle-class, so in turn they are able to save and invest more because of the gap of inequality.  

I believe this image depicts a theory Vilfredo pareto known as an Elite-mass dichotomy system. Although it should work by his theory where a few individuals hold the power of society through this image suggests otherwise. As the economic elite or upper class dominates the middle class in pay. Through those few individuals that hold the majority of power and money it diminishes the middle class from growing and flourishing as the main consumers. This is done through migrant labor and multinational business and the inevitable changes in society known as structural mobility through job out sourcing and technology on the rise leading to declines in various jobs that would prospectively help the economy.

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References:

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a       sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

[staceykc1989-blog]

This blog post is about social class and communities in this country that don’t have clean drinking water in this day and age. With all the advancements it’s hard to believe that in 2019 different classes of people (specifically on the lower end) do not have clean drinking water. 3,000 communities including flint Michigan have high levels of lead in their drinking water. It has been five years since it was discovered that lead levels in Flint’s water were too high. It is because of bad politics and neglect from many forms that this has gotten to such a rotten point. Also a bad class system or groups that have loose social mobility (Conley 2017, p.251) Most of the government help with favor more wealthy parts of the country as flint is in need of 2 trillion dollar’s worth of updates. This city is full of mostly African American (half) and they are considered a poor community. This kind of class status has come with its own set of problems. Our country likes to use these poor cities as dumping grounds for trash or waste. One point this article has made that stayed with me was “America still hasn’t decided that clean water and a safe environment is not a privilege, but a right.” Social equality comes to mind when reading this. Social equality is where there is no difference in wealth or power. This simply is not the case though as these people and their children will likely die of high lead levels in their bloodstream due to this contaminated water.

Word Count: 261

Conley, D. (2017). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (Core 5th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Haider, Areeba. Fredrerick, Rejane. 2019, April 25. Flint Still Doesn’t Have Clean Water. It’s Not Alone. www.talkpoverty.org

[elisegilchrist-blog]

Social Class 

For this subject, I have posted a picture of what the economic social pyramid looks like. At the bottom you see the large percent that is low income, they make up a small part of the pyramid. In the middle is the largest section of what we know as the middle class. At the top which is the smallest section is the top 1% that are the richest. Does it make sense that the smallest group carries the most amount of money?

Being considered upper class comes with prestige and power. The upper class can influence many things such as political decisions by donating money to certain political parties. America is thought to be the middle-class nation because most people see themselves as the middle class. Lastly, there is the underclass where you are considered poor. You can be working poor or nonworking poor. Either way, daily survival is rough for this class.

There is a status hierarchy system in our culture (Conley, 2017). This system is based on social prestige and economic factors. To be able to afford this prestigious lifestyle you have to be on the top of the hierarchy. To get to the top of the system it depends on your job unless you are born into it. We have to antagonistic classes in a capitalist society. We have the proletariat class which is considered the working class people or blue color. We also have the bourgeoisie class or white collar which is who the working class is working for. The white-collar class will take most of the profit living a small percent to pay the blue collar employees with. Which causes conflict between these two groups.

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Reference: Conley, D. (2017). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc

[sxe37780-blog]

     In the community of Bridgeport, Connecticut, the poor face many daily struggles. Surviving on food stamps, being able to travel safely, and not being able to save without having income taken away. These are issues that are not just found in Bridgeport, but the rest of America too. The part of this video that really had an impact on me was when a mother by the name of Mercedez Valasquo talks about her income. As a mother of three, she only gets so much financial assistance to feed her family. If she tries to save and support her family the government takes away half of her assistance, putting her in worse shape than she was before (Business, 2015.) Mercedez is a part of the poor class in America. The United states has a class system based on socioeconomic status, which is a person’s position in a stratified social order (Conley, 2017.) This system has three categories which are the upper class who are the economic elite, middle class who are paid significantly more than poverty line, and the poor which is anyone under poverty line (Conley, 2017.) The book, You May Ask Yourself, by Dalton Conley also talks about the two subsections of the poor. There is the working poor or those eligible for assistance, and the non-working poor which are those who are morally doubted to need assistance (Conley, 2017.) 

     Mercedez is apart of the working poor. This class of workers have a hard time getting out because they can’t save unless they want their financial assistance taken away from them, and if it does get taken away they are left right back where they started.

Word Count: 275

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.

Business, C. (2015, June 22). Feeding a family on a food stamp budget. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=OXKkakwf6Vk

[mamasotoof4me-blog]

This is an article about a recent scandal involving famous actress Lori Loughlin from the TV show Full Houseand dozens of other well-known wealthy people. They were accused of participating in a scam that entailed bribing and lying their kids’ way into colleges. The question was asked why? Why did these family feel the need to risk committing a crime when they already have wealth and do not need a college education in order to accumulate it. Although some rich families do believe a University education is important that did not seem to be the case for the families being accused of bribery.  According to Anna North (2019). of Vox in an interview with Paul Piff a psychology professor who studied social class said, “A degree from a selective college is “a marker of status. It’s the kind of rat race of constantly trying to persevere and seek out those status symbols that show case to others the you’re doing well (para.3).”

This is contrary to a society that is supposed to be built on meritocracy. According to Dalton Conley (2017) author of You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist, “Meritocracy is a society where status and mobility are based on individual attributes, ability, and achievement” (p. 255). However, according to the article actress Louglin and others were bribing their kids’ way with large sums of money because even for rich people, a child’s admission to college is about status. Status is a recognizable social position that an individual occupies (Conley 2017). 

One can see the social inequalities among the upper and middle class in that if you are rich enough you don’t necessarily need to earn your way into a prestigious college by hard work and getting involved in college clubs and other factors that would involve such a process. And what about those students who are working so hard but are in a lower-class system. They have a high Gpa are involved in all kids of clubs. They are doing all the right things but are not able to move upward because of income, because they lack wealth. This is an example of the inequalities among the social classes and shows that our society has a long way to social equality.

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References Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

North, A. (2019, March 15). What the college admissions scandal reveals about the psychology of wealth in America. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2019/3/15/18264399/college-admissions-scandal-lori-loughlin-cheating-huffman

[noahwsoc]

This article support some points made in the film “Inequality for All.” The article discusses how middle class families are struggling more and more with stagnating wages and various other issues. The middle class is referred to as a group that work non manual jobs and make a salary above the poverty line. That’s a pretty loose definition, and one that less and less people identify with, as they feel like the middle class isn’t supposed to struggle as much as many people are financially. And it is seen all throughout the middle class now, that people are struggling harder and harder to stay in the same place.

[ctnowak]

Stratification

Here we see former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, explaining the great divide between the 1% and the rest of the US population. He goes on to state that the top 1/10 of 1 percenters hold more wealth than the entirety of the bottom 90%. This is obscene and is the result of a broken capitalistic society that is rigged to benefit the super wealthy while oppressing the lower classes from prospering. The proletariats (working class) are working longer hours in order to make-up for the stagnated rise in pay and decreased benefits. It’s a gross system that allows the rich to funnel money into the political system in order to lobby for their own interests via PACs and other back channel methods. Subsequently, the government no longer represents the average person, but rather the top 1% that lines the political powerhouse’s pockets in order to keep tax haven loopholes legal, and income taxes as low as possible for them. Our current president is a case in point of this. He is a wealthy individual who holds the majority of power and uses it to only help those at his class. It has become an elite-class dichotomy system. In that, the governing elite hold all the wealth and conversely, the power (Conley, 2017, p. 677). Sadly, this is now a class-system; the country is divided based on perceived power and wealth. Trump was seen as both a socially and financially powerful man, and thus the people put him into power. 

Word Count: 250

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist(5thed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

[savvii99]

Social Class

Social class refers to a group of individuals with similar levels of wealth, influence and status in society. Besides being important in social theory, the concept of class as a collection of people sharing similar economic characteristics has been widely used in the study of social mobility. It is important for students to understand the social structure in order to know ones place within the society and how the lives of individuals in the lower class could be improved. In my case, social stratification has motivated me to work hard to acquire a position in the upper class. I have come to realize that all positions in society are not equal and hence need stratification.

In most cases, there are large variations in wealth, material possession, power, and authority, as well as prestige in the society. The various social classes in the society include the upper class or the elite, the middle class and the lower class. The upper class or the elites is the highest class in the society and consists of the wealthiest members of the society and also people with great political power. People in this class have more money than they could possibly spend, which leave them with much leisure time for cultivating a variety of interests (Stephens & Phillips, 2014). The middle class consists of people with more money than those in the lower class but less money compared to those in the upper class.  The lower class consists of people who have to work in order to survive. In most cases, they do not have savings and may even be surviving with debts, and have low wage and insecure jobs. They also suffer from lack of medical care, adequate housing and food, decent clothing, safety, and vocational training.

The social stratification encourages hard work in the society where people of the upper class work hard to live up to their positions and status (Stephens & Phillips, 2014). Additionally, the other people in the other classes would put emphasis on hard work and productive activity within the economy. In this case, the business executive who has achieved the position through his own hard work is encouraged to keep up the hard work and maintain his position in the society. Therefore, social stratification is a form of motivation for different positions, particularly those which carry higher statuses and rewards.

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Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & Phillips, L. T. (2014). Social class culture cycles: How three gateway contexts shape selves and fuel inequality. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 611-634.

[ajiagatling-blog]

Speaking from an average American, life would be a lot easier if I were rich or at least didn’t have the concern of checking my bank account before making a purchase. As hourly wages increase in return the price of needs rise as well making most things unattainable and poverty more prevalent. The cost of attending community college is even more expensive if you do the calculation the salary of what you would make a year is extremely low compared to the debt of college that you’ve now racked up. For individuals that are considered the middle class or low class we always feel as though more money equals happiness. If you look into the most recent history of celebrities that have committed suicide or overdosed, they were wealthy but still, that’s not enough to overbear the depression or feelings of loneliness.

For example most recently Kate Spade, a well-known designer of popular handbags and phone cases. When she had committed suicide unexpectedly she had left a note for her daughter stating she should ask her father why this happened. Within the last week or two Demi Lovato relapsed on her addiction to drugs, she expressed that even being successful it still isn’t enough for her to not feel alone or have those depressive thoughts. To the portion of our society that would be considered upper class, most of them believe in equality of condition the idea that everyone should have an equal starting point (Conley,2017, Pg.246). Although that may be partially true there are a few success stories of ‘rags to riches” but more commonly the upper-class individual came from a wealthy family, or had connections to move up in the hierarchy.

Word Count:283

Conley, D. (2018). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a Sociologist. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd.

[cmarieb-me]

Sociology is a science different from the typical sciences as it looks at human social relations. It puts a spotlight on social problems from everything from crime and religion to race gender and social class to name a few. I thought I had a good understanding of all these issues then I took this class. It was eye-opening in a way I never imagined. Looking at how women are objectified and treated as objects in the media is horrifying. Worse is that I had never truly got the depth of it until watching the film on it. It saddens me to realize as women we are seen as playthings that should be pretty and on our knees (literally, in many ads) at all times. The second thing that really impacted me was racism. I know it still exists because I see it almost daily in my profession and it makes me ashamed. We as a country should do better. We are all humans!

In my career I will continue to advocate for the minorities and poor patients that are not always treated with respect. In my personal life, that documentary about women and media affected me so strongly I made my daughter and my best friend watch it! The more people that get the message, the better! I am not excusing men’s behavior toward women, but with these images all over television, magazines, and media it’s no wonder they feel entitled to harass, degrade and belittle women.  We have made the domination over women look glamorous, and that has to change for the future of our children. These negative images are not just aimed towards women. Many of these messages portray boys and men in a certain light.  We must teach our sons, brothers, nephews etc. what a man truly is; not the muscular, dominating, beer drinking, gun shooting, no emotions version we are fed through media and advertisements. While these types of images have existed long before many of us were even born, I think we can all agree they are getting worse. 

As per the poem: let’s reflect, humble ourselves, and do BETTER.

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#haccsoci201 #reflection

[michellesiejak-world-blog]

Socialization: 

I chose this picture to demonstrate the concept of families as the first source of socialization for individuals (Conley, 2017). As indicated in our text book, this socialization may look different depending upon the parents' social class, the application of socialization for older vs. younger siblings, and by the ability of the children to provide socialization to their parents or caregivers (Conley, 2017).  While raising our family, my husband and I found eating meals together was a very important part of socializing our daughters. Conversation centered around the table included discussions about our beliefs, values, and the priorities in our lives. 

The second artifact listed above describes current habits of American families in regards to eating together. While the article does include information about portions, caloric intake and what kinds of food Americans eat, I was particularly interested in the information covering how often families eat together, and what other activities may be happening at the same time. According to Dalton Conley, “we are largely shaped by interaction, such that without society the human part of human nature would not develop” (2017, p.120). This interaction at dinnertime is optimal without distractions like tv and cell phone usage. My memories of dinner as a child included a strict rule about not answering the telephone. The phone hung in the kitchen on the wall close to the area where we ate as a family. While I could not help but hear the phone ring during our meal, I never considered leaving the table to answer it.

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

#HACCSOCI201

#socialization

(254 word count)

[haccstudentblog-blog]

Gossip Girl is a fictional television show that explores the lives of people living amongst the elites in society in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The show explores class differences through the inclusion of a family who lives in Brooklyn instead of the posh upper east side.  Our understanding of class stems from how the media portrays the different classes. The Class system is an “economically based hierarchical system characterized by cohesive oppositional groups and somewhat loose social mobility” (Conley, 2017, p. 251). Media tries to make it seem like the problems of the wealthy play a larger role in society than the problems of the poor, when in reality that is not true at all. Gossip Girl is notorious for making the simple problems of the wealthy seem so strenuous. Media tries to make it seem like the problems of the wealthy play a larger role in society than the problems of the poor when in reality that is not true at all.it tries to bring light to the issue of the difficulty to integrate the middle-class youth into the education system of the upper class. The upper class is the “economic elite” (Conley, 2017, p. 258), and the middle class being “individuals with nonmanual jobs that pay significantly more than the poverty line” (Conley, 2017, p. 258). Throughout this shows there are many examples of socioeconomic status defining worth as a person and used in status hierarchy amongst people. One of the main things shown in this show is the drastic differences between the classes and although it might seem exaggerated for media the income and wage gap is an ever so real issue and is growing as time goes on.

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Reference:

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (Core 5thed.). New York: W.W. Norton.

Patel, S. (2015, December 04). Class Differences feat. Gossip Girl XOXO. Retrieved from http://wcsuecho.wixsite.com/echo/single-post/2015/10/05/Class-Differences-feat-Gossip-Girl-XOXO