#Lower middle class

[mattmurdockismyspiritanimal]

[hellshire-harlot]

Categorically, I’m one of the lucky ones. Both my parents are employed, and I have an employment opportunity coming up quite soon. We own our house, I’ve never had to go hungry, and we always have heat, electricity, and Wi-Fi.

and yet. AND YET.

We are barely above the poverty line. Some years I had to go without school lunches because we couldn’t afford the fees. We save money wherever and whenever we can. Going out to eat at a burger joint is a special treat for special occasions because we can’t afford it often. Some of my favorite foods and snacks- pomegranates, veggie straws, chips, hell, even lemonade -are luxuries because we just don’t have the money to spare for it. The attitude has rubbed off on me so much that I go out of my way to avoid spending money and I feel guilty when others spend money on me, even for things like gifts or fucking therapy.

If any of our phones were to break, it would probably ruin us. If any of our cars broke down it would be even worse. One of the reasons I got into achievement hunting and building and exploring in video games is because buying new games is almost always a luxury we can’t afford. I use achievement hunting and making complex builds and finding all the Easter eggs as a way to squeeze out every last bit of enjoyment I can from a game so I can last until we can afford to get new ones. All of our clothes are thrifted or second hand. Same for most of our furniture. We stay in our house all day not only because we don’t like going out often and there isn’t a lot to do, but because WE CANT AFFORD TO DO FUN THINGS MORE THAN A FEW TIMES A YEAR.

I worry constantly about how my basic needs affect my family’s wealth. And we’re the lucky ones, because I’ve never had to worry about being homeless. I don’t consider myself very lucky, actually. My family worries constantly about money. They hate their jobs. They can’t afford to get new jobs because going without a paycheck is too risky. And how would they get new jobs? Neither of them went to college, and we don’t have the money for any of us to go. I’m basically unemployable in my current mental state, and that’s not liable to change. We’re lucky. Most of my friends have it way worse than I do. And yet I don’t feel very fucking lucky.

Everyone talks about poverty in the context of not being able to eat or receive reliable healthcare. Obviously those are huge fucking issues that need to be immediately addressed, and I don’t mean to minimize them. But I hardly see anyone talking about the kind of poverty that gives you just enough to get by a little comfortably- but no more than that. You have the money for your home, your food, your car. But you don’t have money for games. You don’t have money to go out and eat something nice. You don’t have money to buy toys for your kids. You don’t have money to see a movie, or buy that new phone that would be such an improvement over the secondhand one you have now. You don’t have money for anything that would put you at ease. And yet, you’re made to feel lucky, that you should be grateful. You’re not poor, poor people can’t put food on the table. Stop complaining. Be grateful. You could have it so much worse.

No one even addresses that yes it could be worse. But it sure as hell could be a lot fucking better, too. And that kills me.

[gracefletcher]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[generallyunskilled]

One thing about generational poverty that is super useful, that I feel pretty bad for those who are new to being poor and lack, is lower middle class/working class dads always know a guy. In the same way rich parents have connections to get their kids nepo jobs, a poor dad will know a guy that will totally change your oil filter for a case of natty ice. His old buddy at the mill used to be an electrician and can take a look at your breakers for half what a licensed guy would quote.

It’s what’s gotten many working class kid going and managing what would otherwise be a catastrophe, and it’s dying with the loss of community support that’s been happening now, especially in modern areas. But people who maybe lived more comfortable middle class lives, but fell into poverty later (especially youths who have been kicked out or disowned due to being queer or having different political views than their parents) typically lack such an experience. And I think that’s what makes modern poverty so difficult. Being poor in a time where helping out others was welcomed and encouraged is becoming increasingly a thing of the past. There’s no solidarity, even among neighbors.

[afleur-de-peau]

What’s the trauma where you feel like you can’t have nice things because you’ll break or damage them and then you wait 7 years before buying a new winter coat literally just finding winter coats somehow along the way and then you buy one and the first day you wear it you drop greasy chinatown skewers on it cuz u we’re trying new things and wanted to do something fun and then you take it to the nettoyeur and they say it might not get rid of the stains and also it’s 50$

[wordsarefakeokay]

I may not have much

But the rain will always smell like home

[venux777]

percy hazel and leo looking at each other after the rest of the crew agreed to spend over $500 on fuel for the argo ll

[drogonea]

Hello UK folks quick question what is Greggs like?

[denkilightning]

i need yall to realise that jays 'insecurity about being raised in a junkyard' isnt just about the junkyard itself, its about being poor and the fear of being treated like trash. and thats important because it reverberates in his arc to this day

[irl-batsignal]

Going to the mall with any of my rich family members is such a fever dream. (Ex. Tim and/or Bruce.)

What do you mean this necklace im holding is $22,000 dollars???

What do you mean that plain ass polo shirt is $120 dollars!?!?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN AFFORD IT?? WHY ARE YOU ASKING IF I WANT IT? ME BREATHING IN THIS STORE IS COSTING ME .50 CENTS. ME TAKING ANY STEP IN THIS STORE IS COSTING ME $1.50....

[blorger]

-Draco Malfoy, Sept 1, 1991-

Here's my newest hot take: it makes no sense for the Weasleys to be poor.

Like, I get why, narratively, the Weasleys are poor : poor=virtuous in jkr's mind and the Weasleys represent the perfect family so they need the be the bestest most virtuous of them all, especially since they are set up to be in direct contrast to the rich, morally bankrupt Malfoys.

That is all well and good, I understand the use of poverty as a narrative choice, but at the same time I also have a problem with how jkr chose to depict said poverty in her worldbuilding; even as a single income household with too many kids (as per D Malfoy), it makes no sense for the Weasleys to have no money.

Arthur, the sole earner in the family, is portrayed as a government insider: he heads his own department, seems essential to the working of the ministry and is overall well connected.

(from GoF, this is a bureucratic brag if i've ever seen one)

Arthur appears to be on a first name basis with a huge variety of ministry employees

Some of which are his fellow department heads

which definitely puts him on the same level as a Diggory or a Crouch, and none of these people are implied to be poor or even remotely struggling, so why is he?

Arthur is not only well connected but also far more powerful than one might expect from his job title alone:

He is somehow able to write and/or enact laws (something he shouldn't be able to do since he's neither an elected official nor part of a legislative body)

and

(from CoS)

Arthur has the power to restrict trade (again, something way above his paygrade)

(from GoF, Arthur's power is apparently equal to that of Crouch, the wizard equivalent of a foreign minister)

Arthur can easily get huge favors form fellow ministry personnel

(from Gof, those world cup seats are Malfoy and Fudge level and it doesn't seem like Arthur did anything special to get them)

We can also see how incongruously important Arthur Weasley is to the inner workings of the ministry by his responsibilities:

when things go tits up at the world cup, Arthur behaves very much like someone much higher up the chain of command.

(from GoF)

All of this is over a newspaper article that didn't even quote him by name. What can the biting teacup guy do during a pr crisis, exactly?

Arthur's (civilian) presence is for some reason necessary during night raids, even though he is not a law enforcement agent

(from CoS)

Arthur (a civilian) is somehow the only person who can calm Alastor Moody (an accomplished auror) down

(from GoF)

I find myself to be very confused by the picture painted by these excerpts. jkr clearly wanted to have it both ways: she needed Arthur to be a ministry insider so that he'd be able to funnel all sorts of information to Harry (and into the story) but she also wanted the Weasleys to be underdogs or, as Harry calls them,

but the two things just don't mix because Arthur, as described in the books, does not read like an underdog, he reads like a vital part of the system.

tl;dr: Arthur is a Big Deal and his family shouldn't be poor, even if they do have too many children

[donotdestroy]

"The financial media site Investopedia has done the math and calculated that achieving those milestones now costs a staggering $4.4 million—over $1 million more than most Americans will make in their lifetime, according to the researcher."

[afterartist]

Same artist

Gartic phone😔🙏🙏

I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m rolling with it

Watch me get cancelled for drawing Jack black Steve wrong (GARTIC PHONE IS HARD OKAY I TRIED MY BEST)

[leftisttiktok]

Class consciousness

[radioactive-yuri]

i was relistening to tmagp episodes again and i was like "huh. weird that alice and lena have somewhat similar accents, but gwen has a noticeably different one. i thought they all lived in or close to manchester." but then i remembered that english accents, much like finnish dialects, can also signify class. so that's interesting

[rainandsugarcane2000]

nah idgaf if youre middle class or whatever hot take if you have enough money left over give it to poor ppl some of u fuckers are saying shit about poor ppl. u just dont understand. im a teenager and ive

been scared ill be homeless since 4yrs old

i ate the same meal everyday of tofu spaghetti and esparagess because its all we could afford

couldnt afford a/c or heat

have skipped months in rent / begged landlords to let us give it in late

have gotten nothing for holidays

donthave any food in the house

have lived with various random roomates my whole life which included drug addicts and alcoholics

cant go shopping. plain and simple. im allowed one shopping trip under 60$ a year.

if we need something its thrifted or we find the absolute cheapest version possible

havent had tv subscriptions

cant afford any health care]

if you have money. anything left over. GIVE FOOD TO DRIVES!! DONATE NEW CLOTHES TO CHARITY SHOPS!!!!! DONATE SANITARY PRODUCTS BABY FORMULA AND DIAPERS TO DRIVES!!!!! DONATE WHATEVER YOU CAN!!!! no the middle class is not a victim!!!! you are middle class meaning YOU CAN AFFORD STUFF!!! id give my LIFE to be middle class!!!!! please stop lumping yourself in with poor ppl. YOURE NOT FUCKING POOR PLEASE!!!!!!!! if you own a house, are able to afford kids, have a hot meal on the table, afford gifts at all holidays, you are not poor. you dont get to speak on our experiences or try to say you understand.