Social Class In America Essay

Words: 645
Pages: 3

Chapter eleven has a lot of great information on how social class make differences in people's lives, who is in each social class, and the poverty in the United States. To start off, we are going to look at the differences that classes make. There are many differences that we are going to talk about such as health, values and attitudes, politics, and family and gender. Health is very closely related to social standing and social class. “Children born into poor families are twice as likely to die from a disease, neglect, accidents, or violence during their first years of life than children born into privileged families (Macionis, 251).” People that have above-average incomes will describe their health as excellent over a person with a lower …show more content…
In most societies there are three divisions of social class which start with the upper class, next the middle class, the working class, and last is the lower class. The upper class normally consists of people with good paying jobs, that make at least $200,00 a year and more. These occupations are normally doctors, dentists, surgeons, and many other jobs. But some don’t make there own money, some of the people that are considered upper class inherited tons of money. The upper class consists of 5 percent of the United States population. The middle class consists of 40 to 45 percent of the United States population. The working class consists of about one-third of the United States population. The working class consists of the blue-collar jobs such as: mechanics, plumbers, and electricians. These people would bring home a salary between $27,000 and $48,000 a year. The working-class families have little to no wealth and have barely any benefits. The lower class consists of the remaining 20 percent of the United States population. “In 2009, the federal government classified 43.6 million people as poor. Millions more---- called the “working poor”--- are slightly better off, holding low-prestige jobs that provide little satisfaction and minimal income.” (Macionis,