This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 21, 2011 - Over this past year, the Beacon has been reporting on issues related to class. Through the Public Insight Network, the Beacon asked readers several questions related to this issue: how they define class, whether such distinctions matter as much now as they did in previous generations, and whether individuals can do anything to change their class status.
Those who responded offered widely different answers. To most, class is defined by much how much money one makes. But even when household income is used as the primary measurement, people still disagree on which category they see themselves. For some, middle class means a household earning $50,000 to $100,000 a year. Others within the same income range see themselves as lower-middle class. Similarly, some see the upper-middle class as making between $100,000 and $200,000, while others ranked themselves in the same category, while earning more than $200,000.
Here, in their own words, is how they identify their own class and what class means to them. The answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Anna Jackson
St. Charles, retired public school teacher, lower class
Definition: Class has a whole lot to do with how much money you have to spend or to throw away. At one time, I was middle class. Then I slipped to lower-middle class. Now, due to retirement, fixed income, higher expenses, I think I am struggling in the lower class -- just struggling to keep my head above the water.
Do class distinctions matter today? Of course, class matters. If you can't put out the dough, can't keep your place up, can't keep your looks up, then you become one of the forgotten people. No one cares about you. It is as if you do not exist any longer.
Can individuals do anything to change their class? They can get a high-paying job. They can rob others blind. They can inherit from the previous generation. It all has to do with money. Pulling one's self up means becoming a self-made man or woman. This can be attained by getting a good education; making choices to care more about acquiring money over working for the public good; and by making enough to invest and save for retirement. Then, whether they need it or not, once retired, they can take advantage of every public support program, just to have an extra check with which to go shopping.
Is the United States of America really a nation where people succeed based on talent and effort? If success has nothing to do with the acquisition of wealth, then you can succeed based on talent and effort. I had a lot of success as an educator. But I never had much more money to do anything but pay all my bills and take care of necessities.
Joe Phillips
Belleville, writer/musician/retired social worker, middle class
Definition: I have a graduate degree in something that does not carry a big salary. I'm middle class on education and lower middle class on income.
Do class distinctions matter today? We are in a class war started by the very rich. Something like the upper 2 percent controls half the wealth. The rich generate a lot of very clever propaganda that prevents the other 98 percent from understanding the problem. They use wedge issues, emotional appeals and fear tactics to confuse people and get them fighting with each other instead of coming together to demand economic justice.
Can individuals change their class? The notion of pulling one's self up by the "bootstraps" has always been a myth. Wealth and status are much more inherited than achieved. A rich man goes to college, and a poor man goes to work. And even if you get to college, there are elite universities and elite fraternities that exclude the children of the middle class. The super rich do more gate-keeping than our public universities can effect.
Ashli Bolden
St. Louis/ banquet server/ middle class
Definition: I define classes as working and then wealthy. I use tax brackets or household income to measure.
Do class distinctions matter today? Yes. Class has divided us. Some people in the working class are fighting for the rich, and they are too blind and caught up by the bootstrap theory that they believe they will be no longer a part of the working class.
How has your class status affected your opportunities? No. Not at all.
Is the United States of America a nation where people succeed based on talent and effort? Many people have talent and put their all into succeeding in life and they get nowhere. The notion of class has us separating ourselves even more with the rat race to become rich.
Robert Byrne
St. Louis, retired editor/reporter/photographer, middle class
Definition: Annual income, address, verbal fluency/literacy, educational level, cultural experiences -- travel, entertainment preferences.
Do class distinctions matter today? They do. Persons perceived to be of a high economic class are considered knowledgeable and therefore likely to have an informed, valued opinion on public affairs, government, culture.
How has your class status affected your opportunities? None that I can think of. I do believe, however, that in the greater St. Louis area, one's address has a greater degree of influence than in other metropolitan areas. Specifically, residents of St. Louis are, because of their location, often considered culturally and socially backward by residents of outlying suburbs. There is a very real social and class divide along the boundary line of the city.
Is the United States of America really a nation where people succeed based on talent and effort? Success is only partly based on talent and effort; education and social background still carry heavy influence in perception of class.
Ruth Carlson
St. Louis, middle class
Definition: At first glance, one might determine class someone by the amount of income earned by the person's parents. But after second thought, class is more of perception based on the material items someone has or where someone lives, more than the actually amount of money this person may or may not have."
Do class distinctions matter today? Class distinctions are more or less perceptions that people have about people who have more or less material items, live in certain areas or attend certain schools. I use the word "perception" because our society is based upon debt. It's possible for someone to be considered in upper class because of where they live, car they drive, or material items they have, but he or she is in a great amount of debt. Even more, (it's possible for) someone to make enough money to be considered "rich" or in the upper class, but this person perceives (himself) to not having 'enough'... to be in a lower class, relative to others.
Is the United States of America a nation where people succeed based on talent and effort? People succeed because they use talent and effort to prepare for the chance opportunities that allow for advancement. Without chance opportunities, no one would succeed.
Joseph Higgs
St. Louis, educational entertainer, lower class
Definition: Class is determined by the use of your income. The levels include: subsistence, survival, stability, success, and significance. The use of income determines where a person will live, whom they can influence, where they can travel.
Do class distinctions matter today? Yes, but not as much as in the past. We have access to a communications network that has never been seen before in the world. Most limitations come from lack of will rather than resources. Any (resident) of St. Louis can access the public library and use the vast resources. It's just our class background that enable us or discourage us from doing so.
Can individuals change their class? Of course. There's nothing that hard, honest work can't achieve. Conversely, there's nothing that laziness and apathy can't destroy. Pulling one's self up by the bootstraps simply means doing the work that is in front of you and doing it well. Anyone can do a simple task, like mop a floor, and look unhappy and complain. Few people can do it with a smile, knowing that this is just a stepping stone to something better.
Is the United States of America really a nation where people succeed based on talent and effort? All true success is based on talent and effort. A person can be granted a position or title or responsibility, but if they don't have what it takes on the inside, they will fail. The cream will always rise to the top if they understand a basic truth: Luck equals preparedness plus opportunity.
Robert DeLorey
Ballwin/retired director of information services/middle class
Definition: By income. Obviously there are other measures. I (also) considered things like education, social contacts, but then went back to income. Why? Because it is so easily quantifiable. On the other hand, strictly using income places people like the Atkinson brothers of U.S. Fidelis in the upper class. So the definition of class has to be dependent upon context.
Do class distinctions matter today? They matter to those who are class conscious. Fortunately, and in some situations, unfortunately, the overall level of class consciousness is not as high today as 60 or 70 years ago. Class distinctions still matter because on the one hand they present barriers or impediments to upward mobility, which is unfortunate. On the other hand, they help maintain the social structure by imposing a level of responsible behavior upon those who aspire to achieve that mobility.
Can individuals change their class? Yes. Individuals can change their class in either direction. They can move up by hard work and socially responsible behavior -- education, self-reliance, etc. They can move down by wasting their time, talent and fortune.
How has your class status affected your opportunities? Being raised in the lower-middle class, I didn't know what I didn't know. For one thing, I didn't know what opportunities were available. However, when I discovered a few good ones, I was able to make the most of them.
Erik Olsen
North St. Louis County, network administrator, middle class
Definition: For me it breaks down to ratios. The higher the first column, the "better off'"someone is. Income vs. living expense. Entertainment expenses vs. survival expenses. Savings vs. debt level. Just because someone has a million dollars in a bank account doesn't mean they are well off if they are financing $10 million in overall debt. A big house doesn't mean you can afford it.
Can individuals change their class? Individuals can improve their position if they know how to or want to improve their position. Unfortunately, financial literacy is sorely lacking at all levels of class. Also, the consumer mentality (bigger, faster, better, now) is killing our economy. Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps means making effective changes in your financial situation to improve how you live.
How has your class status affected your opportunities? In my case, I was not taught financial literacy while growing up middle class. This being said, I feel that the skills I have acquired later on have helped me much more than the "middle class membership" I was born and raised in. If I lived in a middle-class neighborhood (one with streetlights, sidewalks and decent public schools), I would be seen as middle class. My address states clearly that I am at best lower-middle class as the state is trying to run the local public school, we have no sidewalks or streetlights and the crime rate is a bit higher than 'normal.' "
Bill Henske
St. Louis, teacher, middle class
Definition: Too often people associate money with class, but a stronger fit might be what is hanging on your walls or where you went to college. If you listen to country music, you can hear the pride people take in being working class. Much rap music is about the pride of being the underclass.
Can individuals change their class? Most people, when it comes down to it, don't want to change class. They are comfortable with their life, as difficult as it might be. Economically, people want more, but socially most people are unwilling to change things about themselves to change social class.
How has your class status affected your opportunities? I don't think I have to work as hard as those in lower classes, but at the same time I hear people from lower classes talk about how those in upper classes do not work hard, which is not true.
Is the United States of America really a nation where people succeed based on talent and effort? It would be true if each generation started with the same amount of resources and quality of education. The Americans who think this were probably born on second base. The statistics of the income gap is telling us that this is less true, every year.
Stephanie Dechambeau
St. Louis, fundraiser, lower-middle
Definition: I think of class in economic terms, but also factor in cost of living. Making $75,000 in Manhattan doesn't go as far as $75,000 in St. Louis or in Rolla.
Can individuals do anything to change their class? To some extent, yes, people can move up economically through hard work and determination, as well as a healthy dose of good fortune. This requires a person to reject the notion that s/he is a victim of circumstance and helpless to change their life. I understand that many people trying to do this face tremendous pressures from their peers, who accuse them of being uppity, snobbish and even a traitor. People can also move down through being frivolous with their money, if no one bails them out -- and, in my opinion, no one should if it's just pure foolishness.
How has your class status affected your opportunities? I grew up in a small farming community in Michigan, so I didn't grow up with family connections to business leaders. Also, neither I nor my husband graduated from high school in St. Louis and don't have long-standing connections to St. Louis leaders; that has somewhat hindered our careers. My husband and I don't have the money for me to go to grad school or send our daughter to a private school. Also our Christian faith, combined with our modest backgrounds, means that we don't care as much about being in society. On the other hand, I have been blessed with many opportunities that those in lower economic classes don't have, such as graduating from a respected liberal-arts college, having a decent-paying job, being able to pay our bills each month -- unless something major and unexpected arises -- never being hungry, having a decent functioning car.
Joan Brannigan
Olivette, retired teacher, middle class
Definition: Economic class -- how much money you have; education class -- how well educated you are; within this I would include how cultured you are.
Do class distinctions matter today? Yes, economic class allows for those with the most money to have the most power. Education class allows the best chance for upward mobility in economic class as well as a better world understanding of literature, history, politics, science, mathematics, the arts and social awareness.
Can individuals do anything to change their class? Yes, there is upward mobility in both economics and education. Health factors can play a large part in moving one up or down in both classes. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps is an oxymoron. It takes a village to raise a child whether they are in the upper or lower education or economic class. It is impossible to do it by oneself.
Is the United States of America really a nation where people succeed based on talent and effort? Yes, people succeed based on talent and effort. But there are other factors as well such as luck, social consciousness -- society helping those less fortunate -- being in the right place at the right time, inheritance of money and education from parents and family. The biggest change in notion of class that has occurred in my lifetime is a result of the civil rights movement. The integration of blacks into the white or, more accurately, an integrated class structure. Now we are integrating others ... Asians, Muslims, Latinos.
Scott Rhoades
St. Charles, middle class
Definition: Class to me is more about character than money or status. I do get the associations of class with money, but to me it is more about a way a person carries (himself or herself). I have seen very rich individuals who were classless, and some who carried themselves extremely well, but did not have the financials.
Do class distinctions matter today? I am sure in some circles it is still present, but I think it is mainly between the upper mid to upper classes.
Can individuals do anything to change their class? (It) takes effort and fortitude, but can be accomplished. I believe people are only limited by their own inhibitions. If you want something bad enough, no one can stop you but yourself. Again this is strictly speaking in financial class terms. But I believe anyone regardless of status can improve on themselves if they so desire. Pulling yourself up by the bootstraps means to suck it up, tough it out, and make it work, no one is going to help you but yourself, if you want it, you have to do it.
How has your class status affected your opportunities? I came from a hard-working, middle-class family. We weren't always middle class; my parents worked very hard to get us to a good situation. That hard work ethic is what inspired me to get to where I am today. It is not so much my background that presented me with opportunities as much as it was hard work and being at the right place at the right time.
Raymond Quirolgico
St. Louis, higher education administrator, upper-middle class
Definition: Socioeconomic class is defined for me by yearly earnings, tax bracket and access to living conditions, like having shelter, heath care, life insurance, etc.
Do class distinctions matter today? Yes, of course. We are a wealthy nation but some of us are still homeless, lacking medical/dental/vision/psychological care. Some still have no access to education or job training, we over-produce food but people are still dying of malnourishment, etc.
Can individuals do anything to change their class? I think it's nearly impossible to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. What can help someone is access to education, a supportive and safe community, etc. Those things cannot be created by one's self. They are conditions in one's environment; they are consequences of one's starting class.
Is the United States really a nation where people succeed based on talent and effort? I think hard work and talent does pay off, but first you have to be given opportunities to demonstrate your talents and efforts. If you can't even get your foot in the door, then talent and effort is meaningless. I think class has become more defined by our consumerist culture: class is now defined by what you own or how much you have, and it is not defined y how much you share or give away or helpful you are to your community, or how creative you are.
