Final Research Update

As of 12/6/12, I have already started the first part of my project, which is handing out the surveys to various adults of different economical backgrounds, sex, and age. On the first page of the survey, I ask for these three things so I will be able to present the results and show the variation of survey results for different age groups, gender, and suspected class. So far, most people have classified themselves as being in the middle class, while checking off every statement in part 2. Every participant has checked off at least 1 criteria from each part, proving the hypothesis that every person belongs to each social class to some extent according to knowledge/abilities rather than power, property and prestige.

Research Update

For my Research, I am conducting a Social Class Survey. I made a cover page for the Survey which included the participant's age, sex, and what they believed was their current social class, regardless of all outside factors. I also made a results page which explained what the survey that they just took meant, and had space for them to tally up their results and realize that most people while characterizing themselves in only one social class usually have abilities/knowledge from all 3 classes, along with the question of whether or not they were surprised with their results. I have already given the survey to 5 people who have completed it and given it back to me. I plan to give out the rest of the surveys in the next two weeks and have them back before 12/25. With the information from the survey and the additional two pages that I added on, I will have a sufficient amount of information to make a presentation showing the results and percentages of different age groups and gender and report on the success or failure of the realization reactions for the intended purpose of this survey.

Strategy/Plan for Research

With my Social Class Questionnaire Survey, I plan to administer it to at least 20 different people of different ages, both male and female, and with suspected different incomes. Once I have the results of the different surveys, I will be able to compare and contrast all of the aspects of the survey in sync with the habits and daily lives of the participants. I will explain to them the true significance behind social class (power, prestige, and property) and ask additional questions such as whether they believed their outcome result was accurate to them or not. I will take all of the data and present it in a PowerPoint.  

Suggested Research Method/Why

For my second semester project on Social Class, I plan to use the 'What Social Class do you fall into?' (lower, middle or upper class) questionnaire survey. Since the questionnaire helps to pinpoint a certain social class that you are classified as, it also sees how capable you would be, and what aspects you would be knowledgeable about in the other two social classes. This will help me to see first, the overall percentage of the people that I survey's class ranking and second, what is it about the characteristics of the 3 social classes that define the participants' lives. This research method will help me to better understand how people really stand in their social class, aside from their income and status in society. 

**LAST BLOG POST... LOWER CLASS INCREASE STARTING TO APPEAR?**

Hello everyone, and welcome back to your weekly source for all current American social class news. Unfortunately, this will be the last blog post :( But as always you can always find up-to-date news on this topic on the news, internet, etc.

This week we will look at an interesting article that focuses mainly on the mostly ignored lower class. So far, since this recession has hit our country it seems as though all that is being talked about is how the rich are getting richer and the expansion of the middle class growing extremely large.This article is based on a recent study that shows that about 1/3 of Americans believe that they are now in the lower class. Not only that, but they also think that they were in this position before the official Recession hit. This is a very hard concept for most Americans to comprehend since we are predominantly middle class in this country. If we start to become a nation where lower class predominates, then we may lose our first-world status. Both candidates currently promise a tax break for middle class, yet no word has been said for the lower class. We will most likely see a lower or higher shift in the lower class population after the election.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR READING ALL OF MY BLOG POSTS!

ENJOY YOUR WEEKLY SOCIAL CARTOON.

**PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE TALKS TAXES ON MIDDLE CLASS**

WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER EXCITING SOCIAL CLASS BLOG POST!
Last night, during the presidential debate, in which citizens were allowed to personally ask the candidates questions, a frequent topic that arose was the topic of tax cuts. You can read and watch one of the discussions here. Most people in the audience that asked a question spoke about how they were in the middle class and wanted to know how their tax burdens would be reduced by both candidates. Both Romney and Obama agreed on lowering taxes for the middle class, however Romney believed that the taxes for the highest-income citizens would stay the same, while Obama believed that citizens earning over $250,000 should have a tax increase to help reduce the deficit. Both candidates claimed that the other's tax plan would increase the deficit. As of right now, it seems as though, according to their campaign promises, that whomever is elected society will see a break given for the middle class and potential tax raises in the higher class. So far no mention has been made as to the financial opportunities for the lower class. 
THANKS FOR READING!

Enjoy your weekly Social Class cartoon :) 

Obama and Romney (Big Brother Protectors?)

WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER EXCITING DIVE INTO THE SOCIAL CLASSES OF AMERICA!

This week, we will look at an article that deals with the two current 2012 candidates for presidency and the one factor of their campaigns that they both share: their views on the Middle Class.

In this article, Obama and Romney both claim to promise that if elected President they will reduce taxes on the Middle Class, whom according to them would be any persons making between $50,000 and $250,000 annually. Economist Diane Lim Rogers of the Concord Coalition is skeptical of these claims since the definition for middle class is so broad these days. Romney promises to offer tax relief to the middle class and to not raise investment tax rates on high-income households, despite the fact that investment tax rates are among the most costly tax breaks to federal coffers. While Obama wants to spare 98% of Americans from any tax increases by extending their Bush-era tax cuts. He also wants to make permanent expanded tax breaks for low- and middle-income Americans. 

We will ultimately see the results for the Middle Class this upcoming January when one of these two candidates takes office. 

Enjoy your weekly cartoon :).

*Bye Bye Middle Class*

Welcome back to another intriguing look into the Social Classes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PsUyEYO16E

This week I have a video for you all about the explanation of the rapid disappearance of the middle class. The middle class was once the epitome of the economic opportunities in the United States, however since the Recession hit and affected all 3 classes, the middle class was the first class to start disappearing. 

With the unemployment rate still high, and houses virtually being abandoned, the gap between rich and poor in the country is becoming even smaller and smaller. We face the chance of only having rich and poor if the Recession continues on the path it is on or gets any worse. This video shows how the middle class, which was the basis of American income has taken a significant dip lately. Enjoy your weekly cartoon! :)

*This week's focus: The Upper Class' 'Worry-Free' Controversy*

Welcome back to my weekly blog... serving you up some of the most interesting, riveting social class news out there! This week we will be focusing on the Upper Class, or as they have become popularly known after last year's Occupy Wall Street, the 1%. This article shows how recently the top 1% have been becoming richer as a result of the middle class depleting. It gives the usual incomes of 1%-ers and how they compare to the working classes. The article explains how even for the Upper Class, their homes which they were once able to fall back on as an asset are in jeopardy due to the Great Recession. In response to the 1% getting richer by the year, last year's protests of Occupy Wall Street based their anger around the 1% predominantly controlling the wealth in America. "The average wealth of the top 1% of Americans fell 15.6% between 2007 and 2010, while the median net worth of the average American household dropped 47.1% during the same period." The upper class' depiction of being worry-free has not exactly been upheld since the Great Recession has taken a toll of their status and redefined the social classes as a whole.
I leave you with this week's comic relief..

*Introduction to Social Classes within our Society*

Well, here goes my first informative blog post ever! Welcome everyone, to the interesting, controversial, ever-changing world of understanding and classifying the social classes within our society. To start off with a brief explanation, social class refers to a group of people with similar levels of wealth, influence, and status.

Today, we see 4 distinct social classes: The lower class, the working class, the middle class, and the upper class.

The lower class includes those living in poverty, dealing with unemployment and abusing the system by taking advantage of welfare. Very few members of this class have finished high school, live in adequate conditions, or have medical care.

The working class, also referred to as blue collar workers, are underpaid, unskilled workers who make a small living. 

The middle class are divided into two levels according to wealth: the lower middle class and the upper middle class. These people usually have highly respected jobs and ways of living.

The upper class is compromised of the wealthiest people in society. These people make up only about 1-3% of the United States population. Usually they either make grandiose business ventures to earn their wealth, or inherit it from their extremely wealthy families. They have usually have a great deal of influence, and sometimes power, over society.

Now that you well-informed idea about different social classes, you can read this interesting article that shows that the current economic crisis' effects are completely redefining social classes. The article shows how the middle class is rapidly shrinking as unemployment remains at a high 8.1%. It even, interestingly enough, brings up the relevance of race in social classes. 

Thanks for reading this week's blog post, everyone! And as promised, I leave you with a funny, yet informative, political cartoon of the week. 

- Grace 

Sources: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/09/11/americas-middle-class-shrinks-further-now-blacks-and-whites-equally-broke/

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Types-of-Social-Classes-of-People.topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26880.html

http://0.tqn.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/o/B/2/rich-vs-middle-class.jpg

First Blog Post... WELCOME :)

Hello everyone out there in cyberspace and beyond! Our world is made up of innumerable amounts of people, all with different ways of living, spending money, learning, working, and enjoying life. This blog will delve deep into the aspects of the different social classes that make up our diverse, interesting society. Hopefully I will be able to enlighten you all in interesting details, articles, and facts. With the current negative outlook on the state of the economy, I will make it my duty to finish off each one of my blog posts with a relevant, humorous comic relating to the topic of social classes in our society. ENJOY!