The Pros And Cons Of Classism In America

Class is an apparent feature of any society, especially in the United States. Americans tend to overlook at times that there

Richer homeowners also get tax relief for paying their mortgages. Meanwhile, poor black areas are dumping grounds for toxic waste and garbage, which benefit the wealthier citizens, but they tend to be the only places poor non-whites can afford to live. Low properrty values result in badly funded, dangerous schools. Wealthier whites avoid these public schools and move to suburbs where their property taxes go toward building elegant public schools. Trier school is an example. It attracts a highly trained staff, and boasts an Olympic swimming pool as well as other luxuries. An article about this suburban school brags that most of the students in it are white.

I live at 383 East, 143rd street and my zip code is 10454. It is an area in which Latinos are the main population. This area is called Mott Haven in which there are many public housing projects. I live in one of the housing project in which my neighbors I can see they are mainly Hispanics and Blacks. Around my specific zip code area, there are different neighborhoods. In addition, even though these neighbourhood are very close to each other, there are still a lot of differences between them. I will focus on the varieties of people’s races that inhabit certain areas of the zip code 10454 and how certain areas have more schools while other areas have more businesses.

There is much debate about the issue of social class in the United States. There are arguments about whether social classes are distinctly separate or fluid, dependent upon one’s community or society as a whole, and if they are subjective or objective (Hughes and Jenkins). However, despite the debate surrounding social classes, it is still important to try to define them and analyze their effects, as they are such an important part of our identity and our opportunities in society. Although our society has tried to appear as though we have no classes, and it is becoming harder to tell what class someone is in by material goods, classes do still exist today (Scott and Leonhardt). The trend has been to divide the U.S. into four major

inner city with precision which can represent larger topics such as race and class in our

Society has always needed to take a certain initiative; to put an halt or at least tone down a certain persisting enduring. An example of such is the imbalance in power. For long since, into the very depths of history, there has been a issue in power distribution. This is true for numerous civilizations that date back all the way to the B.C time period. A example, in specific, is the reformation. Classism was too, reflected during the Reformation. The reformation was an instance in time where a man by the name of Martin Luther, proceeded to put forth opposition toward the Catholic ideology. He wished to remove the catholic church, so he organized an organization to take down the church. Whilst the war waged on, it could be noted that some degree of classism was apparent. As said before, classism is a major, recurring issue.

East Harlem is usually known for being a poor neighborhood. “In much social science literature on the neighborhood, Spanish Harlem is defined primarily by its poverty.” (Martinez).

Brooklyn, New York, was once an area that many people who were moving to the New York City region took as a granted place for low-rent homes and apartments. However, many people currently, particularly those people of color, are finding themselves displaced out of Brooklyn due to growing high rents and the inevitable growth of gentrification. Gentrification occurs in urban neighborhoods when the arrival of wealthier people and higher-end businesses results in an increased displacement of lower income families and small businesses. This additionally directly causes an increase in rents and property values and changes in the socio-economic structure for that town. For my paper, I hope to focus on the effects of gentrification for communities of color in Brooklyn.

An inequality in society, economy, wealth distribution, and political corruption and the influence in cooperation of government led to

The readings examined how classism has negatively affected economics in the United States, how oppression manifests in taking financial advantage of groups of people who cannot advance financially, and systemic issues contributing to low wage and inability to move out of one’s social class. I was struck by the idea that most people in the United States are disadvantaged financially based on the way the country has set up its economic policies. From the beginning, black people have been oppressed by the inability to attain wealth, which continued through the end of WWII. I unnecessarily read a chapter speaking about financial companies targeting poor people, particularly people of color, with money schemes so they are losing their hard-earned money to fees and interest rates. This scheme continues to keep people in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I related to the reading about college loans creating a paradox that students with degrees enter the workforce unable to find a job in their their field of study. Then the added paradox of not being able to find work making

On Christmas Eve in 2010, my grandmother received a gift from a hospice nurse who was assisting with my grandfather’s deteriorating health. Initially both surprised and embarrassed by the gesture, her emotions quickly changed once she removed the wrapping. A single package of Ramen Noodles was revealed. Embarrassment changed to confusion as she attempted to wrap her mind around what she had received. The hospice worker drove a 1997 Plymouth Voyager that she regularly complained about not being able to run properly for more than a week. She wore old worn out clothing and my grandmother claims she had never seen the woman wear jewelry before. It was evident that she was not wealthy. Although she could not afford a gift, the nurse in her

Park Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of New York City, home to the ultra rich, the top tier of the American upper class, the 1% (Park Avenue). Those who reside in Park Avenue not only have vast amounts of wealth, but an immense amount of influence that has turned the tables in their favor. But, if you go a couple of miles North of Park Avenue and cross the Harlem river, you arrive at the other side of Park Avenue or otherwise known as the Bronx, one of the poorest districts in all of New York (Park Avenue). Here you see the real hardships average Americans must voyage through in order to put food on the table and provide shelter for their families. 40% of the 700,000 residents who

Social class is defined as 'people having the same social or economic status' (Wordnet). In contemporary American society, social class is based on the amount of money and property you have and also prestige. Prestige is given to a person through the line of work or the family that they come from. For example, upper-upper class member Jennifer Lopez reeks of prestige not only because she has millions of dollars in her bank account, but she has very expensive luxuries, cars, and houses.

Living in the inner-city and suburban neighborhood can be challenging and beneficial for some individuals, especially for career opportunity. Many people who live in the urban communities have a better advantage in finding a job of their choice. Most corporations are located in the inner-city which makes it easier for people to find a job. Despite the job opportunities in the inner-city, many of these corporations do not provide parking for their employee which makes it difficult for many individuals. On the other hand, employment in the suburb is very limited and many of the professional jobs are

Classism in the United States began as soon as it was conceptualized. Slavery was the first glaring example of classism. Obviously based along racial lines, Africans and African Americans were enslaved with essentially no hope of achieving a higher economic status. With exception of slavery of the time, “on the eve of the American revolution incomes in the 13 colonies that formed the United States were more equal than in virtually any other place on the planet” (“As You Were”). As time went on, the industrial revolution took place, and created large gaps between workers and their superiors (“As You Were”). The trusts that helped the wealthy, become richer were eventually made illegal through president Theodore Roosevelt's trust busting (“As