are you the working-class poor?

working class poor.

i was taught in school, as many of you have been that there is a rough 'class' system to the North American lifestyle:

1. poor.
2. middle class.
   
3. wealthy.

let's look at this. let's define poor.
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wikipedia:
Poor is an adjective related to a state of poverty, low quality or pity.

Poverty is the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine our quality of life. It may also include the lack of access to opportunities such as education and employment which aid the escape from poverty and/or allow one to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens.


middle class.

Middle class is the group of people in contemporary society who are between the working class and nobility. This socioeconomic class includes professionals, highly skilled workers, and lower and middle management. Middle class people are also viewed as those people with a shared set of cultural values, commonly associated with professionals. In other class socities middle class refers to people between the labouring masses and the ruling class.

In the United States by the end of the twentieth century, more people identified themselves as middle class than as lower or "working" class (with insignificant numbers identifying themselves as upper class). In contrast, in the United Kingdom, in recent surveys up to two-thirds of Britons identify themselves as working class, indicating that the term "middle class" may^[who?]hold negative associations in Britain. Nonetheless the British Labour Party, which grew out of the organized labour movement and originally drew almost all of its support from the working class, reinvented itself under Tony Blair in the 1990s as "New Labour," a party competing with the Conservative Party for the votes of the middle class as well as the working class.


wealthy

Wealth' refers to some accumulation of resources, whether abundant or not. 'Richness' refers to an abundance of such resources. A wealthy (or rich) individual, community, or nation thus has more resources than a poor one. Richness can also refer at least basic needs being met with abundance widely shared. The opposite of wealth is destitution. The opposite of richness is poverty.
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poor, middle class, wealthy.....i have been told as well that middle class has it's own hierarchies as well. you may have heard the term "upper middle class".

like it says up above, more and more people are wanting to classify themselves as "middle class", poor is a pretty distinct, as well as wealthy.

it used to be that the highly educated professionals wished to distinguish the selves from the working class or poor designation. because often they from families of means and resources.

besides who would want to admit they are poor? wouldn't it sound nicer if you were a middle class citizen?

i bring this up because of a Canadian retirement statistic.

1% will retire wealthy, in abundance. well-off.

4% will retire independently. they will not require assistance.

95% will be dependent on others in order to live. either in the form of government assistance to all out living off of their children's paychecks.

not a big surprise for me, these are the same statistics from the beginning of time and have not changed very much.

but this shocks many people , they think with their retirement plans, they will be o.k. not only this, i have had a close look at how we are now living our lifestyles.

unbeknownst to many, something has been sneaking up on us.

i look around and i see 'outlet' stores. more and more 'discount' stores. you almost cannot even go shopping in a place that is not the size of a mega warehouse.

i remember the small grocery store, where you would buy everything you needed for everyone to eat in the house. then came the costco's and the kmart's. in these places, it allowed you to literally make your dollar go further than it would in any other 'regular' store.

i remember only poor people would shop at kmart. with the arrival of the walmart's, nike outlets, and superstore's, most people rely on these 'discount' stores to get by, month to month.

1% of people are wealthy.

4% help those people become wealthy.

95% of people get up, take the kids to school, put their head down and go to work, pay taxes and then die.

no wealth, very little self value, almost no self mastery, and huge egos. to busy to notice that they are the working poor and too proud to admit it or too lazy to do anything about it.

i only say this to give you a little shake, a little wake up call. even though you may think you have had it better that everyone before you, it is just an illusion. there is no rise or decline in the 'quality' of life. the stats are true and always have been.

no one is out to tkae advantage of you...not really true, there is ONE person who is out to take you down.

it is yourself.

if you have a job, you pay too much in taxes. if you have kids; you have to listen to your heart. if you have failed, and too scared to do it again, get up and dust yourself off and go again. you have one life, too precious to not pounce on your dreams.

you will only be the working class poor, that will need to rely on discount stores and everyone else (including the government) to make it through this life.

just think; you are teaching everything you know to your children.