Let's talk about class

I apologize for the gap in my blog but sometimes life just takes over. As I teach about American Life and Culture the discussion about class is difficult for many of my students and I think this is due to the fact that if "race" is a difficult topic to discuss here in the U.S. than class is almost impossible.

  It seems that everyone believes they are "middle class" but is that even possible? If everyone is in the middle than why has this country added a category to discussions of class--the working poor? The working poor are those who work low end service jobs and never manage to rise above a very low income level. Who are the poor and is it only based on their income?

       If Social Security is seen as an entitlement by many Republicans does this mean that it should be cut? What about all the people who depend on it, the many elderly and disabled citizens? Can we actually make only those on entitlements pay for the defecit, and yet not raise taxes on those 2% of people who own almost everything? If we are in a crisis and there need to be cuts then why not make sure the pain is distributed throughout all the classes? A society can be likened to an organism, and if you want a good and healthy one then you must not focus on those at the margins--those at the center need to feel some pain too. So, from my work on the margins I say let's not forget class and let's all share any austerity plans.

First post

This is my first post for applied anthropology and I will try to illustrate how questions of class, income, ethnicity and race impact many people who have little or no resources in this United States.
A couple of things to think about are: If you are a senior citizen on a fixed income, with no assets, where can you afford to live? If you find a place to live, can you afford food and utilities?
While the debate about raising the debt ceiling goes on in Washington D.C. many people are simply trying to "get by" and looking for help.
Did you know that the waitlists for subsidized housing are often closed and when they are not closed there is a wait time of at least 1 to 2 years?

These are some interesting things to ponder as many say there are too many entitlements because on the ground it sure seems like there are so many people who have little hope of finding assistance--not only seniors but also Veterans of our many wars.

I will try to give some brief glimpses of the work I do but it will not be easy reading.