Economic class differentiation...
I was asked in a comment about what I meant in my recent entry, regarding thinking like a lower-middle class person versus thinking like an upper-middle-class person.

In answering, it dawned on me that I really want to discuss this subject with everyone. I want other opinions, and I hope you'll share yours.


In my mind, there are three primary economic classes, the lower class, the middle class, and the upper class. It is very important that I state right now that an economic class does _not_ indicate what kind of person someone in that class is. It is not a judgment about the person, it is a statement about that person's wealth.

Defining the primary classes:
Lower-class people struggle to afford basic needs in life. Food. Rent. Transportation to/from work. They tend to live paycheck to paycheck and have difficulty acquiring all of their needs, often having to go without a portion of one in exchange for a portion of another.

Middle-class people have their basic needs covered and have to shuffle around their wealth in order to pay for their wants, usually via savings and small investments. A car. Private and/or advanced education. Internet. Summer vacations.

Upper-class people have their basic needs and wants covered and shuffle around their wealth in order to maintain and expand their wealth. Estates. Business ventures. Hedge funds.


Each class has a secondary differentiator, also lower-, middle-, and upper-, however the secondary differentiation is most commonly applied to the middle-class (because everyone knows the lower-class has it rough any which way you slice it and the upper-class is just wealthy). Here's my differentiation:

Lower-middle-class people have very little savings, no investments, and only infrequently acquire enough wealth to spend on their wants. Often, a lower-middle class person is a hard worker with no college degree who struggles at a manual job in order to pay for their childrens' college degrees.

Middle-middle-class people, or middle-class people, have some savings and some investments, are usually college educated, and struggle in order to provide the same for their children.

Upper-middle-class people have savings and investments and can usually pay for their wants without too much re-shuffling of accounts. Buying a mid-range car (like a Camry or an Accord) isn't that big of a deal with a modest down-payment and not-terribly-difficult-to-arrange financing.


I reserve the right to re-define these as you convince me to. :)

So, what do you think?