"What's Class Got to Do with It?," "More or Less Equal?," and "The Silver Spoon: Inheritance and the Staggered Start" (Rosenblum and Travis, p.130-145).

The following quotes from Rosenblum and Travis (2012) inspired the following post:

“…the United States now has greater income inequality and higher rates if poverty than other industrial countries” (p.140).

“Despite the ideology of meritocracy, the reality in America, as elsewhere, is inheritance first and merit second” (p.138).

The authors discuss that in the U.S., middle and lower class citizens will have increased difficulty transcending or moving up the socioeconomic ladder, as compared to wealthy citizens. This in part is due to the head start that wealthy citizens have, as they receive financial support from their wealthy families and do not have to work for their success or financial gains, since it is already there waiting for them. Due to this “staggered start” (p.136), people of the middle and lower classes may never increase their class standing, and if they do it may be one step out of 30, not really moving them very far up that ladder of financial success.

As a daughter of hard working middle class people of the U.S., I have felt this struggle. I have been blessed to go to both undergraduate and now, graduate college but the financial requirements were mine to pay. My parents supported me as much they could as an undergraduate student, helping me pay for books and expenses like that but the bulk of the expense was mine.

In many ways, I’m glad to have had to learn how to take care of myself financially. I won’t say it isn’t challenging to be friends with others who have no loans, and the opportunities to “quit life” to find themselves if they feel inclined, because they have their parents financial supports; however, I’m proud of what I have gained because I really earned it. I don’t fault others their socioeconomic standing because it’s not their fault that they are wealthier; I would honestly love to have a trust fund and wouldn’t turn down an offer for one.

The real question is why our country isn’t more merit based and how would that effect our society if generational inheritance wasn’t a huge component of people’s success? As a behaviorist, I would hypothesize that motivation to work hard and efficiently would increase significantly!

Rosenblum, K. E., & Travis, T. C. (2012). The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Disability (ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.