From a scale of 7 to 10 how middle class is this forum?

[PK99]

Or to put it another way, they don't have class in America, only money.

Not quite there is a BIG difference between Old money and New money.

https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjour...ow-old-money-and-new-money-habits-differ.html

The New money descriptors could have been modelled on Trump

 

[raleighnut]

I play in a brass band. From a "cool" perspective, these are the only people we get to look down on!

Both activities also consist of consuming large amounts of alcohol whilst engaged in them too

 

[Tin Pot]

We go to Waitrose because when someone bumps into your trolley they apologise and smile.

...whilst plotting their online rant about the “whole fiasco today!”.

 

[ADarkDraconis]

Really?

Two things: first, wealth in this context is relative. By your own description of yourself, you’re not among the poorest or richest members of society, ergo you must be somewhere in the middle. Hence “middle” class.

Second, this group accounts for 25% of society, so that’s something like 17 million people. That’s a pretty broad category and there is going to be huge variety between individuals within that group. Like, duh.

By my own description I have said that I am quite poor with no savings, and we live paycheck to paycheck (or direct deposit to direct deposit) most of the year- so lower middle class as far as income goes as we are not on government assistance and I make more than minimum wage most days but are not considered well off. Most folks here are in the middle, but to say that I (being a scratch above the lower class economy for just the past few years) qualify as the Established and am at the upper echelon is going a bit far. I see myself being slightly below the average middle class in income (ok, way below compared to my area) but above the average in personal affairs and hobbies- not that they are expensive hobbies, just not always something people growing up very poor like myself did because it wasn't the norm or their tastes were in other areas.

@ADarkDraconis , isn't class in the US more about wealth unlike the many subtle cues that the British use to come over all Judgy McJudgeface about each other?

True, we usually use it as a judge of how economically stable a household is. I was going by the British standard, though, as that's what the test was for (and where y'all are...) but I have varied interests that apparently keep me from being an uncultured swine even though I am poor.

Not quite there is a BIG difference between Old money and New money.

https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjour...ow-old-money-and-new-money-habits-differ.html

The New money descriptors could have been modelled on Trump

*shudder* nothing should ever be modelled on Trump...

 

[PaulSB]

[QUOTE 5198770, member: 45"]I've been in Aldi from the UK to Romania, and it's the same reflection across Europe.

Our Lidl is the other side of a car park from Waitrose (a posh supermarket, for those outside of the UK), and those with nicer cars aren't ashamed of using both.[/QUOTE]

A part of Aldi’s expansion programme is to open new stores as close as possible to the established supermarkets. Locally we have ALDI adjacent to Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.

I can’t imagine why anyone would be ashamed to shop on ALDI. If there are people with “nicer” cars who feel it necessary to shop in Waitrose good luck to them.

 

[Sandra6]

What a nonsense.
Why do people still want to cling to outdated ideas such as class and social standing?
If you can say you're "middle class" or above does it give you a sense of being better than the "lower" classes? Is it a measure of your achievements?
I just don't get the point.
Don't we all go out to work for a living? (or did before retirement) surely that makes you working class. If you don't have to work for a living then you're bloody lucky!
People I know who call themselves middle class seem to live in over priced houses that they can't afford to fix the plumbing in, work in well paid jobs and eat asparagus for tea but drive a clapped out old car that they live in fear of breaking down. And while they appear visibly wealthy their kids are being clothed courtesy of the charity shops.
My friends who work in "working class" jobs are driving nice cars, going on holiday and buying their kids a new wardrobe in jack jones every other month.
And for those making sweeping statements about the class of the average forum member - what are you basing that opinion on? Have I missed a thread where everyone revealed their employment and housing status? Apart from the odd one of you I don't know what jobs you're in, where you live in the country or how much cash you spend on your bikes. I would never try to put any of you into a class bracket, why would i? It really has no place in modern society.
Oh, and I took the class test and I'm "established middle class" which is hilarious given that I grew up in a council house in Rochdale!

 

[Julia9054]

What a nonsense.
Why do people still want to cling to outdated ideas such as class and social standing?
If you can say you're "middle class" or above does it give you a sense of being better than the "lower" classes? Is it a measure of your achievements?
I just don't get the point.
Don't we all go out to work for a living? (or did before retirement) surely that makes you working class. If you don't have to work for a living then you're bloody lucky!
People I know who call themselves middle class seem to live in over priced houses that they can't afford to fix the plumbing in, work in well paid jobs and eat asparagus for tea but drive a clapped out old car that they live in fear of breaking down. And while they appear visibly wealthy their kids are being clothed courtesy of the charity shops.
My friends who work in "working class" jobs are driving nice cars, going on holiday and buying their kids a new wardrobe in jack jones every other month.
And for those making sweeping statements about the class of the average forum member - what are you basing that opinion on? Have I missed a thread where everyone revealed their employment and housing status? Apart from the odd one of you I don't know what jobs you're in, where you live in the country or how much cash you spend on your bikes. I would never try to put any of you into a class bracket, why would i? It really has no place in modern society.
Oh, and I took the class test and I'm "established middle class" which is hilarious given that I grew up in a council house in Rochdale!

It doesn't matter what people call themselves. It is how you are seen by others. This matters if it stops you getting something you ought to get on merit. E.g. The wrong accent stops you getting a job, lack of parents able to bank roll you means you can't afford to take that unpaid internship which is the first rung on the ladder for your chosen career.

 

[Sandra6]

It doesn't matter what people call themselves. It is how you are seen by others. This matters if it stops you getting something you ought to get on merit. E.g. The wrong accent stops you getting a job, lack of parents able to bank roll you means you can't afford to take that unpaid internship which is the first rung on the ladder for your chosen career.

Lack of money is always going to hold people back, such is life - but do people really still miss out because of their accent or their postcode?
If that is still going on, surely it's enough of a reason to be done with the class system altogether.

 

[smutchin]

It doesn't matter what people call themselves. It is how you are seen by others.

It’s nothing to do with individuals, it’s more about how we evaluate our society as a whole. What the BBC survey shows is that our society is as stratified and divided as ever - perhaps more so, as the gap between rich and poor grows ever wider. Understanding the class system matters because it reveals the problem areas in society that need to be addressed, the unfairness and inequalities that need to be righted.

Worrying about what supermarket you shop in, what car you drive, whether you go to the opera, what food you eat... all boring middle class preoccupations that prove the OP’s point. As is doing an online survey then complaining in a cycling forum when it doesn’t give you the result you wanted.

I don’t see any members of the “precariat” posting here. Perhaps because they’ve got more important things to worry about. @Sandra6 I’m sure these people would very much love to be “done with the class system altogether”. If only it were that simple.

 

[Sandra6]

I don’t see any members of the “precariat” posting here. Perhaps because they’ve got more important things to worry about. @Sandra6 I’m sure these people would very much love to be “done with the class system altogether”. If only it were that simple.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure they'd rather just be seen as people having a tough time rather than being given some poncey made up title in order to slot them into a neat little bracket on a made up class system.
I can't be the only one who has never heard of the term.

 

[smutchin]

The labels are not important, they’re a distraction. Forget about the sodding labels. They’re just words.

Think instead about how deeply divided, inequitable and unfair our society is. If you want to do away with the class system, think about what needs to be done to achieve that. How do you identify the people most in need of society’s help? How do you identify the people who could contribute more to society to help those people?