middle-class

Examples of middle-class in the following topics:

• The Middle Class

  • The middle class consists of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy, which varies between cultures.
  • The middle class is a category of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy, though common measures of what constitutes middle class vary significantly between cultures.
  • Within the United States, the broader middle class is often described as divided into the upper-middle class (also called the "professional class") and the lower-middle class.
  • The lower-middle class consists mainly of people in technical and lower-level management positions who work for those in the upper middle class.
  • Identify the central features of the middle-class in the United States

• The Mass Media

  • For example, if Candidate X once voted on a bill that raised income taxes on the middle class, a framing headline would read "Candidate X Doesn't Care About the Middle Class".

• The Candidates

  • For example, candidates may emphasize the importance of their families and their upbringing in humble middle-class households as a way to relate to a wide segment of American voters .
  • Candidates may also emphasize the excessive wealth of their opponents as a way to show how they are out of touch with the average middle-class American.

• Housing Policy

  • One of the most unique U.S. public housing initiatives was the development of subsidized middle-class housing during the late New Deal (1940–42) under the auspices of the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division of the Federal Works Agency under the direction of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook.
  • Public housing in its earliest decades was usually much more working-class and middle-class and white than it was by the 1970s.
  • Thus, one of the major concerns with the relocation of scattered-site tenants into white, middle-class neighborhoods is that residents will move elsewhere – a phenomenon known as white flight.
  • Despite these efforts, many members of middle-class, predominantly white neighborhoods have fought hard to keep public housing out of their communities.

• Informal Methods of Amending the Constitution: Societal Change and Judicial Review

  • Due to a burgeoning middle class at the peak of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, society became focused on expanding rights for the middle and working classes.

• Foundations of the Welfare State

  • Unlike welfare states built on social democracy foundations it was not designed to promote a redistribution of political power from capital to labor; nor was it designed to mediate class struggle.
  • Between 1932 and 1981, modern American liberalism dominated U.S. economic policy and the entitlements grew along with American middle class wealth.

• Continuing Challenges in Race Relations in the U.S.

  • The controversy surrounding affirmative action's effectiveness is based on the idea of class inequality.
  • Opponents of racial affirmative action argues that the program actually benefits middle and upper class African Americans and Hispanic Americans at the expense of lower-income European Americans and Asian Americans.
  • This argument supports the idea of solely class-based affirmative action.
  • America's poor is disproportionately made up of people of color, so class-based affirmative action would disproportionately help people of color.
  • This would eliminate the need for race-based affirmative action as well as reducing any disproportionate benefits for middle and upper class people of color.

• Controversies Surrounding Affirmative Action

  • Some opponents have tested the bases for affirmative action programs on the basis of class inequality.
  • These opponents argue that the program actually benefits middle- and upper-class African and Hispanic Americans at the expense of lower-class European and Asian Americans.
  • This argument supports the idea of solely-class based affirmative action or the idea that affirmative action programs should be instituted based on social class rather than race .

• Current Challenges for Education

  • Not only do schools offer a range of topics and quality, but private schools may include mandatory religious classes.
  • Many states have laws governing what is taught in sex education classes or allowing parents to opt out.
  • According to a 2004 survey, over 80% of polled parents agreed that the sex education was helpful while fewer than 17% stated their view that the sex education was inappropriate. 10 percent believed that their children's sexual education class forced them to discuss sexual issues "too early. "
  • Opponents of racial affirmative action argue that the program actually benefits middle- and upper-class people of color at the expense of the lower class.

• Political Ideology

  • Even though liberals as a whole tend to be the most educated ideological demographic (as indicated by Pew research), moderates tend to become increasingly conservative with increased economic prosperity, causing the professional class to be split between Republicans and Democrats.
  • Three groups were identified as part of "the left," "the middle," and "the right. " In this categorization system, "the right" roughly represents the Republican base, those on "the left" the Democratic base and those in "the middle" independents.
  • In "the middle" are the optimistic and upwardly mobile "Upbeats", the discouraged and mistrusting "Disaffecteds," and the disenfranchised "Bystanders. " The right compromises the highly pro-business "Enterprisers," the highly religious "Social Conservatives" (also known as the Christian right), and the "Pro-Government Conservatives" who are largely conservative on social issues but support government intervention to better their economic disposition.