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Rachel Allen
Professor Maenhardt
December 8, 2016
Essay two: Diversity Issues Reflection
Class Division in the United States
According to the Oxford Dictionary, class is defined as a system ordering
society whereby people are divided into sets based on perceived social or economic
status (Oxford Dictionary). The divides along the lines of economic class have
become deep and defined. We no longer seem to have a wide spectrum of wealth
distribution in the United States with a robust middle class, we now how have three
classes: rich, poor and poverty-stricken. Although class in America can be
evaluated on many levels, this paper will deal with how wealth has divided us as a
nation.
The laboring class in the United States has typically been viewed as being
middle to lower class with a long history of struggle. The Industrial Revolution saw
a movement of products once made in homes to streamlined large quantity
manufacturing in factories. Factories required labor and many Americans moved
from rural areas to large cities in search of better lives and futures for their families.
Movement in large numbers resulted in poor living conditions and Americans did not
find the futures that they were hoping for, instead they found low wages and long
hours with little reward. Judy Taylor illustrated the evolution of poor working
conditions to the future of labor in The History of Labor in the State of Maine (Taylor
435-38). From the beginnings of child labor and women entering the workforce to

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the first Labor Day in 1884, Taylor illustrates the changing of the American laboring
class into a unified movement of people who believe in and stand for their rights to
safe and sanitary working conditions in the face of demands from business owners
who are concerned with only profit. Taylors mural graced the Department of Labor
Building in Maine from 2007-2011. Newly elected Governor Paul LePage had the
murals removed due to the strong impact that the depictions in the murals were
having on local business interests, had Taylor used another medium or portrayed
the history and evolution of labor in Maine differently there may have been little
controversy.
Labor unions and improved working conditions have done little to bridge the
gap between the wealthy and powerful and the working class in America. As Steven
Greenhouse details in Worked Over and Overworked, the economic divides in
America are growing. Greenhouse provides details of the American worker who is
facing declining wages, benefits and job security while corporate profits are
continuing to climb. Greenhouse states even though corporate profits have
doubled since recession gave way to expansion in November 2001, and even
though employee productivity has risen more than 15 percent since then, the
average wage for the typical American worker has inched up just 1 percent (after
inflation) (Greenhouse 405). Our economy in America relies on service and labor
jobs while we do little to take care of laborers. Greenhouse provides insight into
families living at or near poverty levels while working full time jobs and supporting
children, some even qualifying for food and housing assistance. He provides
narratives of corporations more concerned with reporting positive figures than
paying overtime wages to employees. An article published in Stanford Business
(Larcker, Donatiello and Tayan) states CEO pay at Fortune 500 companies is ten

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times what the average American believes those CEOs earn. The typical American
believes a CEO earns $1.0 million in pay (average of $9.3 million), whereas median
reported compensation for the CEOs of these companies is approximately $10.3
million. While comparing CEO wages to the average worker may seem extreme it
illustrates the class divide in our country that is based on perceived value, the
contribution of one cannot possibly be 206 times greater than the contribution of all
average people in the company assuming that the average income is roughly
$50,000.
Poverty and homelessness is an issue that many Americans fear as they face
uncertainty in their jobs and rising costs. Barack Obama outlined the feelings of
many Americans in his speech A More Perfect Union when he said, as far as theyre
concerned, no ones handed them anything theyve built it from scratch. Theyve
worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or
their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures
and feel their dreams slipping away (Obama 480). America no longer feels like the
land of opportunity for many. Resources such as clean water and access to basic
human needs such as shelter and healthcare have been a luxury in the United
States that we have taken for granted. The class divides between the wealthy and
powerful and the rest of America creates a situation where Americans no longer feel
certain that we can meet our needs and provide for our families.
The number of homeless Americans sleeping on the streets on any given
night is over 500,000 (Homelessness). As the economy has rebounded from the
recession and job growth has continued these numbers have decreased but
homelessness and poverty in America is still an issue. A class divide has developed
between the middle class and poverty as Americans have become more inwardly

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directed at their own struggles and ignore the struggles of those that are in need of
their help. While the middle class is not in a position to help financially due to the
wealth distribution in America there is no need to turn our backs on the homeless
who are looking for a place to go simply because their presence makes us
uncomfortable and reminds us of how close we are to financial ruin ourselves. In
D.C. Libraries: Homeless Shelters No More, Marc Fisher discusses the homeless
population in D.C. that flock to public libraries in search of warm places to spend the
day before having to face another night on the cold streets. He believes that our
public libraries are not places for the homeless and that they are a deterrent to
greater use by other patrons (Fisher 298). Interestingly, the largest population of
homeless in Washington D.C. is families with children (Homelessness).
Kennedy Odede describes a history of the wealthy and powerful being
interested in viewing poverty firsthand in Slumdog Tourism (Odede). While
historically this type of tourism has its roots in London and New York with wealthy
people taking day trips to see people in poverty and the different types of lives they
led this is happening in the United States today. As Beverly Dukatz stated in the
week 14 class discussion, I can honestly say that I had no idea that Slum Tourism
was actually a thing, so I find it very ironic that while working on this assignment I
came to realize that Ive unknowingly been on a slum tour of my own. When I was in
New Orleans just a couple of years after Hurricane Katrina, we took a city tour, part
of which was through the citys Lower Ninth Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by
the hurricane and would it definitely qualify as a slum. Beverly unwittingly became
part of a slum tour where a profit was being made off the lives of those in poverty.
Throughout this course, its readings and its discussions I have developed a
better understanding of how the social structure of class in America provides

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legitimacy to the wealthy over those in the classes below them. Americas capitalist
economy puts business in charge of prices and wages and makes those in positions
of power in business powerful in government as well because of their ability to
influence decision makers and policy. The class divide is widening and the rich are
getting richer while telling working Americans that homelessness, government
assistance and immigration are draining them of their ability to build wealth of their
own. Our diverse culture in America has provided us with the opportunity to
strengthen our economy and see the world through the eyes of those who have
originated from other countries. Sadly, we waste these opportunities and many
times, it is those from different cultures and diverse backgrounds that struggle the
most in America to earn a living wage to support their families. There are many
different representations of people in all of the social classes that I have described
from the wealthy, middle class and those living in poverty. I believe that my views
outlined represent many, but not all, of those in each class. Some of the wealthiest
in our society give much in the hopes of making America a better place for
everyone through charity work and programs aimed at providing opportunities for
education and job creation. Some of the middle class find that their wages provide
them plenty and are not struggling to find more. Some in poverty are chronically
homeless due to mental or dependence issues and are not looking for assistance;
poverty is their chosen way of life.
Class structure in America is one of the most divisive issues that we face
today. From the wealthy who hold the majority of our nations resources to the
Americans living in poverty we are all divided into groups based on status built
around what we have. It is important to remember that we are all citizens of the

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same country regardless of perceived value and we all have equal rights and
privileges.

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Works Cited
Davis, Mike. "Fortress Los Angeles." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading
Cultures. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 287-292.
Fisher, Marc. "D.C. Libraries: Homeless Shelters No Morre." George, Diana and John
Trimbur. Reading Cultures. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 297-99.
Greenhouse, Steven. "Worked Over and Overworked." George, Diana and John
Trimbur. Reading Cultures. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 404-15.
Homelessness, The National Alliance to End. The State of Homelessness in America
2016. 6 April 2016. 6 December 2016.
<http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/SOH2016>.
Larcker, David F, Nicholas E Donatiello and Brian Tayan. Stanford Business. February
2016. 6 December 2016. <https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/facultyresearch/publications/americans-ceo-pay-2016-public-perception-survey-ceocompensation>.
Obama, Barack. "A More Perfect Union." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading
Cultures. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 476-83.
Odede, Kennedy. "Slumdog Tourism." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading
Cultures. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 518-19.
Oxford Dictionary. English Oxford Living Dictionaries. 2016. November 2016.
<https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/class>.
Taylor, Judy. "The History of Labor in the State of Maine." George, Diana and John
Trimbur. Reading Cultures. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 435-38.

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