Final answer:
The term 'middle class' in America is fluidly defined, often encompassing a broad range of incomes from $30,000 to $150,000. It is further divided into upper and lower subcategories, with wealth and median household income being key factors in class categorization. Concerns about the shrinking middle class and its wealth imply potential threats to the American standard of living.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the Middle Class in America
The term middle class is broadly used by Americans to describe their socio-economic standing, with individuals earning a wide range of incomes from $30,000 to $150,000 associating themselves with the middle class. To capture the complexity of this identification, the United States has categorized it into upper and lower subcategories. This reflects the varying lifestyles, economic capabilities, and opportunities within the segment that is broadly considered middle class.
Socio-economic categorization varies greatly, and for sociologists, it is not rigid but rather a fluid understanding that entails multiple levels and subcategories. Furthermore, the concept of social stratification puts emphasis on wealth as a vital distinguishing characteristic between classes. Economists and institutions like Pew Center utilize median household income percentages to define the bounds of each class, with the middle class generally earning between two-thirds and twice the national median.
The American Dream is often associated with ascending into the middle class which denotes stability and comfort. However, there is growing concern over the shrinking size and wealth of the middle class in America, which is seeing a downward trend in wealth share and proportions of the population within this class. This shrinking may pose a threat to the high standard of living historically associated with being in the middle class in the United States, especially when considering the transmission of wealth across generations.