New York Times Ruminates On Class, Tries Not To "Sound Too Rich"
The New York Times, for the next three weeks, is publishing a series of articles called Class Matters, the first of which appeared in today's issue. Though they point out that "the series does not purport to be all-inclusive or the last word on class", the first article drills deep into contemporary American class structures and the state of upward mobility (short version: not as common as we think). One key argument in this first article is that class is no longer (and maybe never was) as simple as Lower, Middle, and Upper--we look, by necessity, to several factors that delineate our place in society.
The best part, as always, is the How Class Works learning aid crafted by Ben Werschkul and his geek minions. (Werschkul, where's your blog? I've saved you a spot in my RSS reader!) Pick your occupation, education, income, and wealth to see where you stand in the class firmament. I always liked percentiles when they came back high, but I was shocked to find out just where my mix of smarts and dollars put me. Fortunately, this elegant tool has helped me to find the secret to true class happiness: become a surgeon, get a professional degree, make more than $100K a year, and be worth over half a million. Ah, sweet 96th percentile; I shall never fail you again.
journalism-ish , new york times-ish , social studies-ish by tangentialist at 04:18 AM on 15 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)
Social Security: Yet Another Foul Reminder
I never keep my Social Security "statements". It's depressing to get these annual reminders of how little I earn, so I normally toss them and get on with the business of pretending I will never grow old.
Since the government has been bothering me for money lately, though, and since the demands have been coming in official government envelopes, I've been opening all their mail. "It's just a Social Security statement," I figured. What, besides the paltry payment figures, could possibly make my day worse?
Well, this year, the Social Security Administration has enlisted the statement's front page as a soapbox for the "Private Accounts" platform the White House is pushing. It's always encouraging to see the following note on the front of your Social Security statement:
It is important to remember that Social Security was never intended to be your only source of income when you retire. Social Security can't do it all. You also will need other savings, investments, pensions or retirement accounts to make sure you have enough money to live comfortably when you retire.
Well, I guess I can't say they didn't warn me.
politics-ish , social security-ish , social studies-ish by tangentialist at 11:50 PM on 21 Mar 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)