Social Class Manipulation – Real world Indicators of Social Class

Inclusive Activism

Teaser: It is going to be very interesting to watch politicians try to speak to working class people over the next few months. But what truly are some signs that someone is working class vs business class?

Today’s podcast will examine the small divides between working class and business class socio-economics.

Today we will talk about:

What are some signs and signal that are of working class people?

What are some signs and signals of middle class people?

Why does this matter and who wants to know how to pass in your socio-economic space?

Welcome back to the podcast! We are going to attempt a different ordering of material for the podcast so we are going to start right into the content you came here for and then talk activism, self-care and community stuff more towards the end!

First thing: What are some of the small signs that you or your family is working class?

One little one which is often overlooked is when you have been conditioned to shower or bathe at night. If you worked a job where you straight up WORKED. You got hot, you got dirty and you got smelly. This made it mandatory that you were showing at night time.

If you HAVE to live off of two incomes or have more than one job you are more considered working class.

If you can see a visable difference by what you accomplished after a day’s work

If you budget or have an allowance for most things you are working class.

If you have ever needed to use the resale shop.

If you fix most things in your house.

If you are still making payments on your home or are retired but are not making payments on your home.

If you rely on public benefits in anyway.

If there has been the need to skip a meal or get creative

If you know your paydays in advance

If you cannot miss a paycheck

You have a form of catastrophic health insurance – not good enough for preventative care but you can go to the ER if you REALLY need it.

If you have some savings but really have no means to retirement without Social Security and Medicare – sorry Millenials (and prolly Gen X too GULP!)

If you use restroom air fresheners – you don’t or cannot afford the space it takes NOT to.

You cant afford $500 emergency without credit

Your biggest asset is your home – if you have one

Car payment

Matching furniture sets – You don’t have the luxury of unique pieces for you furnature is a have to – not a get to

If you are paid by biweekly or weekly – working class

Your kids go to public school

Your name is on your shirt working class – your name is on your desk middle class

You can always tell by leisure sports – golf or tennis is not normally a working class game.

Second: What are some firm signs and signals of middle class?

You have a savings account

You get to go on vacation – sometimes internationally

You could own a house

Your children have college as an option

You have better than catastrophic health care coverage

You make between 50K and 150K annually

Your job is secure

Your into and can afford your avocado habit

You can afford brand standards and not generics

You have useless kitchen gadgets lots of them – if you ever shopped at crate and barrel

You could have some savings

You can afford fancy upscale grocery shopping

You are unaware of what all could be purchased at the dollar store or thrift shop

You can afford to hire someone – anyone to help you out without public benefits

Organic is something you make a priority

You decorate for the holidays – A LOT

Dinner parties, brunch and misosas are in your vocab and planner

You hit up craft stores and have the free time to indulge

Your kids go to private or charter schools

Lastly – Why do I bring all of this up? Well like I said, it is very important to understand how to speak to different people in different populations and give hope to their situations.

Back in the day George Bush Sr. had no idea what a gallon of milk costs. Which was very detrimental to his campaign. The problem is people who are very wealthy can be out of touch with really what the day to day existence of regular folks looks or feels like.

And it has to be noted that of course someone like Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is of course going to have a serious disconnect from what the lives of real people feel like. How are people who have multimillion dollar book deal supposed to understand the pain of overdrawing your account. Or feel and understand the pain of NO paycheck when the government shuts down over congressional squabbles.

So many people are going to claim to know what it feels like to get laid off. Or they will have a sense of the desperation when someone’s job like coal mining or very soon over the road truck driving in the very near future.

Many jobs are going to be automated in the near future and you’re going to hear a lot about how people feel as they understand the pain of being a regular person. Now in this upcoming election there will be some former teachers in the mix. In WI there is a former union member running named ironstache.

The point is you have to be discerning. They will want to talk and talk a lot. They will want to frame the conversation on their terms. You need to ask questions to really get a sense of who understand you and your life.

If politicians really understood people. It wouldn’t be possible to hold a full-time job and still not be able to afford a place to stay. Or be able to live in a world where you can work 40 hours a week and STILL not be covered by health insurance.

Some people I care deeply about own their own business. They had to this point been moderate republicans. Fiscally conservative but socially liberal. They just found out they are going to be paying MORE taxes after this small business friendly tax bill was passed. Just like the CPA who is doing their taxes. Now I don’t believe they voted for Trump – they cant stand Trump.

But there were so many people fooled by a “business man” who what supposed to shake things up in the economy. In the upcoming midterms there will be more of the same.

People at the Maricopa Community College Governing Board will be telling you they are saving money on your taxes when they defund one of the main drivers of education spaces that get people vocational and trade work right after graduation. These are good paying jobs where people can work and live off of potentially one income.

You will hear a lot of people soon talking about you and your economic situation. I would highly suggest you think about you – think about your life and your financial situation. And see if

As far as the podcast there has been a lot of interviews lately, and we have been lucky to get some amazing people for you You may also have noticed that the podcast has now a Facebook Page, a Instagram Page AND a new Twitter Account! With all these things we are getting more and more ways to reach out and connect with you our listeners. Glad to have them part of our team! Please remember you can email me at [e-mail] or leave me a voicemail at 860-576-9393. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Also remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher, or if you could please share the podcast on social media, All these things go a long way to making a significant difference for us here at the inclusive activism podcast. Also please subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, Player FM, Pocket Casts or Google Play as these are great ways for me to show “proof of work to potential sponsors”. It would also go a long way in getting my producer Sara paid for her work someday too!

So checking in on my Activism:

Looking forward to getting out to Anytown for 100+ hours of community service.

Also did a weekend of training done

Got to go to Andre House for some service on July 1^st with my niece

Got to meet with my good friend Dr. Whitaker and my partner Michelle will be doing a White Allies training on June 30^th for 25-40 people – very cool because Michelle is stepping out on this one!

Self Care:

Been able to life 5X a week

Cardio has been amazing got 5X a week done for tath

And Meditated for 5X for at least 15-20 mins and will need to get another day in

Have also added in some great Christian Meditations

Have done yoga for 4X a week to loosen up my body

I’ve been getting my supplements in pretty regularly thank goodness

Training Tank has been going well but the fact that it is so warm has been hard too

Just been doing the best I can as there has been some personal trials which have been difficult as of late.

Lastly for the Recommendation of the Podcast:

The Speed of Trust – By Stephen Covey

Stephen M.R. Covey shows how trust—and the speed at which it is established with clients and, employees—is essential to a successful organization.

With nearly 750,000 copies in print, this instant classic shows that establishing trust is “the one thing that changes everything” (Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of Now, Discover Your Strengths) in both business and life.

Trust, says Stephen M.R. Covey, is the very basis of the new global economy, and he shows how trust—and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees, and constituents—is the essential ingredient for any high–performance, successful organization.

For business leaders and public figures in any arena, The Speed of Trust offers an unprecedented and eminently practical look at exactly how trust functions in our every transaction and relationship—from the most personal to the broadest, most indirect interaction—and how to establish trust immediately so that you and your organization can forego the time–killing, bureaucratic check–and–balance processes so often deployed in lieu of actual trust.

So in review major points of this podcast were:

1. What are some characteristic of working class people
2. Some indicators of being in middle class
3. Why this is so important to know – election season means people will try to speak your langauge!

SO if this made you think something, if you have a question or even more shocking a critique let me know. You can call me at 860-576-9393

This space is a place to talk back ask me questions, hit me with scenarios of how to react to situations real time. Depending on how good your stuff is I will give it my “first take response” or if it’s good it might be a future podcast!

Also as always if you’re interested in booking me to bring the power of inclusive activism to your organization you can always do so at [e-mail] or you can learn more about this organization at www.inclusiveactivism.com