The rich and the poor: why the middle class should always identify with the poor

Identity is a powerful influence on our psyche. How you identify yourself is tied deeply into your measure of self worth, and in turn tied into your happiness. This is part of the reason why women’s groups fight so hard for positive imagery of the real female body beyond the runway stick figures because the consequences of being unable to identify with the real female image are a whole host of self destructive actions. While we are finally starting to get to the point where we are taking steps to combat this negative imagery in regards to body imagery the same cannot be said for economic self imagery. Ironically, in this case, it is not a deflated sense of worth but the exact opposite that is the problem. Most Americans would never classify themselves as rich, however by the same token a lot would not classify themselves as poor either. This gives rise to the notion that there is a middle class in this country.

Before we continue we must discuss the difference between rich and wealthy. To be rich it means that you make a lot of money. If you make over 250 thousand dollars a year in this country you are without hyperbole rich. The thing is you may not feel all that rich. I mean after the car note, the mortgage, the health care bills, school tuition, saving for college what’s left? This is because despite being rich you may not be wealthy. Being wealthy is to have a lot of money, and or assets that generate money. As a result there are people who make a fair amount of money but since they don’t own anything they don’t really feel rich. So when we talk about taxing the rich and we start at people who are earning 250 thousand a year people get up in arms about it because they are not wealthy and shouldn’t someone else be punished, like them damn illegals.

This is only part of it. One of the things Americans believe in is the notion of upward mobility. We were founded on the lie of living in a meritocracy. Across the globe we may have large trade gaps that hurt our economy but the one area where we are still the dominate exporter is the idea that you can make it here more than any place else. We’re the land of opportunity and as Hannity likes to say the greatest best country god has ever given man. We ROCK, because everyone can make it here with hard work. This isn’t true, but this is our identity. In the face of that identity, we all like to identify with the wealthy, because hey you never know.

This isn’t an identity of hard work rewarded this is as Chrystia Freeland penned in the new york times the lottery mentality. This false identity is so endemic to our culture we don’t even blink at it any more. The lion share of programming on the Bravo network is devoted to people who have no marketable skill yet live fabulously rich lives. The people on shows like the real housewives are portrayed as deeply flawed people to promote our disgust of decadence playing to our desire for humility in the rich. However I see something else in these shows, in our disgust we are able to see ourselves living those lives better and more readily identify with the wealth class. In addition their flaws help us to believe if they can make it anybody can make it. If anyone can make it, including these people, then the reason someone makes it is not tied to work but to chance.

The truth is though if you’re not wealthy your poor. There is no in between. I know this is a radical notion, but like being rich doesn’t mean that you’re wealthy by the same token being poor does not mean poverty. The issues that affect the middle class in this country are the same issues that affect those who are impoverished, not the affluent. If you are worried about making your own mortgage payment your poor, if you are worried about other people making their mortgage payment you’re wealthy. The fact that we conflate rich and wealth, and poor and poverty prevents us from seeing the huge disparities between the wealthy and the poor. This exists even on the global scale. There are first world countries and there are third world countries. The concept of a second world country isn’t popular in economic terms.The reason is simple people it is very easy to point out a third world country like Haiti, or Chad, countries so poor we need to send beautiful Hollywood people to the country for us to even look in their direction. But if it cannot be clearly be identified as third world we are more comfortable calling it first world despite vast differences in economy resources, and industry.

It is access to these resources that separate the wealthy from the poor. It is much easier to showcase this notion on a global scale. Take for example the ongoing tragedy in Japan. Japan is absolutely a first world nation, as a result while there are hundreds of thousands of people suffering right now, and there has been much devastation and loss of life many economist are saying this will be a short term loss in the overall productivity and overall Japan will be able to overcome this disaster. Haiti, on the other hand, over a year after their massive natural disaster has barely begun the recovery process. Many people believe the difference between the wealthy and the poor is a freedom from disaster. This is not true. Disaster is unavoidable, it is a part of life the difference between the wealthy and the poor is access to the resources to rebuild when disaster strikes. Donald trump has been on the verge of bankruptcy multiple times in his life, unable to meet his obligations yet in each case he has been able to recover. He would like you to believe this is because of his immense skill. It is however much more likely a result of his access to lawyers and loans in spite of his vast financial problems. Most Americans are one sickness or one lawsuit away from financial ruin, once in the grip of such a situation, does the middle class have access to armies lawyers and accountants to defer losses for years and years so they can hold on to what they have or do they have to put everything in hock and take out loans with tremendous interest rates?

By the middle class identifying with the wealthy in the country they lose sight of what really affects the quality of life. They end up voting against their self interest. If the middle class were more like wealthy then cuts in education, health care, day care, pensions, social security, housing, water safety, and food safety would have no effect on their lives because they would have the resources available to them to do without these programs without government assistance. If the real needs of the middle class are ever going to be addressed the middle class is going to have to stop deluding itself and realize it has more in common with the poor then they will ever have with the wealthy and that strengthening the resources for the poor would strengthen the middle class.