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downward mobility

The Work to Be Done This Labor Day

August 31, 2018 by Miranda Cunningham Leave a Comment

On Labor Day 2018, it’s hard to maintain hope. Many will labor on Labor Day (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Growing up in a blue-collar union household, working on holidays was considered a boon). Many labor in worse conditions than our parents and grandparents. The Gig Economy The gig economy leaves millions on their […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Classism in the Economy, Classist Corporations, Corporate power, Dismantlng Classism, Labor movement, Poverty, Systemic Classism Tagged With: activism, community organizing, downward mobility, low-wage jobs, middle class, Minimum wage, public services, race and class, social movements, unions

Poverty Constrains Your Wardrobe – and You

July 5, 2018 by Angela McEwen Leave a Comment

I will always remember December 2013. It was a particularly cold winter, and downtown Los Gatos was in the low 30s. My friend Jane rented a carriage and invited me to come along. I declined because I did not have a jacket. I was too ashamed to tell her why, so she was rightfully angry […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Internalized classism, Money, Poverty, Your Stories Tagged With: downward mobility, low-wage jobs, money, poverty

Weighing Every Cost: A Genteel Poverty

July 5, 2018 by Nancy McGartland Leave a Comment

I am the youngest of 10 siblings. My dad built a successful plumbing business, bought his own shop and employed a few helpers at the height of his business. He even bought a summer home, a Civil-War-era farm out in the country, which he later sold to pay my sibs’ college tuition. My older sibs […]

Filed Under: Money, Poverty, Your Stories Tagged With: class cultures, debt, downward mobility, poverty, working class

Cross Class Dialogue Circle

December 20, 2017 by Alana Fichman Leave a Comment

It was on a bulletin at a local coffee shop, Cross Class Dialogue Circle. What did those words mean? Cross made me think of the patterns on top of a pie. Class, I thought I knew what that was: divisions based on wealth and a word I always flinched at for some reason. Dialogue, easy: a […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Cross-class alliances, Cross-class Relationships, Dismantlng Classism Tagged With: activism, class cultures, classism, community organizing, downward mobility, health care, social movements

Class Background and Life Choices

October 24, 2017 by Class Action Leave a Comment

For years, I defined class in the traditional way: Class is the relative social rank in terms of education, income, wealth, status/position and/or power. But more recently I have added the final phrase “life expectations/choices.” In the last two years I made a conscious decision to be, I hope temporarily, “downwardly mobile.” I have seen how […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Your Stories Tagged With: classism, downward mobility, middle class, privilege, stereotypes

Eviction

January 5, 2017 by Taj Khunkhun Leave a Comment

Frequent Classism Exposed contributor L.A. Kurth invited students in her class at a California community college to share their thoughts on affordable housing. Here is one student’s response. All my life I have lived in a rental home or an apartment, except for the brief period of time when my family and I had a […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Affordable Housing Tagged With: debt, downward mobility, low-wage jobs, money, poverty

Affordable vs. Attainable Housing

January 5, 2017 by Lita Kurth 3 Comments

When you think affordable housing, you think $600,000 for a condo, right? With a $12,000 down payment, that would be $3,557 per month for 30 years. Maybe that’s why a new term has arisen in the real estate market, attainable housing. Under the new rules, old safety precautions are ignored. Once, homebuyers were advised to spend no more than […]

Filed Under: Affordable Housing, Building Economic Alternatives, Money Tagged With: debt, downward mobility, middle class, money, working class

Brexit – A Class Issue

July 7, 2016 by Milan Rai 2 Comments

Two weeks on, a lot of progressive people in Britain are still in deep shock or fury or despair – or alternating rapidly between all three emotional states. A full 51.9% of British people voted to Leave the European Union (Brexit), and 48.1% voted to Remain in the EU. It was 17.4 million votes to 16.1 million. […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Money, Politics and Class, Poverty Tagged With: budget cuts, class cultures, downward mobility, low-wage jobs, middle class, poverty, privilege, union-bashing, working class

Walk a Mile

February 29, 2016 by Christopher Page Leave a Comment

They are phrases we’ve all heard a million times and show up in comments on social media: “If you’re on food stamps you don’t belong buyin’ a candy bar.” “I shouldn’t have to pay for your shrimp and steak dinner.” “The nanny state offers no incentive to work.” “Poor people are just lazy.” “It’s not […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism Tagged With: blaming the victim, classism, downward mobility, poverty, Rationalizing privilege, snobs

Language Matters, Too

December 15, 2015 by Laurie Sheridan 2 Comments

My brother, sister and I were all brought up to speak a very clear, accent-less English with good grammar and syntax. We were not “perfect,” but we were obliged to try. Our mother harassed us constantly about the way we talked. And she stressed that we would never be able to get a job or […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Dealing with privilege, Dismantlng Classism Tagged With: class cultures, classism, downward mobility, privilege, snobs, speaking up, stereotypes, working class

Becoming “The Others”

August 1, 2013 by Jan Innes 1 Comment

There are so many ways to suddenly become disabled – a fall, a virus gone rogue, bike accident, stroke, tick bite, infection that causes blindness or deafness or loss of a limb, a car running a red light. All of us are one moment, one misstep away from our lives being turned inside out. Because […]

Filed Under: Class and Disability, Poverty Tagged With: disabilty, downward mobility, global poverty, poverty

Adventures in Sustainability on a Budget

July 25, 2013 by Sasha Adkins 2 Comments

I began to eat organic after witnessing first-hand the effects of pesticides on migrant farm workers. I tried to stop using electricity from coal-fired power plants after I watched my students in Washington, DC struggle to breathe on “red-alert” air quality days. I read about the permanently disabling effects that some glues have on workers […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives Tagged With: consumerism, downward mobility, environmentalists

Silver Linings Playbook: Class themes in Oscar nominees #3

February 23, 2013 by Julie Withers 1 Comment

Movies about mental illness are a favorite of the Oscars. The nominees are often serious affairs with sad endings and a key point: it sucks to have a mental illness. Underlying that key point is the idea that having a mental illness creates an outsider status of not being normal where one lacks access to […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Class Themes in Film and Fiction, Classism in Everyday Life Tagged With: downward mobility, mental illness

Adjusting to holiday changes

December 26, 2012 by Amy Mazur 1 Comment

Throughout my life, when my holiday traditions have changed, for financial or family reasons, I have found myself yearning for what used to happen. When I was young, my family would travel regularly during winter vacations:  Florida, Washington DC, the Caribbean, Europe.  I grew accustomed to the ritual, and was very excited about all the […]

Filed Under: Consumer culture Tagged With: consumerism, downward mobility, holidays, middle class

The Class Nightmare of Disability

February 8, 2012 by Jan Innes 9 Comments

Seeking instant invisibility? Displacement from society? Separation from the shared life expectations of friends, family and colleagues? If so, become disabled. Visible or invisible, commonly recognized or incomprehensible, causing odd tics or socially-unacceptable behaviors, your disability will likely make you actively ignored by others or looked at like a circus freak. (“Mommy, why is that […]

Filed Under: Class and Disability, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in social services, Classism in the Economy, Poverty Tagged With: classism, disabilities, downward mobility, poverty, public services

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