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money

Happy Day Before Payday!

July 9, 2018 by Kari Fisher Leave a Comment

While summer 2018 has been a scorcher, the high for February 1st and 2nd made it to 11º in Kari Fisher’s hometown in Minnesota, and single digits reigned during both school days. I got the email from one of my son’s high school teachers while I was teaching and didn’t have a chance to read it […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in K-12 Education, Clueless classism, Internalized classism, Poverty, Your Stories Tagged With: class cluelessness, kids, low-wage jobs, money, public school

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

Addressing Food Insecurity on Campus

February 15, 2018 by René Franceschini Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had been both poorly understood and oftentimes neglected until very recently. I think the overwhelming view of the administration was that students were, in general, […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Class in Higher Education, Classism, Classism in Higher Education, Cross-class alliances, Money Tagged With: academia, activism, community organizing, education, money

Missing Corner, Missing Choices

October 24, 2017 by Anika Savage Leave a Comment

I recently participated in the Class Action workshop The Moment for Change: Exploring Class and Classism for Social Action. I learned a lot from the “class” – specifically, that class does matter, and each of us brings our experience into interactions with others. There was one point in the class, however, when I felt a strong […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Building Economic Alternatives, Classism in the Economy, Dismantlng Classism, Systemic Classism Tagged With: low-wage jobs, money, poverty, working class

The Poverty Catch-22

May 4, 2017 by Hazel Garcia Leave a Comment

The High Costs of Destitution Cause a Vicious Cycle Nothing is more infuriating than the ill-informed critique that “the haves” like to lob at “the have-nots.” Here’s a classic: “If you’re so poor and can’t afford to eat, then why are you overweight?” If you have ever been poor, you know the answer to that question […]

Filed Under: Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy, Money, Poverty Tagged With: blaming the victim, money, poverty, working class

The Gig Economy and The Creative

February 13, 2017 by Christopher Page 2 Comments

A Perfect Match, Right? People with power tend to view gigs as hobbies, or sometimes lucrative endeavors in the “sharing economy.” Everybody knows Uber drivers, indies and consultants make a killing while controlling their own destinies, right? Yeah, as if. For 26 years I’ve depended on project work, “gigs,” for my employment and income source. I didn’t […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Class prejudice, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy Tagged With: classism, debt, gig economy, low-wage jobs, money, snobs

Surviving in the Gig Economy

February 10, 2017 by Jade Obler Leave a Comment

As a creative person without a degree, the gig economy field has always appealed to me. I have had various jobs in customer service that have left me emotionally drained and unable to create art and enjoy my life, due to long hours and low wages. It seemed at first that gig economy jobs were […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Money Tagged With: debt, gig economy, low-wage jobs, making ends meet, Minimum wage, money

Gig Economy Hustle

February 10, 2017 by Kendra Colburn Leave a Comment

I stare through wild green houseplants out my bedroom window. A robot voice over the phone guides me through my student loan servicer’s menu. “Lower my bill,” I say to the aloe. “Lower my bill,” I say to the cactus. “Lower my bill,” I say to the jade, and eventually I speak to Daisy. Daisy […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Poverty Tagged With: debt, low-wage jobs, Minimum wage, money

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

Being an Owning-Class Activist

September 29, 2016 by Jennifer Ladd Leave a Comment

All of us are more than a label, right? We each are more than one of our identities standing by itself. We are complex, changing, contradictory beings, and a mystery in many ways. And yet, our identities do matter – at the very same time as those identities are not all of who we are. […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Building Economic Alternatives, Class cultures, Cross-class alliances, Cross-class Relationships, Dealing with privilege, Dismantlng Classism, Owning class Tagged With: activism, community organizing, money, owning class, privilege, social movements, super-rich

Graduate School and Kind Strangers

September 15, 2016 by Frelimo Amili Leave a Comment

By the time August rolls around it seems like summer is pretty much over. School started on September first this year, that’s the earliest I can remember. If it weren’t for good people and programs that help, there is no way my family would ever have been prepared. I am a graduate student at the […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Money Tagged With: academia, first generation college students, money

My Summers on the Cape

August 25, 2016 by Camilo Viveiros Leave a Comment

Working, Not “Summering,” on Martha’s Vineyard Summer rolling around means vacations for many. But for others it means seasonal migration to restaurant and hospitality work. When on the Cape recently, I stopped by a Black Dog store, to check to see if the clothing was still made on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. A considerable […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Classism in the Economy, Consumer culture, Dealing with privilege, Poverty Tagged With: consumerism, low-wage jobs, Minimum wage, money, poverty, working class

No Interest in Sharing the Wealth?

June 8, 2016 by Kate Poole 3 Comments

As a young person with inherited wealth who is public about my identity, sometimes my friends will ask me for a gift or for a loan. I don’t always say yes, but when I do lend money, I don’t charge interest. This comic makes a case for people with more than enough financial wealth to […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Building Economic Alternatives, Cross-class alliances, Cross-class Relationships, Dealing with privilege Tagged With: money, owning class, Rationalizing privilege

Avoiding Loans at Any Cost

June 7, 2016 by Anonymous Leave a Comment

Recently, community college students in a class taught by Classism Exposed contributor L.A. Kurth (see her note at the bottom of the post) responded to an essay in Yes!* magazine about the student loan debt and the feasibility of a debt strike. Their responses illustrate the loss of opportunity and potential we ensure by offering loans […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Class in Higher Education, Classism in the Economy, Poverty Tagged With: academia, debt, education, low-wage jobs, money, poverty, working class

Forgoing College to Forgo Debt

June 7, 2016 by Lita Kurth 1 Comment

In education, we are headed toward a perfect storm. Increasingly large numbers of capable students are so afraid of incurring debt that they are deciding not to go to college. I’m not talking about marginal students but successful students. These are not the students that lawmakers are likely to hear about. They and their families are too […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Class in Higher Education, Classism in the Economy, Money, Poverty Tagged With: academia, debt, education, low-wage jobs, Minimum wage, money

The Port Cafe: Dining Without Classism

May 19, 2015 by Abraham Lateiner 2 Comments

Imagine opening the door to a high-end, exclusive restaurant. The whoosh of air-conditioned comfort draws you in as the well-trained hostess welcomes you to the bustling space, full of smiling, well-dressed, and well-fed people. The aromas of garlic and spices waft throughout the room, evidence of the much-loved chef supervising the kitchen. Now imagine the […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Coops Tagged With: alternative institutions, coops, food, money, poverty, wealth

Groveling for the Greater Good

January 5, 2014 by Polly Trout 1 Comment

I’ve been fundraising for nonprofits for 15 years now, mostly for homeless youth and families. When I started fundraising, my bible was the now classic “Fundraising for Social Change” by Kim Klein. Klein taught grassroots fundraising strategies that were developed during the 1970’s, the peak of middle-class prosperity in the U.S. These strategies are ethical […]

Filed Under: Classism in social services, Philanthropy and Classism Tagged With: budget cuts, classism, donors, fundraising, money, poverty, public services

10 Ways a Corporate Workplace is Worse than a Casino

May 7, 2013 by Jay Mahin 2 Comments

1. A Casino is legally required to post the odds of each bet. Corporate workplaces can lie about your chances of rising to the top. 2. If you gamble in a casino using a line of credit and lose, you can file for bankruptcy. If you take out a student loan to go to college […]

Filed Under: Classist Corporations, Workplace classism Tagged With: corporations, money, student loans

A Forty Hour Week From the Other Side

November 5, 2012 by Lita Kurth 2 Comments

As this election nears, I find myself passionate about a local issue: San Jose, following the stronger leads of San Francisco, Seattle, and Albuquerque, is proposing to raise the minimum wage from $8 to $10 per hour. I will be precinct walking on Saturday to help make this happen. This raise is more important than […]

Filed Under: Class in the Media, Class in The News, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Classist Corporations, Labor movement, Workplace classism Tagged With: classism, labor statistics, low-wage jobs, Minimum wage, money, part-time workers, poverty, Rationalizing privilege, service industry, working class

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