That was what I typed into Google after reading Timothy McNulty's column in Friday's Tribune. As a dyed-in-the-wool classist, his thesis should inspire me to write a letter explaining that the term "Middle Class" isn't inclusive at all. Except that I tend to agree.
The term itself is ambiguous both in popular opinion and language usage. Over the years I've had people tell me that they are middle class; working people, in particular like this self-designation, while folks that could be legitimately characterized as middle class tend to self-identify by more individualistic standards. It's that self-designation that lets America be a "Middle Class Nation".
McNulty flirts with some economic definitions of middle class before settling on the U.S. Bureau of the Census average regional incomes for 2006: "Class, either by income or social status, is real but undefined in our society, yet those conditions underlie so much of the economic, social and political conversation in the newspaper.... [A]verage family income in Chicago was $70,778; for all of Cook County it was $82,456; for DuPage County it was $109,975." 
As the economics of 21st Century America have shifted away from a manufacturing/ production model to a service/ consumption model, the idea of who we are has shifted as well. And therein lies the conundrum of how to define middle class. Within the class strata exists varying degrees of "middle classness". Some hold their position by merit of education, others by the work they do, or choose to do. Middle class shouldn't be measured by income, then, but by opportunity. Which becomes the problem inherent in trying to define a middle class, since it seems predicated on a set of loose, vaguely American values.
McNulty is only partly right. Widespread material prosperity cannot rightly be the sole gauge of class in the US. Economic access and opportunity are much more significant indicators of class than aggregate income data. DuPage County could be considered more middle class than Cook County only because there is more opportunity there. The disparity in average incomes between the two only demonstrates that people living in DuPage, collectively, have more access to economic and social opportunity that people living in Cook County.
Image via mrfontwacko
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Define Middle Class
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
City of Neighbors
I've been digging on how great it is to live in a big city these past few weeks. Being the hopeless extrovert that I am, I need to be around people. Lots of people. And while cities have an inherently isolating tendency to them, it's that sense of a cohesive community that gives me a connection to Chicago as something more than just a place to hang my hat.
Last weekend was the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse. I'm not all that into the handmade/craft movement, but I get why people feel that making something by hand and selling it in an independent venue connects them other people. I got something nice for my sister.
Earlier in the week I was walking through Daley Plaza when I found myself in the middle of Christkindlmarket. The market was interesting, but a little too traditional for my tastes. What really caught my attention, though, was a crowd of people standing around a musical bike with a box on the back. I couldn't quite figure out what it was at first, so I worked my way into the small crowd to get a better look.
I had found the Puppet Bike! As I was watching this, I was thinking about something that Heidi Schallberg wrote on her blog: "I want to live in a city where this happens." Dreamed up by inventor and artist Jason Trusty, the Puppet Bike pops up around the city at events as diverse as neighborhood festivals, the MCA and Michigan Avenue. “One of the greatest things about the Puppet Bike is how it disarms so many people from so many different places in life,” Trusty told Time Out Chicago. “First it makes them laugh, then makes them dance and sing, and then later on it makes them think.”
In spite of the passions this city arouses - both good and bad - it's that connection to the community that makes cities so great. As suburbanization and sprawl push us further and further away from the center city, and therefore our neighbors, walking into the little wonders of the city reminds me of how good it feels to be with my neighbors.
Image via CAH2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
A Quick Update
I've gotten a few emails from people asking me if I ever plan to update this poor neglected blog.
I do. I do.
It's just that, well, I've been busy. Like, really busy. It's the end of the semester, for one, and I'm turning in projects and writing finals. And I'm getting the PMI Master's Certificate at work. Which is just another hassle that I have to study for. None of which leaves me a whole lot of time to reflect on life, love and the City by the Lake.
Which doesn't mean that I won't be posting again. Just not soon.
So check back later in December.
In the meantime, here's something that reminded me of what it felt like to be four again. And seems sort of appropriate, given the current weather. Drop me an email....
