Class in America

This essay does not state or hint that the rich are exploiting the poor. As stated explicitly in the text, “One is not rich because the other is poor (309).” As Mantsios writes, “Class standing, and consequently life chances, are largely determined at birth (320).” The rich do not cause the poor to be indigent. Birth standing, as well as education, race, and luck, are factors that can either make or break a person. Mantsios discusses that “class standing has a significant impact on our chances of survival (318).”
He goes on to write about how people who toil in low-wage jobs have lower life expectancies than those who work in high-paying positions. This statement makes sense, but then the author writes about how “the higher [a] student’s social status, the higher the probability that he or she will get higher grades (319).” I can assume many reasons for this occurrence, citing how teenagers living in poor families will often take on a job or somehow assist in household responsibilities. I can assume these reasons are true because of Cheryl Mitchell’s profile on page 316.
Mitchell is a black woman currently working as a nurse’s aide at a municipal hospital. Before holding her current post, Mitchell was employed at several places, including working as a supermarket checker. She was just seventeen when she held her first full-time job as a counter clerk at a local bakery. She was forced to take on this job after she left college due to financial difficulties. Abandoning her dream of becoming a social worker, Mitchell took on her low-paying nurse’s aide post to be able to take care of her son and mother. Had she not had to drop out of college to take in an income, Mitchell might have been able to earn a degree, but, as cited by Mantsios, “Socioeconomic background… operates independently of academic ability at every stage in the process of educational attainment (319).” Even if Mitchell had made it through college, there is no guarantee she would be successful or even earn good grades. Class standing determines so much in America, from our health to what we’re able to do in our free time, whether we are willing to accept this reality or not.