I grew up thinking of "working class" as paid-by-the-hour, and "middle class" as being salaried. ("Upper class" is either able to live off non-work-related income like dividends, or has a really big salary, and various status bits to go with that.)
Now, we have a new divide among working class: Hourly-with-benefits vs. "temp/part-time worker," which can extend for years, no benefits, no job security, next step up is not a raise or promotion but a guarantee of hours.
That's not a complete description, but it goes a long way towards a general overview.
Defining middle class
Date: 2008-02-26 11:19 pm (UTC)Now, we have a new divide among working class: Hourly-with-benefits vs. "temp/part-time worker," which can extend for years, no benefits, no job security, next step up is not a raise or promotion but a guarantee of hours.
That's not a complete description, but it goes a long way towards a general overview.