Facts on Social Stratification

I dug deep into an old binder for this one- I took a class senior year of highschool called "Justice Seminar". We took a look at Igantian Theology and worldview, and the Jesuit image of justice. Then we spent a lot of time looking at how our country is set up, and what contributes to inequality in the United States.

Here are some facts I'm pulling from a handout we got in class. The book's called "Dimensions of Inequality in the United States". These facts are from the second chapter.

• 3.3% of househoulds had annual incomes of less that $5,000. 17.2%had incomes of $100,000. 
• The gap between the average woker's pay and that to top corporate executives has shown a staggering increase from 40 to 1 in 1990 to 419 to 1 in 1998.
• The numbers at each end have grown, dubbing the term "Social Stratification"- like the rocks- because those two portions of "rock" at the opposite ends are growing.
• The U.S. Congress has deliberately avoided allowing the minimum wage to keep pace with the cost of living, thus keeping wages of the poorest Americans lower.
• 60% of those at the bottom 25 percent of wealth holders in 1975 were still there in 1995, with 21% moving up to the next 25%, and 12% of those people moving up to the next 25% group.

So what am I trying to get at? Well, we talked a lot about social class today. This suggests something; the middle class we all claim to be a part of is slowly dissapearing. What can we do to make sure it doesn't fade away completely? We all want to be Chases, but no one wants to be Tateh.