The story of the broke middle-class
Christmas time is coming. The decorations, the food, the long-winded Christmas list but for some there won’t be anything under the Christmas tree, no Santa only the hope of the festive time to be over. Once they come back from the holidays there will only be talking about the gifts that others received and these people may feel neglected from these conversations.
The tale of the broke middle class is one to behold. Any job that requires you to go to university is considered a profession and most professions are advertised to lead you into a middle-class lifestyle and income. Of course, this is not the case for thousands upon thousands of people. The topic of class weighs in many factors such as lifestyle. Are you living in correspondence with how much you earn? Many people aren’t as long as you look and act the part; it doesn't matter how much debt you get yourself into.
So what do I define as the broke middle class?
‘A class of people who earn a reasonable salary, yet only just manage to pay all their monthly bills and have a minimal amount to spend on leisure and entertainment (Charis. Clarissa)
The cycle of the broke middle class is to work to pay, not work to live. I am by no means writing this to create sadness but to bring to light a hidden social class that the British government seems to ignore.
The tale of the broke middle class continues to my second part of the definition of having a minimal amount to spend on leisure and entertainment. Unlike the upper middle class or stable middle class, it is rare and far in between where holidays are booked or expensive weekend trips. Being the poor middle class is a strange place to be, a no man's land neither upper nor fully connected to the middle.
Detaching from class, think about the climbing house prices, the prospect of owning your own home tuning into a distant star in a pitch-black night sky. Recent statistics show the price increase in the UK for houses ‘The average price of a house in the UK increased by 9.26 per cent in the 12 months prior to March 2021, reaching an estimated value of roughly 231,644 British pounds in the first quarter of 2021.’ ( data from www.statista.com )
On paper, according to a conservative government, middle-class earners should find it easy to find their own property. However, the way the housing market is heading people's pockets say otherwise. Real politicians who have the ability to interact with real people would know this and be willing to either offer more government assistance or a fairer market trade system.
Now that Brexit has been born, things will be tougher for the working class and lower middle classes. The deal being done was more of a petty attack on migrants entering the Uk legally or illegally.
And of course, the majority who voted for Brexit were from the upper and lower working classes; 64% voting leave according to Statista.com.
Yet they are the most affected by their decision.
I guess there is a level of prestige to be considered middle class even if not on paper by lifestyle. Living outside of one’s means is very common combat to classism or perceived snobbery yet simultaneously there is a forever booming culture of being broke not being able to afford everyday items or expenses. I feel as if being a part of the broke middle class is being in a state of imbalance leaning one way but then the next.
So what is the solution to this awakening? What are we supposed to do?
Possibly give into the talk or drool over the lifestyles of others? Or break through the fog of false class consciousness and market and sell our own skills?
The answer is yours to take. But one thing is for certain that having money and being broke are not two separate things.