The Middle Class Family

Society, at large, is defined by its classes. According to many sociologists (scientists who study social behavior by examining people, their behaviors, their day-to-day activities and their interactions with other people), the popular belief is that there are 4 broad classes in almost every society in this world – the upper class (elite), the middle class, the working class and the poor. Often, the distinction in 3 out of the 4 classes, is quite visible. The main areas of distinction include occupational, financial and educational. However, the remaining class, often struggles with a bit of an identity crisis. This class is the “Middle Class”.

The Middle Class, generally the majority of the population, is often defined differently by different theories, especially by economists and politicians who use the middle class to fit in with a lot of different ideologies. According to 2019 data, in the United States of America, the middle class is defined as households that earn between $40,500 and $122,000 annually. This wide range accounts for the cost-of-living differentials between the most and least expensive cities in USA. Occupationally, the middle-class family has one or both adults working in mid senior level white collar jobs. They spend their whole career within the mid senior level jobs.

While theoretically data can back these distinct layers within society, practically speaking, these classes are more a state of mind or behavior rather than an official designation. Occupationally and financially the distinction between the classes may be quite easy to spot, but socially and culturally, these distinctions begin to fade. This is where behavior begins to dictate the classification. Every class wishes to be perceived as a class better than they currently are. In fact, even the average upper-class family would want to be perceived as higher than the next upper-class family. That’s basic human tendency. This desire to be perceived as better than the official designation, has caused an unofficial split in the middle class to create two distinct classes of their own – the “upper” middle class and the “lower middle class”. The expectation is that the “upper” middle class can also be treated as the upper class with respect to preferences and behavior for all intents and purposes.

With limited financial means, the typical middle class family behavior is dictated by the annual household income. But cultural norms also heavily impact these behaviors. For example, let’s study the behavior of an average middle-class family in India vs the average middle-class family in USA.

In India, a typical middle-class family would focus on saving up for retirement, potential health care expenses and their children’s future including their education and wedding. Sometimes, families feel immense pressure to balance their day-to-day expenditures with all the things they need to save up for. These pressures may lead to them sacrificing personal pleasures for what they deem as “the greater good”. In India, the traditional family unit consists of not just your own partner and children but also parents and other extended family that may also be your responsibility. On an average, a middle-class family would contain a couple, their two kids and a pair of elderly parents. If there is only one person in the family working, at any given time, that person may be responsible for the overall well-being of 6 human beings. With the average middle class household annual income range of $20,000 to $50,000, after saving for all the necessary present and future expenses, they are left with little to no money or time to pursue any personal interests. As a result, they may spend all their life working, sometimes more than 1 job, and miss out on enjoying little pleasures of life. The general idea is that there will always be time for enjoyment after they have fulfilled all their duties. In recent times, with the increase in cost of living and growing aspirations of the younger generations, the average middle class has at least 2 people in the family working. That doubles the annual household income. However, that too goes into savings more often than not. Even with 2 incomes, the traditional mindset is to still plan for the future. But there may be some cushion which may allow for annual family vacations. Here, the average “upper middle” class may attempt a foreign family vacation whereas the “lower middle” class may just end up taking a vacation to a local tourist spot. The added income may be used to target a better (more expensive) school for the children. It is because of these reasons (and more) that many families end up needing to depend on their children for their care during retirement.

But, if you look at the average middle-class family in USA, the story is quite different. Here, cultural norm dictates that you enjoy life as you live it. Retirement planning or planning for your children’s future aren’t seen as a necessity, rather a privilege. Here, the average middle-class family has lower personal savings, but they make the time to enjoy more family time and more personal time to pursue hobbies and take vacations. The downside to this kind of living is that an average middle-class family is ridden with debt. In USA, the average middle class family struggles with a mortgage, an auto loan, an education loan and credit card debt. Since most families do not save up for their retirement, the average retirement age is much higher in USA. You are not expected to depend on your children to care for you in your retirement. The average middle-class family is expected to work well beyond the official retirement age of 60. In addition, since cultural norms dictate that children become independent at a much younger age, children are expected to take their own student loans to pursue higher educational interests which automatically means that they take on the burden of debt very early on in life. With a heavily consumer-driven market, the average middle-class family buys a lot of goods and services through other loans and end up paying interest on pretty much everything. For example, they may buy an iPhone and pay in monthly instalments with interest which would mean they end up paying more than the retail price of the phone. Everything you buy in USA, can be paid in simple monthly instalments and most of the US’s economy runs on this principle. This scheme is targeted towards the middle-class families since most cannot afford to pay upfront and choose the monthly instalment route. In a lot of states, public school education is free up to certain levels and that helps a lot of American families. If not for that, who knows how much more debt they would have to take on.

In both these cultures, the reason for struggle may be different but the struggle is a big part of what defines the average middle class family life. It is because of this express reason that all societies show similar macro behaviors which help the sociologists define these classes. While we just discussed some aspects of the familial struggle above, there are other cultural norms that also define the middle class. Achievements like home ownership, tertiary education, and ownership of a private business also show a certain level of middle-class values. The term “middle class values” defines the general expectation from this class and best sums up the whole class – hard work, self-discipline, thrift, honesty, aspiration and ambition.

While some may not see the middle class as an ideal class, and some may even dispute the claim, but the struggles, values, and achievements of every middle-class family builds the backbone of every society in the world.