Socio-economic status

[drnikki]

current version: https://github.com/drnikki/open-demographics/blob/master/ses.md

This version was written with a few data outcomes in mind:

• can we identify trends in class mobility within a community?
• can we ask about current class without involving income?

We might want to answer other questions about class, and we might want to specify more information about what the concept of "class" means when we use it. Open to PRs that make this question more accessible and inclusive.

[alimac]

^^ Link has changed: https://github.com/drnikki/open-demographics/blob/master/docs/_sources/questions/ses.rst.txt

I found this list - I think the examples are helpful in situating each level.

1. Generational Poverty - The harsh conditions of this type of poverty may keep these families from breaking the barriers for generations.

2. Working Poor - These families live paycheck to paycheck, often in fear of being laid off.

3. Working Class - Generally these workers have more stable employment than the working poor. They may use their hands and bodies as a primary tool to do their work.

4. Situational Poverty - A crisis (e.g., health, divorce, etc.) results in an income drop causing these situations. They generally are able to make it back to middle class due to their assets such as education, family support, etc.

5. Risen from Poverty Middle Class - They have gained some resources. They often become the “safety net” for others (their immediate family, friends, etc.). (Source: Sharif Abdullah)

6. Illusory Middle Class - These Americans have houses, cars, TVs, etc., but they also have staggering debt associated with each possession. (Source: Sharif Abdullah)

7. Lower Aspiring Middle Class - Adults imitate neighbors with consumer purchases. Going to college is emphasized with children although they may not have gone to college themselves.

8. Solidly Middle Class - They own their home and have investments or business. Assume children will be college graduate/professionals.

9. Upper Middle Class - They have a higher income due to professional jobs and/or investment incomes.

10. Millionaire Middle Class - They have a net worth of over a million dollars, but have not mentally accepted their wealth. (Source: Sharif Abdullah)

11. Owning Rich - They own income-producing assets sufficient to make paid employment unnecessary.

12. Ruling Rich - They hold positions of power in major institutions of society and may live secluded lives or are protected from the general public.

Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/31/can-you-name-us-socio-economic-levels/

[patcon]

This is great!

Would it fit in this conversation to discuss questions that attempt to grapple with debt load and anxieties around money? There is a lot to be said these days about people having higher income than people in earlier generations, but with a much higher debt-load, and so classic class questions might mask some financial anxieties (and potential solidarities) within a group. Plus, asking how people feel about their finances is soft, avoiding specific incomes.

But I am emphatically NOT a statistician, so maybe what I'm asking is demographically garbage :)

[GeorgLink]

This version was written with a few data outcomes in mind:

• can we identify trends in class mobility within a community?
• can we ask about current class without involving income?

@drnikki, where did the SES classes come from?

We are working on a survey for the Apache Software Foundation and are using the open demographics questions where we can to standardize the questions (as recommended by the CHAOSS D&I working group). However, we would like to have some rationale that we can defend why this question is how. We would also like a definition for these classes (maybe something similar that @alimac proposed above) to get consistent answers.