Reading Flora’s question on time travel made me wonder:
How the heck do I figure out what my socio-economic class is?
I can’t answer her question until I know.
Whether you ask a country club joining MD or a food stamp redeming welfare mother, you will always get the same answer: “MIDDLE CLASS”.
Only “other people” are upper or lower class.
What’s economics got to do with it? My Airstream is between two others so I AM middle class. ( back of yall,i’m jist a ol’ boy with a car on blocks myself)
Take the date of your birth in YYMMDD format, convert to base-8. Add your street address and the distance from the center of the city in kms. Divide by your weight in lbs, and add the square root of your astrological sign. Multiply by the number of generations that you can track back who live in the same country.
This is your base number. Now come some adjustments.
Subtract 1 for every language you speak different from your native language. Add 1 if you think there is a final “r” in the name of the continent that Kenya is on.
Subtract 100 if you are now, or have ever been, on welfare or received foodstamps.
Add 100 if you (or your spouse) have more than one diamond tiara, more than one horse*, or more than one yacht. Add 50 if you have ever had an intimate dinner (fewer than 10 people) with a Rockefeller, Kennedy, Rothschild, or member of the British Royal Family.
((* if your profession involves horses, do not add the 100 points. In fact, if you have a profession at all, subtract 10 points.))
If you did not graduate from an ivy league college, subtract 10 points. If more of your income comes from a salary than from investment earnings, subtract 10 points.
If your house has more than 12 rooms (excluding closets and bathrooms), add 10 points. If you have more than one house, add 5 points. If you sleep in a cardboard box or on a park bench, or have ever done so, subtract 40 points.
If your car costs over $50,000 (or equivalent in your local currency), add 3 points. If you have only one car (or fewer) in your family, subtract 3 points.
If you have fewer than three servants, subtract 4 points.
Now,… if your score is less than 100, you are lower class. If your score is over 1000, you are upper class. Anything in the middle is … um… middle class.
Dex, you’re a card…you should be dealt with.
CK finally a rating system that makes sense. According to this I am solidly in the (let’s see carry the two and divide) um looks like I am in the middle class. I guess I have to go and buy wife another diamond tiara.
Oh well.
Jeffery
[sarcastic]Yeah yeah yeah, this is all very funny. Screwballs.[/sarcastic]
Is there any real methodology?
By the way, although it is obvious that I would be middle class are SE classes normally broken down into 9 groups (lower-lower, middle-lower, upper-lower, lower-middle, middle-middle, upper-middle, lower-upper, middle-upper, upper-upper).
Oh, God, bernard, you’re gonna make me go thru the additional questions that distinguish lower-upper-middle from upper-lower-middle?
Seriously, class is not just defined by income. Bill Gates has the income, but would not be considered “upper class”; a British duke is (probably) a member of the upper class even if he has no money. Class is defined by family and background, as much (or more so) than simple cash-on-hand.
mr. john sez:
My gulfstream is between two others, so I must be upper middle class. Bahaw!
Seriously, though, “socio-economic status” is a term of art that has nonetheless acquired real definitions over time, which definitions (you won’t be surprised to learn) often fit the axe of the person or people using the phrase. I’m looking for a definition that seems fair. If I succeed, I’ll post a link.
Livin’ on Tums, Vitamin E and Rogaine
Aw, for chrissakes, folks, all I meant was, if you’re an office worker or a store clerk, you can’t say, “I wanna be The Duke of Pozitano in the 17th century!” You’d have to be in a similar situation back then.
Upper middle, lower, my eye and Betty Martin. By the way, I’d always thought “middle class” was the worst thing you could possibly call someone! At least it was where I grew up: “Did you SEE her new furniture? How middle class . . .”
I was kidding about the last sentence (“I can’t answer the question …”), although reading your question did make me wonder how one calculated socio-economic class.
That’s what i said dex, income gots nothin to do with it.This use to be a nice neighborhood then man with his fancy ways moved in. Know what though? They aint as grand as they make out,none of there furniture even has plastic covers. I remember away back in a college course (socio 101? economics101?) a ‘formula’ almost as complicated as dex’s.it did involve income,education,civicinvolvement, family background,tastes in art etc. not so much a math formula as a ratings chart.And possibly the census bureau has some kind of definitions. but those govt. sites are screwy,besides if you go to one the govt. extacts all kinds of personal info from your computer. I’ll keep looking though.
“…”-Marx
Dex – you lost me on the first question. I guess whatever class I am, it ain’t math class!
Jess (“Base-8? What the hell is base-8? How many more remedial math classes do I need to take anyway? And, is the fact that I need remedial math a class indicator in itself?”)
I dunno. Chopped liver?
Jess a laymans explanation of base 8.
The numeric system that we work in now is base 10. 1,…10,11,…20. It progresses by tens.
Base 8 or Octal progresses by 8s. Or 1,…7,10,…17,20,…27,30, etc.
So 8 decimal is 10 octal or base 8.
Simple huh? It is mostly used in computers and not much there. Hex is more fun where everthing is base 16 and you have to use A-F with the numbers.
Dex could you change the equation to Hex.
Jeffery