Are you lottery class?
Apparently there is a new way of allocating social class. The new class concept ties into the articles that I wrote about debt and lottery tickets and the windfall mentality that some people in debt have. This new social class breakdown is simply split into two categories. The investor class and the lottery class.
Barbara Dafoe Whitehead has written a very interesting article on the subject entitled ‘A Nation in debt’. In this article Whitehead breaks down the distinction between the classes and how this new social class system came about. Whitehead also writes about the death of thrift. I highly recommend reading the article. It is quite long but well worth the effort.
In the meantime here is a summary of what she says about the two classes.
The Investor class
“The investor class, with ample access to institutions that foster wealth-building discipline, is served by a bevy of insurance agents, tax lawyers, stockbrokers, tax accountants, deferred compensation experts and investment bankers. They are likely to work in organizations with 401(k) plans, profit-sharing, Keogh plans, deferred income compensation and retirement savings programs.”
The lottery class
“The lottery class, on the other hand, works in jobs that offer few pro-thrift benefits. As of 2004, seventy million of
To me it smacks of ‘the haves’ and ‘the have nots’. That could be an oversimplification of the situation but at first glance that’s the way it appears. The question you have to ask yourself is what class do you fit into?
Why is it important to know which class you are?
Well I know which class I would prefer to be in and that is the investor class. Am I there yet? Yes and No – I have debt but I also have access to financial advice and retirement plans. I personally don’t think the definition of the two classes is as clear cut as it could be. I think there is room for a third class – the “I’m in debt but hoping to be an Investor one day soon’ class.
Previous articles
In the past I’ve written about the lottery and how it offers a brief glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak financial landscape. I stand by that article but I want to point out that in a follow on article I spoke about the windfall mentality and the way some people who are in debt cling to the hope that they will have a windfall from the lottery or some other source and that all their problems will be solved. This windfall mentality prevents them from making any real progress on reducing their debt and as a result they become more entrenched in their belief that a windfall will save them. All the while the interest on their debts mount.
Just because you do the lottery does not mean that you are lottery class. I personally think class has everything to do with attitude. Rich people do the lottery – Whitehead’s article points this out – they just spend a lot less in both monetary and relative income terms than people in the lottery class.
So which are you?
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Posted in staying out of debt
September 21st, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Very interesting article. The ironic thing is that almost everyone has access to all information through the Internet. And here in the US, we have the ability to move from one class to another, simply by making wise decisions with our money and by learning self discipline (which can be self taught). The pendulum has swung so far toward debt, that I’m predicting that many Millennials will swing it back the other direction because of the largess and excesses of their boomer parents.
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Hi Ron,
Thanks for the comment.
You make a great point about the ability to move from one class to another.
As I mentioned in the article I believe that class is an attitude more than anything else and like you said it is possible to change your class by changing who you are through personal development.