Work Ethic In America

Work Ethic in America

"Nearly 36 million Americans -- one in eight -- now live in poverty and tens of millions more are considered working poor" (Melvin Claxton & Ronald J. Hansen). This quote shows that a large part of the population fit into the lower class. They make a nice target, but aren't the only class that is effected by the American work ethic. The American work ethic is a job standard created as an expectation put on the shoulders of the lower, middle, and upper class in many different ways. One class might be effected more than another, but in the end we are all created equal.

Lets start with the lower class, which is made up of people who live below the poverty level. This class isn't know for how hard they work or for how much money they make. Some would say they are probably know better for not working, but that is a misconception. There might be some people in the lower class that don't work, but there is a majority of them who do work and are trying to make an honest living. They are effected the most by the American work ethic because they are the farthest away from it. American has set the work standard pretty high, which means that the lower class is going to have to work extra hard to meet it.

I was never poor growing up, but I had a lot of friends who weren't as fortunate to have parents who had stable jobs. I would watch as they would suffer through the school year with clothes they didn't like and supplies that wasn't adequate. It was even harder to see there parents, who would work harder and harder to try and get a break, but it would never come. No matter how hard they tried, they could never seem to move up to the middle class and make a better life for themselves and their children.

The middle class is probably the most well know class in the United States. It is better know as the working class and the backbone of the country. For many in the lower class, the middle class is there work standard that they want to achieve and live up to. The American work ethic effects this class the most since the middle class is a great example of hard work. Many think of the middle class as the hard workers and the ones who keep this country going. Even though they work hard, they still are effected.

I grew up in the middle class. My parents were always able to provide for me and my siblings and I grew up with a good life. I soon realized that even though my parents managed, there were always hardships to face and live up to. Both of them have demanding jobs and no matter how hard they worked, there always seemed to be more and more to prove and achieve.

You will always find a very few people who worked very hard to get into the upper class, but there are also many who didn't have