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Lower Middle Class. Generally, this subdivision of the middle class includes households with incomes in the range of $35,000–100,000. People in this group usually have a bachelor’s degree or trade certification and moderate job security, meaning moderate levels of unemployment. They are sometimes called the worker class . Some lower middle class occupations are nurses, police officers, customer service representatives, and office workers. This class also includes blue collar workers such as construction workers, plumbers, iron and steel workers, aircraft mechanics and machinists. These days, however, many skilled blue collar jobs, such as working on an oil rig or as an aircraft engineer, have excellent job security. Lower Income Class. This is the class that earns the least. It is made up of the subdivisions of Low Income and Poverty Level . Low Income. This subdivision of the Lower Income class includes clerical, agriculture, and service workers with low incomes and minimal job security. Common household incomes range from $16,000 to $35,000. They are sometimes referred to as the working poor and have some high school education. Some low income occupations are cook, cashier, retail sales clerk, and child care worker. Poverty Class. This is a subdivision of the Lower Income class. People with incomes in this class live at or below the Federal Poverty Level (“FPL”) . The FPL is a measure of income issued annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which used to determine eligibility for certain government assistance programs and benefits . In 2014, there were 46.7 million people living in poverty in America. People below the FPL are often unemployed, and or have difficulty finding even part time work. They have little education and may be high school dropouts. In fact, 31% of young adults without a high school diploma live in poverty. Currently, the FPL is defined as having an annual income at or below $11,770 for individuals and $15,930 for a family of 2. Many benefit programs exist at both the state and federal levels to help struggling low income and poverty level households. Some widely-used federal programs include: And the winner is... Median incomes are also tracked by state . Maryland is the nation’s richest state with a median income of over $73,971. Mississippi is the poorest, with a median income of $39,680. Source: US Census Bureau (2015) Fin Lit Trivia Fin Lit Trivia Fin Lit Trivia PRODUCT PREVIEW
Head Start
promotes pre-school education for low income families provides food purchasing and nutrition assistance to low-income individuals and families provides school lunches at low or no cost to students helps low-income families pay electricity and gas bills
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) National School Lunch Program (“NSLP”) Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (“LIHEAP”) Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”)
provides benefits for health insurance to families with children provides health insurance to low income families and others
Medicaid
Reflect on Learning: People in the same socioeconomic class and making about the same amount of money can have very different lifestyles depending on where they live. How might the lifestyle of a person living in Little Rock, Arkansas making a solidly middle class income of $75,000 annually differ from a person making that same amount and living in San Francisco? Answer: In Little Rock, Arkansas $75,000 is going to buy you a substantially
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Chapter 1 | Getting Personal: You and Your Money
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