Did You Do Any of These 6 Activities Today? Then You’ve Got Class Privilege

[Photographer]

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/12/everyday-class-privilege/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare

When I landed my first-ever full-time, salaried job, I experienced firsthand what class mobility felt like. Just like that – in what felt like an instant – everything changed.

I could finally go out to happy hour without counting my drinks. I could budget to buy really good gifts for my family during the holidays. I could afford to buy fresh produce every week at the grocery store.

But I never stopped being aware of how different life had been when I was underemployed, underpaid, overworked, and stretched for cash.

Class privilege can show up in really big, visible ways in our world.

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2. You Paid for Convenience

You’re running late, so you scrap your plan to make coffee and run to Starbucks instead. You’re working late hours, so you pay a little extra for Instacart delivery to grab groceries for dinner. You’re applying for jobs and going to interviews, so you hire a sitter. It’s late and you’re hungry, so you order take-out.

The ability to choose convenience – even in moderation – despite its added costs is very common in our culture.

Nobody thinks it’s gaudy to be seen with a pizza box, and people aren’t going to be shocked and awed by the fact that you hire a nanny for the weekends. These are seen as normal, everyday choices.

But for lots of folks, they’re experiences that are financially out of reach.

Most parents earning minimum wage or working in other low-wage jobs can’t afford child care. Some folks budget so tightly that even that $2.50 iced coffee will break the bank. And close to 50 million Americans are food insecure.

<SNIP> The entire piece at the above link. Worth the read if only for a reminder.