A person may look at a waitress and believe that they do not make as much money as a college graduate with a degree in Engineering. They are probably correct in their assumption. However, that may just be one aspect of their income(s). For example, the waitress may be a freelance writer or may have a second job or a website in which there is significant income from selling merchandise. Or perhaps the waitress is retired and receiving a pension for that career and is now working as waitress just for the extra income and to continue being productive and serve society. Therefore, the waitresses’ overall income may be closer to the engineer’s than the observer would know. 

There is more to everything than meets the eye. Although it is true that people often judge, or define, people based on perceived income levels and stereotypes, the open-minded individual will at least take all facets into consideration prior to forming an opinion.

Often people may perceive that someone with a lesser income level lacks the ambition to further themselves through education. They may be seen as drifters who have never tried to truly find their way and that they lack the competitive edge and strong worth ethic that will seat them in a position that may provide a higher income.  There may also be the assumption that they are less-than adequate parents because they are setting the example that any job or position in life will do; children may then assume that higher education and ambition is of no use, and that they, like their parents, should just settle for whatever they can get and be happy with it.

Defining society by their income levels is a social science all in itself and the notions are dangerous. It is one of the many social justice evils of everyday life and has been since the beginning of time when kings, queens, and clerics were relegated to a status far beyond that of the street sweeper and domestic servant. These timeless beliefs are just that – timeless.

It will only be through the socialization of society to different people and cultures that people may then begin to reassess their thinking and assumptions and consider attaining a mindset that people – whatever their income levels – are to be respected for what they do, how they do it, and not for what they earn.