There can be no doubt about whether people are defined by their income level. It is a fact that people’s income greatly determines how they are perceived by others. This is not to say that they should be judged by their income, but this is how others define them.

The level of a person’s income is judged from more than the exact amount of their earnings. When people encounter complete strangers, they can only go by appearances. So they naturally assume a very well-dressed person must have a good position, and hence must have a high income.

Being well-dressed and, by implication, having a high income assures that the person will be favorably received by strangers. Such a person will also get preferential treatment in many social and business situations. It is not merely the dress; it is the perception that such dress can be afforded by a person who has a high income.

Upon seeing a stranger who is casually dressed, people may not be very highly impressed. If the person happens to drive a very expensive car, it is assumed that the person must have a high income, and is only casually dressed because they are off from work, or that their work does not require a formal dress, in which case the judgement is altered for the better.

The same situation takes place when a casually dressed person is found to actually be a highly paid person. As soon as people learn that the casually dressed person is in a highly paid profession, such as medicine or law or engineering, or that the person is self-employed, the perception changes.

If anyone thinks that it is not the income but the type of work or position that determines people’s perceptions of others, they should think how they would judge a doctor who can barely earn a living. Or a lawyer who can barely survive. The immediate response would be, “Why, what is wrong with the person?”

A person in a position requiring high qualification, yet not being able to earn a high income signifies a lack of some sort. Such a person might be perceived as a failure, as also a self-employed person not earning a decent income would be perceived.

The level of income determines the worth of the person. This is the common perception, and this is how people are judged. People are defined by their income level, and there is nothing much that can sway people’s way of defining others in this way.

For those people who know someone intimately, their income still plays a determining role. It is fine to know that a person is intelligent, good-hearted, capable, or a character worth knowing in any other way. If the person cannot earn a high income, there must be something lacking in the person. If nothing else, the person must be lazy.

Celebrities are admired for whatever it is that they’ve become famous for. It is assumed, as a consequence, that they must make a lot of money, which they obviously do. If people hear of a celebrity who, for some reason, does not have a high income, they become suspicious. They seek reasons, such as maybe the person is on drugs, or is an alcoholic, or perhaps is on the decline in terms of accomplishment.

For anyone to claim any character or knowledge or accomplishment without the concomitant income, the immediate response is, “If the person is so good how come they cannot earn a high income?” For this is the definition by which society defines a person: The ability to earn a high income.

This is not to say it’s a good thing. A lot of decent people are quite content to live a simple life without feeling the necessity to devote their lives to earning a great amount of money. It is also true that a lot of deserving people are not able to earn a high income, despite all their efforts. Whether it’s luck or their lack of a “killer instinct” is hard to say.

Whatever the reason may be, not everyone attains to a high income level. Ideally people would be judged by much more than their earning power. But that is being idealistic. The fact, unfortunately, is that people are defined by their income level. The higher the income, the greater the regard others have for the person.