[missjohn31620498]

If you've grown up in luxury (multi-millionaire family) and enjoyed the finer things in life all your life, would you work as, say, a waitress or security guard if misfortune hit and your family found itself broke? I'm not talking about people like struggling musicians or actors who have an unexpected hit or two and are suddenly rolling in dough, then lose it all in a wild lifestyle. I'm talking about people who come from families who have been rich for generations. How low would you go if the money disappeared?

User Detail :  

Name : missjohn31620498, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Afro-Caribbean, Religion : Christian, Age : 29, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : administrative assistant, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[Amber31551]

How low would I go? I don't consider waitresses or security men to be 'lower' than doctors or lawyers. Lord knows I've run into waitresses and security guards who are politer than doctors and lawyers I've known. For me, manners, compassion (and maybe learning) are the only yardsticks of class. In the United States, we have no real 'upper echelon' that consists of families who have been in the upper echelon for generations (like in Europe), but we do have a lot of people who WISH they were high class. Here it's usually measured by money rather than background, which is pretty dangerous when you equate having money with 'high' and having none with 'low.' I would equate having heart with 'high' and having none with 'low.' This is why I work in the non-profit sector, making much less money than I would doing the same job for corporations or the government. I come from a dirt-poor background, mostly because none of my family seems to be able to fit into the machine. I've worked at fast food and cleaning, and I've got to say, it does suck, because people use you to make themselves feel good. 'She's only a waitress, and I've got a diamond ring,' etc. I wouldn't feel bad about working as a fast-food robot again if I were hard on my luck from an aspect of prestige. My mother taught me that any work done well has dignity. Rather I would feel bad about working as a fast-food robot because its so boring and dead-end. I'm not rich, so maybe this isn't the answer you're looking for, but I do think that if I became rich, I wouldn't want my modest lifestyle to change too much. Money can't buy happiness, and that's the truth.

User Detail :  

Name : Amber31551, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : Barrow, State : AK Country : United States, Occupation : Development, Social class : Lower class, 

[Chris32196]

I don't think they'd know how to handle that situation. More than likely they would panic, because they know they won't have the luxuries that they were accustomed to. In the long run, they wouldn't have any type of job skills to get a decent job because they figured they had no need for those skills. Also, considering how sensitive people are lately, they would probably commit suicide because they know they wouldn't dare lift a finger to work and have an 'I'd rather die, than work' mentality. Although not all familes exhibit this type of behavior, the small majority that does didn't prepare for the future, if something should happen and the money disappears.

User Detail :  

Name : Chris32196, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Age : 24, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Joanne30570]

Wow, I've been dying for somone to ask a question like that. I don't know what 'class' I fit into. I grew up in a family with a mercedes, two homes, pretty comfortable. But my grandmother's parents told her she had to work in the fields rather than go to high school. I was pressured to go into a career that had nothing to do with my personality. So, in order to come clean, I determined I'd cut myself off from family money, and make it work on my own. Not only have I been homeless, waitressed, worked retail, driven a beater car, worked 60 hour weeks or more for many years, but you would not believe the hostility I got from co-workers who think I don't deserve to work or follow my dream just because I stand up straight, and speak in (mostly) grammatically correct sentences. People make too much of a big deal out of 'class'. I agree with the person who said, 'It's a great thing to have a beautiful mind, and better still to have a beautiful heart.'

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Name : Joanne30570, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 40, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : administrative, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Marie]

What intrigues me about this question is the assumption that certain people are 'better off' if they are wealthy or come from a wealthy family. History has taught us that people have reached financial success though they have come from a poor family. Some rich (even royalty) families have experienced dissatisfaction amid their wealth. Solomon the great was said to be 'the richest king,' yet all he wanted was to 'enjoy his meal.' I would like to believe I am skilled enough to repond adequately to any situation in life. I do what I need to based on the situation at the time. Failure or success is based on our response to a situation, rather than the situation itself.

User Detail :  

Name : Marie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Shoulder injury, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 52, City : Porterville, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Nurse, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[B. Heard]

My family will never run out of money - we come from generations of successful business people. However, each generation has learned to sustain itself despite wealthy parents. Each of the children in our family will always be taken care of in times of need out of love, but this is not a license for lifelong leeching. My father, his father, myself and two siblings have each amassed our own wealth, big and small, through personal achievement with the encouragement of our family. Emotional support is the core of our household, not financial. There are the exceptions: my alcoholic uncle with his wife and three children live off the money of his father. It is his choice to make little of himself. The rest of us learn to depend on only ourselves for money and the strong bonds of love between us for everything else.

User Detail :  

Name : B. Heard, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Mexican/ Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, file clerk, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Butterfly]

I have the luck to be from the European 'upper echelon' described by Amber. My family fits your frame: I occasionally enjoy real caviar, foie gras, silk and even a friend's castle. However, I am taught the difference between income (self-earned and spendable) and heritage (family owned and should be passed to the next generation). So I do work. Most of us do. I do not have the fitness to be a security guard, but I did occasionally work as a waitress at the student watering hole of my university. I would go as low as anybody else if the money disappeared. But, like my ancestors did, I intend to learn the skills required to avoid such misfortune.

User Detail :  

Name : Butterfly, Gender : F, Age : 30, City : Liege, State : NA Country : Belgium, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Brian23020]

This has happened more than a few times and is documented in both history and literature (Vonnegut's 'Dead Eye Dick,' for one). What usually happens is more of a long-term (two or three generation) decline rather than a big drop. Trust funds that deep are soaked in property, CDs and other safe investments. But when a big 'fall' does take place, the kids usually don't end up as waiters, but rather mid-level managers at their 'old family friends' companies. If they have the same genes that made their families money, they'll rise back up slowly, though never reaching the apex again. If not, they'll be just like every descendent of an English royalty that showed up in the United States between 1780 and 1800: indistinguishable from the regular populace within a few generations. I would disagree with the earlier posts that said these people wouldn't have any survival skills. I was a scholarship case at a 'rich' private college. What the rich kids lacked (very obviously I might add) in what we would call common sense (don't pay $5 a pound for hamburger at the corner store), they made up for in social skills with 'their types.' When it comes to an interview at grandpa's drinking buddy's investment firm, that's what will count. Those places are full of those types, taking entry-level jobs sorting mail and making coffee. Some rise from there, some don't.

User Detail :  

Name : Brian23020, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Peru, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : journalist, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kristina]

Although I would not classify my parents as being extremely wealthy, we did live nicely. Our neighborhood was located in one of the most expensive communities in our area. I also had many privileges not available to most children (especially African Americans), such as going on cruises, attending private schools and basically getting whatever clothes, toys and whatnot I wanted. I didn't have a need for anything.

However, my family environment (especially in my teenage years) was very dysfunctional. With my father being alcoholic, controlling and emotionally abusive, I had no problems leaving when I got of age. Many people couldn't understand this. They would see my house and assume I was happy, but I wasn't. I wanted to have freedom and was willing to do whatever I needed to obtain it. This meant doing what your post said: taking a 'lower-class' job and 'suffering' through my own bills, and so on. I wanted to establish a sense of independence.

So for me, I WOULD take whatever job available to support myself. I have no qualms in taking, let's say, a janitorial or fast-food job to make ends met. Money is money, and one should not feel a certain type of industry is degrading, especially when it is used as a stepping stone to something better.

User Detail :  

Name : Kristina, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : Transcriber, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[A. D. Smith]

I come from a family that has been wealthy for generations. By a misguided investment choice, my father lost everything his father and father's father had built. When I was in high school, I chose the profession of bartender, to the horror and disgrace of my brothers and sisters - and especially my mother. I felt estranged from my family, even before I made my career choice. It depends on your character strength and willingness to move forward no matter what happens . If you choose to wallow in self-pity, then at some point you'll go under. Everyone deals with bad fortune in one way or another. I still make a very good living and am happy and content with where I am today. As for the rest of my family, they are all working in various professions, and although we miss the lifestyle we had once, our love of life did not diminish. In short, the way you live your life and view your world depends on you, and you only. Even us 'rich' folk are strong enough to bend.

User Detail :  

Name : A. D. Smith, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Seaside, State : OR Country : United States, Occupation : bartender, Education level : Technical School, 

[Drew25684]

Most people who grow up rich have an understanding of business relations and know many wealthy and important business men and women. They would not need to work as a security guard because they would be given a poistion at a company somewhere.

User Detail :  

Name : Drew25684, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Motown, State : WV Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[CSR]

IF THERE WERE ANOTHER STOCK MARKET CRASH LIKE THE ONE IN 1929, ALL THE MONEY KNOWLEDGE WOULD MAKE NO DIFFERENTS. I THINK THE QUESTION COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER STATED.

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Name : CSR, City : RICHMOND, State : VA Country : United States, 

[Allison31435]

What you must understand is that most people who've been wealthy all their lives also have received an excellent education. I once applied for a job at a pet store as a cashier (for the experience); they insisted that I go into an accounting position instead, which paid three times as much, because of my educational background. Yes, it is true that others in your financial circle will help you find a decent job; however, if one of the 'formerly gainfully unemployed' were truly in dire straits, they would not hesitate to work hard in construction, waitressing, etc. Yes, the upper class lives in its ivory tower, but we are not immune to hard-edged employment.

User Detail :  

Name : Allison31435, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 33, City : Solon, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[LILY BROWN]

Dear Sir, my name is lily brown ,22 years of age, and in ghana.I have taken delight in to working with you .More so i have the thurndersy of taking care of children irrepective of who they are. Hope to hear from you as soon as possible.My contact address is box dc 1257,dansoman Accra Ghana. West Africa.

User Detail :  

Name : LILY BROWN, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : lence, Race : ghananian, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : ACCRA, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper class, 

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