Poverty, Middle Class, Wealth, And Inequality

I am 34 years old and I am still not sure how I economically or fiscally fit into society. I guess to put myself in a category I would need the definition of poverty, middle class, wealth, and inequality. There is a Webster’s Dictionary meaning for all those words but the true definitions vary depending on one’s place in society. I am clearly not wealthy or I would be laying on the beaches of the Cayman Islands right now. According to the State of Massachusetts poverty guidelines, I am not “poor.” I like to define myself as “stuck on the margins” (Brooks, 2014).
Many think by raising the minimum wage that it will solve our poverty issues. It is impossible to break the cycle of poverty when low-income families are not offered the opportunity