So... Hell doesn't seem so bad.

[nuncius]

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
LevelScorePurgatory (Repenting Believers)Very LowLevel 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)HighLevel 2 (Lustful)HighLevel 3 (Gluttonous)ModerateLevel 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)Very LowLevel 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)

Comments

[dsthenes]

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!

Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
Level | Score
Purgatory | Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo | Moderate
Level 2 | High
Level 3 | Moderate
Level 4 | Low
Level 5 | Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis | Very High
Level 7 | Very High
Level 8- the Malebolge | High
Level 9 - Cocytus | Low

[branmart]

Not to mention that graduating college and working in a white-collar job isn't always going to net you 50 K a year. Starting pay for social workers w/ the state is about 34,800. Interesting, especially considering the poverty awareness email that recently went out to all the Human Services workers in the state. It pointed out that a LIVING wage would be at least 36K a year for a family of four. Hypocrites.

Forgot this part...

[branmart]

I've never thought of myself as particularly violent? Weird. The rest wasn't too surprising, though.

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Seventh Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
LevelScorePurgatory (Repenting Believers)Very LowLevel 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)HighLevel 2 (Lustful)Very HighLevel 3 (Gluttonous)Very LowLevel 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)Very LowLevel 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)LowLevel 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)Very HighLevel 7 (Violent)Very HighLevel 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)ModerateLevel 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)Moderate
Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

[arghreality]

The 'middle class' don't HAVE to live the way they do, with that amount of consumption. Their minds are trapped up in that system... they could live comfortably with their money if they did it a little simpler.

[nuncius]

Not when rent and food makes up 90% of your take home pay. Let alone doctor's bills.

[renideo]

Now that I've finally found time to catch up on livejournal . .

I agree with mord. I'd argue that you have to place primary fault on the institutions which mould the preferences of consumption in relation to meeting the 'perceived' requirements of middle class status, and I would equally agree that the overarching economic system has trapped many people in a deadly situation financially.

In fact, from what I've read recently on the US credit industry, i've learned entirely new dimensions to my negative sentiment over it. We just recently hit a 50 year high on US foreclosures, re-enforcing what John has been saying.

In principle the Us has a 'high' home ownership rate, if less than in the UK, but in reality, right now, 'ownership' is becoming an increasingly dodgy term.