White collar workers have entry level “administrative” positions and temp-worker positions that pay minimum wage or barely above it. People who do data entry, processing, secretarial duties, call centers, etc. are often considered “low skill” as well and kept in cubicle hell. I know a guy who has a college degree in business and still works in one such position full time for only around 35k per year in a relatively expensive state, that’s not exactly living high on the hog. The class of middle income white collar college graduate is shrinking rapidly and being automated/offshored, a large percentage of “white collar workers” are working class and barely above poverty line living in a shitty apartment.
So the divide between white collar and educated vs. blue collar and uneducated is faker than ever, as it’s not even backed by special compensation for white collars anymore to reaffirm the divide. It’s a purely cultural and gender divide, the nerds/girls and the jocks/immigrants (women overwhelmingly work these low income white collar positions).
Yes there’s a degree of reproletarianization at hand that is materially breaking down the visible aspects of the divide. The culture is playing catch-up.
White collar workers have entry level “administrative” positions and temp-worker positions that pay minimum wage or barely above it. People who do data entry, processing, secretarial duties, call centers, etc. are often considered “low skill” as well and kept in cubicle hell. I know a guy who has a college degree in business and still works in one such position full time for only around 35k per year in a relatively expensive state, that’s not exactly living high on the hog. The class of middle income white collar college graduate is shrinking rapidly and being automated/offshored, a large percentage of “white collar workers” are working class and barely above poverty line living in a shitty apartment.
So the divide between white collar and educated vs. blue collar and uneducated is faker than ever, as it’s not even backed by special compensation for white collars anymore to reaffirm the divide. It’s a purely cultural and gender divide, the nerds/girls and the jocks/immigrants (women overwhelmingly work these low income white collar positions).
Yes there’s a degree of reproletarianization at hand that is materially breaking down the visible aspects of the divide. The culture is playing catch-up.