Stress and Class

Author Timothy Noah argues rich people aren’t the only ones stressed out. Noah uses the phrases “haves” to describe the rich and “have- nots” to describe the low-earners. In the second paragraph Noah quotes Dalton Conley a chairman of sociology at NYU. The paragraph that was quoted states that: rich people are more stressed and work longer hours, which many of the so called “have- nots” may disagree with, myself included. One part of evidence that can be agreed upon is how the work week of the “have-nots” are described; Noah describes it as entailing dangerous physical labor and a higher risk for getting fired because of the simplicity of replacing a low-earner (have-not). That seems stressful to me. The article supports “have-nots” when the evidenced form John Tierney’s experiment with blood pressure is utilized. Two women are used in the experiment. One average single mom and a Park Avenue Stockbroker, their blood pressures are recorded throughout their daily routines. The stockbroker faced black Monday and the Average single mom went on with her normal work day and still experienced more stress supported by the high blood pressure reading, and continued when she went home to care for her children. The experiment supports the fact that the have-nots also have stressful jobs too. I can totally relate to this experiment because I once faced high blood pressure when working for a busy family practice doctor. Noah supports the have-nots and disagrees with Dalton Conley’s remark that rich people are more stressed and does a good job at convincing the audience with his supporting evidence.