The media perception (and almost universal subliminal messages) is that being categorised in the upper class means that you have arrived. In days of rigid class structure, most arrived in the upper class intact by sheer genetic accident, having been born with the proverbial silver spoon in one's mouth. Some others ascended by virtue of arranged marriages, pure love, or conspicuous accumulation of wealth. The rest of us settled for stainless steel, its modern version plastic or simply, no spoon at all. But however classes were characterised, the labels were there (and are still are). What has changed is the descriptive nature of class itself, who now exists within these circles, and how they got there.

In a stunning display of journalism derived from diligent research, The New York Times recently published a series of thoughtful, frank, interactive (both audio and visual) articles on the quest for financial success among classes in America. A team of reporters spent more than a year exploring ways that class - defined as a combination of income, education, wealth and occupation - influences destiny in a society that likes to think of itself as a land of unbounded opportunity.

For those of you wishing to review the series, it was published in the Times on intermittent dates starting with May 15, 2005, then May 16, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29, June 1, 5, and ending on June 12 with Angela Whitiker's Climb, an epic personal success story that is truly astonishing. The series runs through eleven different topics • 1: Overview • 2: Health • 3: Marriage • 4: Religion • 5: Education • 6: Immigration • 7: New Status Markers • 8: The ‘Relo' Class • 9: The Hyper-Rich • 10: Class and Culture • 11: Up From the Projects. The series will be published by Time Books in paperback in September.

Read a three paragraph excerpt directly from the first Times article by Janny Scott and David Leonhardt:

“There was a time when Americans thought they understood class. The upper crust vacationed in Europe and worshiped an Episcopal God. The middle class drove Ford Fairlanes, settled the San Fernando Valley and enlisted as company men. The working class belonged to the unions, voted Democratic and did not take cruises to the Caribbean.

“Today, the country has gone a long way toward an appearance of classlessness. Americans of all sorts are awash in luxuries that would have dazzled their grandparents. Social diversity has erased many of the old markers.

It has become harder to read people's status in the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, the votes they cast, the god they worship, the colour of their skin. The contours of class have blurred; some say they have disappeared.

“But class is still a powerful force in American life. Over the past three decades, it has come to play a greater, not lesser, role in important ways. At a time when education matters more than ever, success in school remains linked tightly to class. At a time when the country is increasingly integrated racially, the rich are isolating themselves more and more. At a time of extraordinary advances in medicine, class differences in health and lifespan are wide and appear to be widening.”

My husband often says, and he is correct - be sure to write about Bermuda, not what people are doing in other countries. In reading this series, however, I was immediately struck by eerie similarities of striving for upward mobility happening in the US happening in parallel here. Granted there are differences, but some of the broader messages about the perceived stratification between lower, middle, and upper class can be interpreted wherever one can change the word America to Western society. You decide if the similarities outweigh the differences.

The new upper class today is composed of those that have worked (or innovated) their way to extreme success. We are treated to an entire article about the stages of success (and splendiferous buildings) on the island of Nantucket where old money, is not only old, but growing ever miniscule, compared to the fortunes of the nouveau riche. Those natives, whose ancestors survived on the island for generations while it evolved into the culturally quaint and historically gorgeous place it is today, are no longer able to survive in the same manner. The stark reality is that overbuilding by new money (fuelled by the free market) has outpaced old money while forcing those with little money to relocate to the mainland in order to afford any quality of life. Did the original natives understand that the first big real estate deal would kindle the loss of their right to live at home?

Life at the top of the heap isn't just better for those who do arrive, it is life lived far longer, it is life healthier, it is life as a smarter educated individual, it is life with closer tiesto religion than ever before, it is life tied to having networks of family and relationship support, yet its status symbols of distinguishment are more elusive than ever. Sheer luck (or seizing opportunity) and the willingness to take extraordinary risks also play a significant part in many individual's success odyssey.

But the overwhelming message is that education is the way up. The statistics on the wage gap are staggering, particularly as men get older in the workforce. In #5 Education, No Degree, and No Way Back to the Middle chronicles non-college graduate men succeeding at first, only to see their comfortable middle class 20 years later recede abruptly into the future. On average, US men in their early 40s without a college degree made about $42,000, $23,000 less than a four-year college degree - $65,000. The gap grows worse for non-college at age 52 with degreed workers earning 81 percent more than those without.

Advertisement in The Royal Gazette, “College for Working Adults - don't' let work and personal commitments prevent you from career and educational goals. Information Session June 22 6 p.m. at Bermuda College contact Duranda Greene 239-4044”.

Education - get it while and whenever you can, you need every single bit of it, no matter how old you are!

Martha Harris Myron CPA/PFS CFPr is a VP and Senior Private Banker, Private Client Services, Bank of Bermuda Member HSBC Group. She specialises in providing comprehensive financial solutions for individuals and their families.

She can be reached at 299-5578 Confidential e-mail can be directed to marthamyron@northrock.bm

The article expresses the opinion of the author alone. Under no circumstances is the content of this article to be taken as specific individual investment advice, nor as a recommendation to buy/ sell any investment product. The Editor of The Royal Gazette has final right of approval over headlines, content, and length/brevity of article.