People assume that if you have nice things, a good house, a nice car, and expensive clothes, you are automatically rich. Likewise, if you don't have a lot of assets or live in a decent neighborhood, you are considered poor. This leaves out a huge population, especially in the United States: the middle class. Even within the middle class, there are different levels of categorization, such as upper middle class, lower middle class, working class, etc. Saying that there are only two categories distorts the Americans' vision.