People assume that if you have nice things, a nice house, a nice car and fancy clothes then you are automatically rich. Likewise, if you don't have many assets or live in a decent neighborhood, you are classified as poor. This excludes a huge population of people, especially in America: 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 there are only two categories distorts Americans' view.