Okay, I think we’re on the same page. Some people make themselves lower class while continuing to pretend to be middle class; digging themselves into a hole by not living within their means.
If you take a person at the age of 18 who comes from a "lower class" background, do you see them following this trajectory over the next 5-10 years of their life?
1. Borrow $100,000+ for a college education
2. Graduate at the age of 22, get a job paying $40,000/year, and immediately buy a new car
3. Buy a new $350,000+ home with no money down and a variable-rate mortgage
This might actually happen, but probably in very rare cases. Usually, this type of road through life is taken by someone who has grown up in fairly affluent (middle class at a bare minimum) circumstances.
This is why you never saw any "lower class" people at any of those Occupy Wall Street demonstrations.