I think to be poor in this country is to encounter an enormous, enormous array of obstacles, including assumptions about your intelligence, your educational level. And so it's actually quite rational sometimes for people to try to present themselves as middle class, maybe even to try to signal wealth with the clothes that they buy or the cars that they drive. I don't think it's simply aspirational. I also think it's them trying to avoid the discrimination that they might face if their real income level were disclosed.
