Same, it's a normal word in my vocabulary. It's a classic word that's been in English for centuries. I never thought of it as a "lesser" or "simpler" term.

Though I can't deny that ever since the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, English words have had a split of "class" between words from native English/Germanic origins vs words from French/Latin. It's why we have multiple terms for so many things, with the ones from the French rulers often being perceived as "fancier" than the ones that the "common" English natives used. Like how a "boutique" is fancier than a "shop," or how rich people live in "mansions," not "houses."

With that being said, I use it for all manner of people, including for "rich folk." Maybe I'm subconsciously connecting with the common people (in that I'm one of them), or maybe I just like the way it sounds. Either way, I'm not choosing the word based on the subject at hand, I'm choosing it because it's a perfectly cromulent word and I like it.

You can, maybe its an Americanism and outside of America you'd get weird looks, but folks is a good way to refer to a group of people?