INEQUALITY: POVERTY AND WEALTH

Transcription

1 INEQUALITY: POVERTY AND WEALTH

2 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

3 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

4 Social Stratification Social Stratification To rank individuals based on objective criteria, often wealth, power, and/or prestige Various ranking systems E.g., caste system, feudal system, Cuba Communist party member, Dubai royal family, class system Level of stratification varies by society Inequality leads to social problems E.g., crime, poverty, family problems, health problems

5 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

6 Measuring social class Measuring social class Income Refers to the money received for work or through investments Wealth Refers to all material possessions including income Power Prestige Culture

7 Measuring social class Income distribution (see 2009 quintile slide) Income change over time (see income change over time slides)

8 In 2009, the highest-earning quintile earned a greater share of the nation s total income than it did in 1968; all other income groups saw their shares decline.

9 < $20,453 > $100,000 $38,551 - $61,801 $24,554 - $38,550 $61,802 - $100,000 Median = $49,777 Household income distribution - About 60 percent of Americans receive less than 27 percent of the nation s income. - The wealthiest fifth of the population receive nearly 50 percent of the money.

10 - Income inequality has increased over the last 50 years. - Since 1975, the poorest fifth s share of income declined steadily. - Since 1975, the wealthiest fifth s share has been increasing.

11 Incomes for the bottom 90 percent dropped 0.1 percent from 1970 to 2000.

12 Measuring social class Wealth Includes income and assets In the U.S. the top 1 percent of wealth holders in the United States has more total wealth than the bottom 90% combined Wealth is used to maintain and increase social class. (Thomas Shapiro)

13 Measuring social class Power The ability to get people to do what you want without having to make them do so Persuasive power Means that you use direct or indirect methods to get what you want E.g., Oprah, Supreme Court

14 Measuring social class Prestige Refers to the level of esteem associated with our status and social standing

15 Measuring social class culture Class differences can be seen as culture differences. (How Thick Is Your Bubble? Charles Murray)

16 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

17 Class in America Upper or Elite Class Very small in number and holds significant wealth 3 million people Upper Middle Class Consists of high-income members of society who are well educated but do not belong to elite membership of the super wealthy Income usually over $100,000 per year 15 percent of population Middle Class Have moderate incomes ($40,000 to $80,000 per year) 34 percent of population Varies from low-paid white-collar workers to well-paid blue-collar workers

18 Class in America Working Class Makes up about 30 percent of population and comprises people who completed high school and lower levels of education Lower Class The ones who truly feel the effects of poverty Often live paycheck to paycheck, if they are employed at all 37 million people More than two-thirds of African Americans and 60 percent of Hispanics in the nation live near or below the poverty line

19 Class in America The Urban Underclass The homeless and the chronically unemployed Often live in substandard housing in neighborhoods with poor schools, high crime, and heavy drug use Rarely have health care coverage and often lack a high school education Sociologist William J. Wilson Both their lack of vision and lack of role models are what make it difficult for many to imagine any other way of life (see Wilson slides)

20 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

21 The Effects of Social Class Neighborhoods Growing up in a wealthy neighborhood Children from these areas do better in school, have lower risk of teen pregnancies, and have higher standardized test scores Disadvantaged communities Lower birth weights, poorer health, and lower levels of education

22 The Effects of Social Class Health Health and socioeconomic status (SES) have been found to be linked Those with greater SES tend to enjoy better health, whereas those with a lower SES tend to have poorer health Poor women with children, who frequently have insufficient diets, suffer higher rates of mental depression and worse physical health than wealthier counterparts Poverty influences access to food, and food influences both physical and mental health An individual s health influences his social stratification across a lifetime

23 The Effects of Social Class Family Family composition appears to be a main factor that affects whether or not children live in poverty U.S. Census Bureau found correlations between family form and poverty rates Female-headed households have poverty rates nearly three times higher than national rate for all families Female poverty rates also higher than rates for households headed by single men Families with children (see next slide)

24 Age - Children are more likely to be poor than adults.

25 The Effects of Social Class Education Jonathan Kozol Schools in urban communities frequently lack basic educational supplies Dramatic differences lay in structure of system Places with higher property taxes receive more educational funding

26 The Effects of Social Class Social Mobility Term that describes ability to change social classes Horizontal Mobility Refers to moving within same status category Intragenerational Mobility Occurs when individual changes social standing, especially in the workforce Intergenerational Mobility Refers to change family members make from one social class to next through generations

27 The Effects of Social Class Structural Mobility Occurs when social changes cause many people to change social status simultaneously Exchange Mobility Suggests that within the United States, each social class contains a relatively fixed number of people

28 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

29 Poverty History of Poverty How Does the United States Define Poverty?

30 History of Poverty Great Depression of 1929 Franklin D. Roosevelt s New Deal Aided struggling farmers Reformed questionable financial and business practices Promoted the recovery of the economy Social Security Act of 1935 Reduced poverty among elderly, widowed, unemployed, and disabled

31 History of Poverty Great Society and War on Poverty of the 1960s and 1970s (Johnson) Peace Corps Job Corps Head Start Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) Medicare Medicaid Older Americans Act Food Stamp Act

32 How Does the United States Define Poverty? Transitional Poverty Temporary state that occurs when someone goes without a job for a short period of time Marginal Poverty Occurs when person lacks stable employment Residual Poverty This type is chronic and multigenerational Relative Poverty State that occurs when we compare our financial standing and material possessions to those around us

33 roughly, the poverty line is calculated by multiplying three times the cost of an economy food plan

34 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

35 Theoretical approaches to stratification Functionalism Conflict theory Symbolic interactionism

36 Functionalism Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore Every system tends toward equilibrium, so inequality in the U.S. is inevitable even essential for society to function smoothly Society has various positions that need to be filled The more important the position is, the rarer the skill or the longer the training period required for it Occupations that are greatly rewarded in our society are the ones that require the most skills The Davis and Moore Thesis suggests that the U.S. is a meritocracy Meritocracy Argument States that those who get ahead in society do so based on their own merit

37 Conflict Theory Conflict theorists generally follow the ideas of Karl Marx Stratification occurs because the proletariat (workers) are exploited by the bourgeoisie (owners) Sociologist Melvin Tumin Few things affect a person as much as social class (not a fair system) There are things other than money that motives people to go into certain occupations (e.g., desire to help others, calling) Suggests that we reward certain occupations because we re forced to (e.g., professional athletes)

38 Symbolic Interactionism Interactionists often look at the meaning behind social problems William Ryan Suggests that when people look at inequality, they tend to view those at the bottom as creators or co-creators of their problem Blaming the Victim Involves blaming those who suffer from a social problem for that problem Believes that such a process ignores the structural problems of the society Sociologist William J. Wilson (2009) Suggests that the mentality of blaming the victim prevents us from actually seeing social structural problems that lead to inequality

39 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

40 The Welfare System Two separate philosophies that guide the U.S. welfare system Residual Welfare System of relief intended for people with jobs whose earnings are not enough to support them E.g., TANF Institutional Welfare Part of first line of defense against poverty Assistance offered on preventive basis, and no time limit is imposed E.g., public education

41 The Welfare System Until 1996, the U.S. welfare system was run as an entitlement program In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Created Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, which changed the welfare system drastically

42 The Welfare System Through the TANF program: A person is only allowed to receive government assistance for a total of five years and only up to two years at a time The person s children will not receive aid throughout their childhoods Recent data show that two-thirds of those who were on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (program in effect before TANF) were never on the program longer than two years

43 The Welfare System One of the driving forces behind TANF was the emphasis on job training for the poor Because TANF assistance only lasts for two years at a time, longterm training options, such as obtaining college degree, are impossible Data show that the transition from welfare to work usually results in jobs that don t pay a living wage

44 Government benefits can significantly reduce poverty.

45 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation

46 Taxation United States makes use of two separate forms of taxation: Progressive Taxation (see marginal tax rate slide) A system in which people who earn more pay higher taxes Regressive Taxation A system that taxes everyone the same percentage of money, but results in the poor paying a higher percentage than the rich

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49 Taxation does not seem to impact economic competitiveness.

50 There is a strong positive relationship between tax revenues and inequality reduction.

51 Government transfers reduce inequality much more than taxation.

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53 Discussion tax the rich Should the 400 highest earning Americans pay more in income tax? 29.2% (1992) 21.5% (2008) Will investors stop investing because of higher tax rates? The rich did not stop investing during the 1980s and 1990s. Could higher taxes cause the rich to hire more workers? What does the evidence from the 1980s to 2000s suggest? During the higher-tax years between 1980 and 2000, 40 million jobs were created.

54 Discussion -- lottery Is it a voluntary tax on the poor and working class? Households with incomes more than $60,000 play less. Does it increase funds for projects?

55 Economic Inequality Social Stratification Measuring Social Class Class in America The Effects of Social Class Poverty Theoretical Perspectives The Welfare System Taxation