Unit 7: Poverty
Readings
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/05/17/AR2009
051702053.html?referrer=emailarticle

"Problems of Work and Economy," by
Kornblum and Julian, in your text.

"Media Magic: Making Class
Invisible," by Mantsios, in your
text. (DB #2)

"Concomitants of Poverty," by
Kornblum and Julian, in your text.

"Did Welfare Reform Work?
Implications for 2003 and Beyond," by
Hofferth, in your text. (DB #1)
Concept Essay

Describe the problem of
unemployment as discussed by
Kornblum and Julian. How does
unemployment impact individuals and
society? What can be done to lessen
some of the social and psychological
damage caused by unemployment?

This concept essay should be at least
300 words in length and formatted per
APA style requirements. You should
cite your textbook and include a
reference page.
Live
Seminar –
Thursday
evening
Unit 7
Information from Social Problems
(2010), 10th edition by Eitzen
(unless otherwise noted)
Video Field Trip: 20/20’s A Hidden
America: Children of the Mountains
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/footballstar-hidden-america6877502?tab=12841679
Myth 1
 Half
of the poor are either too old or too
young to work: About 40% are under age
18, and another 10% are age 65 or older.
About 30% of the working-age poor work
at least half the year.
Myth 2
 Long-term
poverty is rare. Most poverty
lasts less than a year.
 Only 12% remain in poverty for five or
more consecutive years.
 Most children who are born into poverty
are not in poverty or poor as adults
Myth 3
 The
poverty rates of African Americans
and Latinos are much higher than that of
whites. However, because there are so
many more whites in the U.S., most of the
poor are white.
 Of the 37 million poor, 57% are white, 20%
African American, 20% Latino, and 3%
Asian American.
Myth 4
 38%
of the poor match this stereotype
 34% live in married-couple families
 22% live alone or with nonrelatives
 6% live in other settings
Myth 5
 42%
live in the inner city
 36% live in the suburbs
 22% live in small towns and rural areas
Myth 6
 Only
about 25% of the income of poor
adults comes from welfare.
 About half of the income comes from
wages and pensions
 About 22% comes from social security
 How
do people become homeless?
Types of Homeless
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Push-outs
Victims of
environmental
catastrophe
The mentally ill
The new poor
Technologically
unqualified
The elderly
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Runaways
Demoralized
Alcoholics
Ease addicts
Travel addicts (“road
dogs”)
Excitement addicts
Henslin, J. (2008). Social
Problems: A down to earth
approach. Boston: Pearson.
 How
do people view homelessness and
the homeless in the U.S.?
 Do
these views vary?
 Why
don’t the homeless get the help they
need?
 What are some barriers to care?
Barriers to Care
 Financial
(insurance, bills, prescriptions)
 Structural
(endless bureaucratic
requirements)
 Personal
(transportation, cultural,
language, discrimination, distrust,
embarrassment,
confidentiality, etc.)
Christiani, A. et al. (2008, Nov. 3).
Attitudes of homeless and drug
using youth regarding barriers to
care. JCAPN, 2, 154-163
Urban Renewal
 How
does urban renewal constitute a
solution to social problems?
Urban Renewal – A Solution
 Moral
to improve quality of life
 The city center has been the cultural and
intellectual centers
 Declining cities means declining suburbs
Eitzen, D.S., Baca Zinn, M. &
Smith, K. (2009). Social Problems.
Boston: Pearson.
Urban Renewal
 How
does Urban Renewal constitute a
cause of social problem?
Urban Renewal – A Social Problem

Gentrification – the relatively affluent displacing
the poor by renovating their homes.



By building highways the government financed
the wealthy

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Results in loss of low-income housing units
Increases homelessness
The move of factories and offices out of the city
crippled its economic system
Redeveloping the downtown – an attempt to
hide the poor
Henslin, J. (2008). Social
Problems: A down to earth
approach. Boston: Pearson.
Consumer Society
 The
United States is a "consumer society."
What does this mean?
 What ramifications does this have for how
we live in our society?
Four Economic Problems
Facing the U.S.

1. Decline in real income (purchasing power)
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2. Taxes

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
Growing share of income goes towards taxes
Tax Freedom Day – April 26
3. The savings rate of Americans has dropped


Income rose from WWII to the 1970’s
Real income today is just a little more than it was in the 70s
Two-incomes = double family income?
Less money to invest in the economy
4. The national debt

Importation of foreign goods and rising debt
From James Henslin's Social
Problems: A down to earth
approach (2008).
Consumer Debt
 43%
spend more than they earn every
year – spend $1.22 for every dollar earned
 Average household has $8 K in credit card
debt
 Personal bankruptcies doubled in past
decade
 The average student graduates from
college with $20,000 in debt
Data from Reuters, T (2009) from
MSN money