Sociology Per. 4
End Time: 10:53
Unit: Social Inequality
April 9th 2014
Warm-Up: In your IN (p. 74), respond to the prompt:
Who is responsible for solving the problems of economic inequality?
(the government, businesses, individuals, etc.)
Explain why they are responsible.
HW: Prepare notes for quiz game tomorrow. Winning team will get
extra points.
Social Class**2008 Statistics
% of
Population
Yearly Income
Upper
1%
$1 Million +
Upper Middle
14%
$100K +
Lower Middle
30%
$35-100K
Working Class
30%
$16-34 K
Working Poor
22%
$less than 15K
Underclass
3%
Socioeconomic Status
-Income
-Occupational Prestige
-Level of Education
Sheldon Adelson
Social Mobility
A person’s movement over time from one class to another
Types of Social Mobility
Upward – moving to a higher class
Downward – moving to a lower class
Intragenerational – change in social position during a person’s lifetime
- a well-paid athlete starting out in the working class
Intergenerational – upward or downward social mobility of children in relation
to their parents
- the daughter of working-class parents is in the middle class
Horizontal – changing jobs but remaining within the same class
- a doctor becomes a lawyer
Money vs. Wealth
Income
Wealth
-Earnings from work of
investments
- Next paycheck
-The total value of money and other
assets, minus outstanding debts
-Savings
-Investment
-Possessions
-House
Poverty
-According to the government, 40 million people are poor
- 13.2% of the population
-Roughly 49% of the poor are young people
-Under the age of 24
-About 70% of the poor are white, but in relation to their population, African
Americans and Latinos are more likely to be poor
Poverty
Explanations of Poverty
Blame Individuals – The “culture of poverty” thesis states that poverty is
caused by shortcomings in the poor themselves
- Oscar Lewis
- In 1996, Congress changed welfare to address “culture of poverty”
- Before, there was Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
- Changed to Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF)
- In most cases, benefits stop after two years on welfare
- The change is designed to force people to be self-supporting
Poverty
Explanations of Poverty
Blame Society – Poverty is caused by society’s unequal distribution of wealth
and lack of good jobs
- William Julius Wilson
- Blaming individuals is blaming the victim
- Government should fund jobs and provide affordable child-care
- Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the income tax in 1935
- Introduced social security, welfare, and jobs program
- The original income tax was 94% after $25,000
- The highest income tax now is 35-39%
-$55 million in taxpayer money
-Going to DePaul University
-For basketball arena in the
South Loop
Poverty
Relative Poverty – the lack of resources of some people in relation to those
who have more
Absolute Poverty – a lack of resources that is life-threatening
Feminization of Poverty – the trend of women making up an increasing
proportion of the poor
Poverty
Feminization of Poverty
-The trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor
-In 1960, 25% of poor households were headed by women
-In 2008, 48% of poor households were headed by single women
1. Women are paid less
2. Occupational Segregation – jobs that women are socialized for, pay less
3. Welfare has changed
- TANF replaced AFDC
- Harder for single-parent families to receive aid
4. Divorce
- 90% of women take care of children – support costs money
- Only 50% of fathers pay court-ordered child-support
- Child support doesn’t cover daycare