Transcript Lecture Five Poverty and Inequality in the US

Lecture Five
Poverty and Inequality in the US
Power Elite
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Those who occupy positions of power in
leading institutions and have the power to
make decisions that affect our daily lives
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Three Spheres of Influence:
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Upper Class
Corporations
Policy Institutions
Polarization of Income and Wealth in
2002
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Income: economic gain from wages (or rent)
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Top 20% = 50% of total income
Bottom 20% = 4% of total income
Wealth: value of all economic assets –
property, income, income generating property
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0.5% own 35% of nations wealth
90% at bottom own 28% of national wealth
Share of the Income 2006
We are all richer…
Stratification
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Social Stratification: hierarchical classification of
society’s members based on:
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Resources
Power
Authority
Prestige
Important to understand stratification because:
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Determines access to resources and rewards in society
Life experiences and opportunities
US: Mixed-class System
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Even though we believe that we are pure
class system, we are a mixed class system
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both ascribed and achieved characteristics
determine class position
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Ascribed: race, gender, immigrant status,
geography, sexual orientation
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Achieved: education, initiative,
determination, intelligence
Opportunity Structure
→
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Wealth
High Income
Good Neighborhood
Good Schools
Good Jobs
Access to Health Care
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→
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What does social mobility look like?
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http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nation
al/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_01.ht
ml
Barriers to Mobility?
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Social Exclusion: cut off from mechanisms that
allow social mobility in a society
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Neighborhood/Residential
Education
Occupation
Culture
Poverty: Official definition of poverty was developed
in 1964 and is based on food consumption
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Absolute – physical deprivation
Relative – deficiency relative to the population as a whole
Who is most likely to be in Poverty?
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Feminization of Poverty: women are
disproportionately represented among the poor
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Working Poor: work fulltime in jobs that are less
secure, low-paying, and deskilled
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45% of families headed by Latina women in poverty (2004)
Latina women earn $0.54 for every white man’s $1
Over 5% of the population
Non-white and immigrant
Higher rates of poverty among non-whites
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When wealth and income are the same, all racial/ethnic
groups have similar educational achievements
Poverty: How do we explain it?
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“As a culture, The United States is not quite sure
about the causes of poverty, and therefore is
uncertain about the solutions”
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“Culture of Poverty”
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Individuals are responsible for their own culture and
socializing their children into poverty
“American Anti-Myth” (macro-structural) Poverty is
produced by the unequal structures in society
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Inequalities in opportunity
Group Activity:
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Pick one of the myths presented on pages 16-17
that you have heard regarding the poor in the US.
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Where have you heard this myth?
Who/what does it most often refer to?
Do you believe it is a myth or a reality?
Next look at the list of “What Can We Do” on page
18.
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Pick at least 4 things on the list that you think we should
change in the educational system (or here at Gavilan).