 Complete the following Quotes in your journals for #1-3. Then answer # Poor people are poor because… 2. Rich people are rich because… 3. The government’s responsibility in helping poor people is… 4. What is the difference between individual government welfare & financial “bailouts” for big businesses? 5. Do we as a society view these 2 ideas (welfare & bailouts) differently? Why or why not?

 Identify the characteristics of the American class system  Explain how different motivations & cultural values influence the American class system  Describe the steps that have been taken by the federal government to lessen the effects of poverty

 1% of population  “old money” vs “new money”  prestigious schools, heirs, investors, large business owners & top executives

 14% of population  high income business people & professionals  college educated & advanced degrees

 30% of population  high school or college educated  lower level managers, skilled craft workers, supervisors

 30% of population  high school education  blue collar jobs pay as much, if not more, than white collar, but less prestige

 22% of population  some high school  laborers, service workers (gardeners, house cleaners, etc)

 3% of population  some high school  undesirable, low- paying jobs, unemployed, or on welfare for some time

 the standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by society

 women are the largest segment at 57%  female-headed households account for about ½ of all poor families

 children are the largest group at 37%  3X as many African-American & Hispanic children are poor than white children

 African-Americans & Hispanics are far more likely than white Americans to be poor

The 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States & the District of Columbia Persons in family Poverty guidelines 1 $10, , , , , , , ,010 for families with more than 8 persons, add $3,740 for each additional person