Poverty and Wealth in the United States

Long Valley, NJ Based on what you found in your homework, how does Long Valley compare to other places… – In New Jersey? – In the United States? – In the world? Where do you think your community ranks on the American class scale?

The American Class System

Top 1%- Capitalist Class (Upper Class) – Small segment that controls a large portion of the country’s wealth; “old money” rich for generations, “new money” acquired through own efforts – Have power and influence in society – Control the hierarchy of stratification ~ >$1,000,000/yr

The American Class System Upper 14%- Upper Middle Class – High-income business and professional – College educated, can buy luxuries for family – Power and influence at community level~$72,500-$200,000/yr

The American Class System Upper 30%- Lower Middle Class – White collar jobs that require less education and provide a lower income than upper-middle class – Live comfortably, but work hard~$32,500-$50,000/yr

The American Class System Lower 30%- Working Class – Blue-collar jobs often requiring manual labor – Some jobs pay well, but little prestige – Often long work hours – Few financial reserves~$20,000-$25,000/yr

The American Class System Lower 22%- Working Poor – Lowest-paying jobs; temporary or seasonal – Rarely make a living wage, may live paycheck to paycheck – Depend on government support programs – Often have a less than high school education ~ $15,000/yr

The American Class System Bottom 3%- Underclass – Experienced unemployment or poverty over several generations – May work but at most undesirable and lowest paying jobs – Chief source of income is from public assistance – Day-to-day struggle for survival~$7,000/yr

U.S. Wealth Distribution, 2000 Nearly property-less class – 40% households – Worth less than $30,000 “Nest-Egg” class – 50% households – Worth $30,00-$300,000 Investor Class – 10% households – Worth more than $300,000

Social Classes in the U.S. Class at birth affects life chances: ability to fulfill one’s potential Persons in the same class more likely to associate with each other, intermarry, have similar hobbies, tastes, political views American mythology: open class system where all have equal opportunity to succeed

PAIR UP How does social stratification play out in poverty? What areas are affected? – Look at the list of: People are stratified all over the world based on the following (from last class) Share with the class- be prepared to explain your choices

How does poverty affect people? 1.LIFE CHANCES 2. PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR 3. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES 4. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Life Chances The lower the social class, the less opportunity individuals have to share in the benefits of society. – Health- heart disease, diabetes, pneumonia, TB – Length of life-poor children are 60% more likely to die in the first year of their life than other children Inadequate nutrition, access to healthcare, jobs with safety risks

Patterns of Behavior 1.Divorce rates- – Higher in low-income families 2. Crime- – More likely to be arrested, convicted, and imprisoned over their lifetime

Government Responses Welfare – Government benefits distributed to impoverished persons to enable them to maintain a minimum standard of well- being. Food Stamps – Receive coupons or cards that can be used to buy food – Other subsidies used for housing, school lunch, and Medicaid Medicaid – Free health insurance program for the poor Transfer Payments – Redistribution of money among various segments of society – Some of government taxes go to groups in need

Who? Today, one in ten families in America lives in poverty. Since 2000, the number of poor Americans has grown by more than 6 million to a total of 37 million. – The U.S. Census Bureau defines poor families as those with cash incomes of less than $15,067 a year for a family of three - or $19,307 for a family of four. On average, more than 1 out of every 3 Americans (37 % of all people in the United States) are officially classified as living in poverty at least 2 months out of the year. The average homeless family is a 27 year-old single mother with two children under the age of six.

Where? Atlanta has the highest poverty rate with 48.1% poor people living below the poverty line. Texas has the highest percentage (19.9%) of low income and uninsured children. The District of Columbia has the highest percentage (33.9%) of children under 18 living in poverty. The American Midwest and South saw the greatest numbers of people falling into poverty in In the Midwest and Northeast, 11.6 % of all people live in poverty, compared to 12.6 % for the West, and 14.1 for the South - the highest of all.

Children in Poverty Every 43 seconds a child is born into poverty in the US. Every 53 minutes a child dies from causes related to poverty in the US. Being homeless makes it extremely difficult to attend school regularly. – 41 % of homeless children attend two or more schools a year. – Homeless children have higher rates of learning disabilities and emotional and behavioral problems. Children in America have higher poverty rates than adults.

“Street Children” At least 150 million children worldwide are believed to live, at least part time, on the streets. 40% of the world's street children are homeless, the 60% work on the street to support their families Many street children use a number of inhalants (glue, gasoline, lighter fluid) and illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine and heroin). Street children are routinely detained illegally, beaten and tortured and sometimes killed by police in some countries. – An estimated 40 million children live or work on the streets of Latin America--out of a total population of 500 million people. – Brazil is estimated to have 12 million street children. 100% of street children in Brazil use drugs. – Mexico City has 1,900,000 underprivileged and street children, 240,000 of these are abandoned children. – India has a population of 1 billion with about 35 million orphans, many of whom live on the streets. – Africa has 10.7 million orphans as a result of AIDS and the numbers continue to grow.

What are our social responsibilities? 1.Make two columns: – One should be labeled DO NOW – One should be labeled SHOULD DO 2.Come up with a list of responsibilities that society already has and does for those who are poor 3.Come up with a list of responsibilities that society SHOULD DO (instead?)

William’s Story