Chapter 6 Poverty

Key Terms 0 Autonomy 0 Consumer price index 0 Corporate welfare 0 Discrimination 0 Ghetto 0 Malnutrition 0 Poverty 0 Self-fulfilling prophecy 0 Subsidy

What Is Poverty? 0 Poverty is a state in which income is insufficient to provide the basic necessities of food, shelter, clothing, and medical care. 0 Because the poor were largely invisible to many Americans, people failed to identify poverty as a social problem until the 1960’s. 0 Another reason Americans failed is because many people failed to make the distinction between absolute and relative poverty.

What Is Poverty? 0 Census Bureau released a new Supplemental Poverty Measure in It is possible that it underestimates the number of people who should be considered poor. 0 The definition of poverty excludes many people who define themselves, and whom most of you would define, as poor.

The Poverty Level 0 The poverty level is the minimum income level that Americans should have to live on, based on the Department of Agriculture’s calculations of the cost of a basic diet called “the economy food plan”

Consumer Price Index 0 The consumer price index is a measure of the average change in prices of all types of consumer goods and services purchased by urban wage earners and clerical workers.

Extent of Poverty The proportion of Americans defined as poor has fluctuated over time. The poverty level has declined during 60’s and 70’s, then rose again and has fluctuated ever since. Keep in mind that the official figures minimize the number of poor.

Who Are the Poor? 0 Figure 6.2 (p. 165) gives the Proportion of Poverty for Different Kinds of People 0 Rural poverty is worse than that in ghettos 0 Ghettos are areas in which a certain group is segregated from the rest of society; often used today to refer to the impoverished area of the inner city. 0 Malnutrition is inadequate food, in amount or type

The Working Poor 0 People are not poor simply because of their unwillingness to work. 0 The working poor are those who work or who are looking for work at least 27 weeks per year but whose incomes are still so low they are in poverty.

The Homeless 0 Those who live in their cars or on the streets because they cannot afford any kind of housing. 0 Diverse group of people including all ages, both sexes, every kind of marital status, all racial and ethnic groups. 0 40% of homeless men are veterans. 0 25% of homeless women fled from domestic violence. 0 25% of the homeless struggle with mental illness 0 40% are alcoholics

The Changing Nature of Poverty 0 Poverty becomes more difficult when the proportion becomes smaller. 0 The poor have lost ground relative to the rest of the population for nearly four decades. 0 The rich fare better than others both in a good economy and in a recession 0 So, although the proportion of the poor is less than it was in the 20 th century, the lot of the poor is worse when compared with the rest of society.

Poverty and the Quality of Life 0 The deprivation of the poor is pervasive. 0 Poverty diminishes quality of life in many ways. 0 Infants of the poor are more likely to die. 0 Children are more likely to fail in school or drop out of school. 0 More likely to become mentally ill. 0 More likely to lose jobs.

The Right to Life and Happiness 0 Position of the poor in the economy contradicts American value of the right to life and the pursuit of happiness. 0 Positive correlation between income and perceived happiness. 0 Poverty brings more despair than happiness and more fear than fullness of life.

Discontent and Despair 0 Despair is much more frequent among the poor. 0 Despair manifests in survival strategies. 0 Experssive Strategy involves manipulating others and making oneself appealing. 0 Violent Strategy involves actions such as fighting, shoplifting, or making threats. 0 Depressive Strategy involves withdrawal and isolation

Freedom from Fear 0 Two kinds of fear affect the poor more than others: 0 Fear of being the victim of a crime 0 Rates are higher for both violent and property crimes 0 Fear of being harassed by law enforcement officers 0 Particularly a problem for the homeless

The Right to Dignity as a Human Being 0 Is being violated by the contradiction between the American ideal of the worth of every individual and the pattern of interaction between the poor and the nonpoor. 0 This results in a number of myths about the poor.

Myths about the Poor 0 The poor are lazy. 0 People on welfare have it good. 0 Welfare is draining us. 0 Welfare turns people into lazy, dependent deadbeats.

Poverty and Health 0 Living circumstances cause higher rates of mental and physical illness among the poor 0 The homeless are particularly prone to ill health. 0 People develop poor health habits while they are in poverty 0 Poor nutrition 0 Vicious circles of poverty

Dilemmas of Poverty 0 Americans value autonomy and equal opportunity. 0 Autonomy is the ability or opportunity to govern oneself. 0 This value is contradicted by the realities of poverty. 0 Existing on a poverty budget 0 Choice between security and change 0 Frustrations of powerlessness

Political Decision Making 0 Poverty continues because of distribution of power. 0 Agencies that help are often not found in areas where the need is the greatest. 0 Multiple decision making centers make the poor vulnerable to variation, veto, sabotage, or neglect.

Class Composition of Government 0 Work of interest groups and middle class composition of government keep poor from benefitting. 0 Nonpoor generally benefit as much from the programs for the poor as the poor themselves do. 0 For example, Medicaid helps the poor but makes doctors rich.

Who Benefits from Government? 0 Middle and upper classes benefit far more 0 Primary beneficiaries of government decisions are the well-to-do 0 Handouts that well-to-do secure are called subsidies. 0 A subsidy is a government grant to a private person or company to assist an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public 0 Most state and local tax systems severely penalize the poor.

Who Benefits from Government? 0 Corporate welfare refers to government benefits given to corporations that are not available to other groups or to individuals. 0 Four areas of abuse in corporate welfare state: 0 Bailouts (guaranteed loans or restitution for corporate mismanagement) 0 Resource depletion 0 Taxpayer funded research and development 0 Subsidies to profit-making businesses

Poverty and the Economy 0 Economy hurts the poor because it: 0 Allows concentration of wealth 0 Stocks, bonds, and real estate are important sources of wealth, so wealth counts along with income 0 Entraps poor in a vicious circle 0 Guarantees that a certain proportion of the population will be unable to find employment or unable to find jobs that pay more than poverty level wages.

Patterns of Family Life 0 Family size affects poverty 0 Even small families are affected by certain social- class differences in family life 0 Interaction of children with adults generally, and parents in particular, tends to be minimal. 0 Greater proportion of nonverbal compared to verbal interaction 0 High rate of divorce

The Education of the Poor 0 Ways school personnel affect poverty-level students: 0 Discrimination, which is arbitrary, unfavorable treatment of the members of some social group 0 Difficulty in understanding and relating to students 0 Different expectations for different socioeconomic backgrounds

Disparagement and Discrimination 0 Nonpoor tend to disparage the poor 0 Negative attitudes may be come self- fulfilling prophecies. 0 A self-fulfilling prophecy is a belief that has consequences (and may become true) simply because it is believed.

The Ideology of Wealth and Poverty 0 Many Americans believe strongly in an ideology of individualism, attributing both wealth and poverty to the qualities of individuals rather than to the social system. 0 As a result, Americans are less concerned about establishing a minimum income level for all citizens.

Public Policy and Private Action 0 To eliminate poverty, some attitudes and ideologies among people generally, and political leaders in particular, must be altered. 0 Commitment of federal government is essential. 0 Strategies to help single mothers must have priority. 0 Raise the minimum wage. 0 Search for antipoverty programs, including welfare programs