Poverty in America CH.8 Sections 4

Measuring Poverty Absolute Poverty: the absence of enough money to secure life’s necessities Life’s Necessities Food Shelter Drinkable Water

Measuring Poverty (Cont.) Relative Poverty: based on the economic disparity between those at the bottom of a society and the rest of society

Identifying the Poor About 70% of the poor in America are white However, that is only about 6% of the total white population

Indentifying the Poor (Cont.) African Americans and Latinos account for about 25-27% of U.S. population Together they comprise 25-30% of total poor population

Women and Poverty Over half of the poor households are headed by women Poverty rate for households headed by single mothers is 32% 11% for all other households

A Growing Problem Feminization of Poverty: trend in U.S. society in which women and children make up an increasing proportion of the poor Reasons?

Responses to the Problem of Poverty The Great Depression (1930s) Started many government funded programs Social Security Back to Work Programs

Responses to the Problem of Poverty (Cont.) War on Poverty (1964) Started by Lyndon Johnson Idea based that people would use aid from government to get back on their feet Do people become dependent on aid?

Welfare Reform (1996) Limits the amount of time those physically able to work can spend on welfare Increases the burden on the states

Does Welfare Work? Minimum Wage vs. Living Wage Single Parents and Child Care