Poverty in the US

What is poverty? US gov’t defines it as the lack of minimum food and shelter necessary for maintaining life- absolute poverty ◦ Then decides what income is needed to sustain that minimum standard of living  Multiplies the cost of food by 3 (average American spends 1/3 of it’s income on food)  $23,492 for a family of 4  $11,720  16.1% of the population

How else can we determine poverty? Define it in terms of how people live relative to the majority of the population ◦ Relative definition ◦ According to this those who earn less than 1/2 of the nation’s median income are poor bc they lack what is considered to be needed by most people to live a decent life

Feminization of poverty Poverty affects women more than men ◦ Most are single mothers or head of the families The US has the largest gender gap in poverty US women are more likely that their foreign counterparts to be both unemployed and head of families with children ◦ Single mothers make up the largest proportion of the poor adult population Why?? ◦ Increased divorce rate ◦ Decrease in fathers paying child support ◦ Reduction in govt support for welfare ◦ Women live longer than men

Blame the Poor Theory Assume that there are plenty of opportunities for making it in the US ◦ The poor failed to grab the opportunities by not working hard The poor have accepted being poor and see no way out Developed a culture of poverty-debilitating values and attitudes ◦ Passed from one generation to another ◦ Discourages the poor from working hard, which in turn keeps them poor

Holes in this theory Poor people are not necessarily averse to working hard ◦ If given the opportunity they would work hard Problem is: even if given the opportunity and work, they are still likely to be poor bc of changes in the economy and welfare policy The working poor account for 1/2 of the those who fall below the poverty line

Sociological Theory According to functionalist theory, society create and maintains poverty bc benefits can be derived from it Poverty performs some positive functions for society ◦ Make it possible for society’s dirty work to be done ◦ Poor people make it easier for the affluent to pursue their business and professional careers ◦ Poverty creates jobs for social workers and other professionals who serve the poor

Holes in this theory Cant explain how society creates poverty in the first place ◦ Conflict theory explains that the unequal distribution of opportunities is the reason

Who are the Homeless? Among the extremely poor Sleep in streets, parks, shelters and places not intended for dwelling According to Peter Rossi’s study of the Chicago homeless, most are: ◦ African-American men in their thirties ◦ Average education level ◦ Never been married ◦ Held their last steady job 4 years earlier Other studies show that many are families with children, alcohol and drug abusers, and the mentally ill

The “new” homeless More than 40 years ago, most of the homeless were old men Today the homeless are younger and include more women and families with young children Today’s homeless are more visible to the public

Causes of homelessness Increased shortage of inexpensive housing for poor families bc of diminishing gov’t subsidy Decreasing demand for unskilled labor ◦ Extremely high unemployment rate Erosion of public welfare benefits

Welfare Most of the poor are NOT on welfare ◦ Only about 1/3 of the poor Majority of recipients are single mothers and their children Major push for welfare reform in the 90s

Beliefs about welfare Most people think the gov’t should reduce spending on welfare ◦ Attacking the single mothers not the children on welfare People believe that welfare encourages dependency and wont ever leave ◦ Most people believe welfare recipients should be required to work Most recipients (about 70%) stay on welfare for less than 2 years

Welfare reform 1996 a law was passed to end welfare dependency in the US ◦ Head of every family on welfare must work and benefits are limited to a total of 5 years throughout a person’s lifetime