October 7 th Sign in, deposit participation cards Pass out Midterm #1 Continue Lecture Three Homework: Read Chps 9-11 of Working Poor As you read, make notes on what you think the causes of poverty are for the ‘working poor’
Poverty Poverty: Official definition of poverty was developed in 1964 and is based on food consumption as 1/3 of household costs Absolute – physical deprivation Relative – deficiency relative to the population as a whole What are the main expenditures for households today?
Who is most likely to be in Poverty? 58% of Americans will live poverty for at least 1 year 1 in 3 will experience extreme poverty for at least one year 27% will experience poverty before age 30 What creates this high risk for Americans? Time – life stages, such as divorce and other unanticipated events Safety Net – very few social services to help people through rough stages and Labor Market – not enough good paying jobs
Feminization of Poverty Women are disproportionately represented among the poor More likely to be in low-pay service jobs Women still make $0.76 for every man’s dollar 42% of female-headed households are in poverty, compared to 9% of two-parent families Children are more likely to live in poverty than adults – 35% of US poor are children
The Color of Poverty Higher rates of poverty among non-whites White- 8% Black – 25% Hispanic – 22% American Indian – 25% Average white family has a net worth 7 times that of the average Black family This gap has grown since the 1960’s The wealth gap accounts for many of the racial inequities Racial disparities almost disappear when economic resources are equal
Working Poor or the Nearly Poor Working Poor: workers in jobs at 27 weeks of the year that are less secure, low-paying, and deskilled In 2005, 36.8% of the poor worked and 11.4% worked full-time Over 5% of the population are ‘working poor,’ but majority are non-white, female, and immigrant
Why so many working poor? Economic restructuring in the post-industrial society High skill, high tech, high wage jobs versus Low skill, low tech, low wage jobs Increasing gap between the rich and poor Ratio of CEO-worker pay in 2005 was 262 to 1 (in 1965 it was 24 to 1) Welfare to work (1996) pushed many poor (primarily women) into low paying, dead-end jobs
Graffiti: The Working Poor