1. Chapter 2
Poverty and Wealth

2. Economic Inequality in the United States
Social stratification:
the system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy
Stratification produces social classes
categories of people who have similar access to resources and opportunities
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5. Economic Inequality in the United States
Any discussion of problems such as poverty must include income and wealth
Taxation is a common device used by the government to reduce economic inequality
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6. Economic Inequality in the United States
Income
Salary or wages from jobs plus earnings from investments or any other source
Wealth
The value of all the economic assets owned by a person or family minus any debts.
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7. Economic Inequality in the United States
The wealthiest 5% of families in the U.S. own 60% of all wealth.
About half of all families in the U.S. have no wealth at all.
Government attempts to reduce economic inequality through progressive taxation
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11. The Rich and the Poor: A Social Profile
“The Rich”: those families who fall within the top 10% of income distribution.
“Poverty line”: Standard set by the U.S. government for counting the poor
Level of annual income below which a person or family is defined as poor
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12. The Rich and the Poor: A Social Profile
Entitled to government assistance
The “poverty gap”:
Difference between the official poverty line & actual income of the typical poor household
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15. The Poor: A Closer Look Profile of the U.S. poor
Age: at greatest risk are children
Race: African Americans and Hispanics
Gender: women
Family Patterns: single mothers
Region: the South and the West
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17. Working vs. Non-Working Poor
18% of the heads of poor families work full time
Remain below poverty line
Non-Working Poor
May have bad health and/or
Lack skills or self-confidence
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18. The Underclass
Poor people who live in areas with high concentrations of poverty
Limited opportunities
Persistent poverty versus temporary poverty
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19. Problems Linked to Poverty
Poor health
The link between poverty and health is evident from birth to old age
The infant mortality among the poor is twice the national average
Death comes earlier to the poor; more likely to die from infectious diseases and violence
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20. Problems Linked to Poverty
Substandard Housing or Homelessness
About 500,000 people are homeless in the U.S. on a given night
Up to 3.5 million people are homeless at some point during the year
Low income & a decrease in available low-income housing leads to homelessness
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21. Social Problems Linked to Poverty
Limited schooling
Poor children are less likely than rich children to complete high school
Fewer poor children enter college; have less chance of completing an advanced degree
Tracking - poor children seen as less able
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22. Social Problems Linked to Poverty
Crime and Punishment
Due to street crime focus, the poor are more likely to face arrest, trial, conviction, & prison
The poor depend more on public defenders and court-appointed attorneys
Most of whom are underpaid and overworked
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23. Social Problems Linked to Poverty
Political Alienation
In the 2008 election, 80% of people earning $100,000 or more voted
As compared with less than half of those earning $10,000 or less.
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24. Responding to Poverty: The Welfare System
Social welfare program:
An organized effort by government, private organizations, or individuals
To assist needy people defined as worthy of assistance
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25. Responding to Poverty: The Welfare System
Large government-run welfare programs:
They benefit people or activities that are defined as worthy.
They benefit most people (the elderly, veterans, students, and farmers)
They do not significantly change income disparity.
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26. Brief History of Welfare
The Colonial era (the 1600s and 1700s)
The earlier Industrial era (the 19th century
When attitudes toward the poor became more negative)
The 20th Century
Soaring immigration and the 1929 Great Depression, and Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”
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27. Recent Welfare Reform Changes in the welfare system
Began when President Clinton pledged in 1992 to “end welfare as we know it.”
The result was the Welfare Reform Act of 1996
The public remains divided over whether people deserve help
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28. Welfare Reform Act of 1996
Replaced federal AFDC program with a new state related program –
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
New rules require able-bodied people receiving benefits to find a job
Or enroll for job retraining within two years.
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29. Structural Functional Analysis: Some Poverty is Inevitable
Social pathology theories
Focus on personal deficiency
Social disorganization theory
Focuses idea of too much change
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30. Structural Functional Analysis: Some Poverty is Inevitable
Recent functional theory
Davis and Moore – inequality actually helps society function efficiently
Herbert Gans – poverty exists because many people benefit from it
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31. Symbolic Interaction Analysis: Defining the Problem
Highlights the social construction of problems and solutions
Explores the meanings that people attach to those who are poor
How views lead to particular understandings of who or what is responsible for poverty
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32. Symbolic Interaction Analysis: Who’s to Blame?
Based on research by William Ryan
Pick a social problem
Decide how people who suffer from the problem differ from everyone else
Define these differences as the cause of the problem
Respond to the problem by trying to change the victims, not the larger society
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33. Social-Conflict Analysis: Poverty Can Be Eliminated
Marxist Theory: Poverty and Capitalism
Poverty Involves More than Money: Cultural Capital
Multicultural Theory: Poverty, Race, and Ethnicity
Feminist Theory: Poverty and Patriarchy
Intersection Theory: Multiple Disadvantage
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34. Feminist Analysis: Poverty and Patriarchy
The Feminization of Poverty
Intersection Theory: Multiple Disadvantages
Investigation of the interplay of race, class, and gender
Often resulting in multiple dimensions of disadvantage
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35. Politics and Poverty: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Conservatives: Personal Responsibility
Focus on personal responsibility, stressing the importance of self-reliance
Liberals: Societal Responsibility
View poverty as more structural than it is individual; thus they look for societal solutions
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36. Politics and Poverty: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions
Radicals: Change the System
Poverty is inherent in capitalist society,
They dismiss social welfare programs and tax plans advocated by liberals
Little more than a Band-Aid applied to the body of a person with an incurable disease
Replace capitalism with more humane system
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