1. Chapter 1 Sociology: Studying Social Problems
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

3. Figure 2-1 Distribution of Income in the United States

4. Economic Inequality in the United States
Any discussion of problems such as poverty must include a discussion of income and wealth
Taxation is a common device used by the government to reduce economic inequality

5. Economic Inequality in the United States
Income refers to salary or wages from jobs plus earnings from investments or any other source
The median family income in 2007 was $61,355.
Wealth refers to the value of all the economic assets owned by a person or family minus any debts.
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.

6. Economic Inequality in the United States
The government attempts to reduce economic inequality through progressive taxation, a policy that raises tax rates as income increases.

7. Figure 2-2 Distribution of Wealth in the United States

8. Table 2-1

9. The Rich and the Poor: A Social Profile
“The Rich”: those families who fall within the top 10% of income distribution.
The “poverty line”: A standard set by the U.S. government for the purpose of counting the poor, referring to the level of annual income below which a person or family is defined as poor and thus entitled to government assistance
The “poverty gap”: the difference between the official poverty line and the actual income of the typical poor household

10. Table 2-2

11. Figure 2-3 The Poverty Rate in the United States, 1960−2007

12. 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

13. National Map 2-1 Poverty across the United States

14. 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

15. The Underclass
Poor people who live in areas with high concentrations of poverty and limited opportunities
Persistent poverty versus temporary poverty

16. 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, who are more likely to die from infectious diseases and violence at any age

17. 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 coupled with a decrease in available low-income housing leads to homelessness

18. Social Problems Linked to Poverty
Limited schooling
Poor children are less likely than rich children to complete high school
Fewer poor children enter college and have less of a chance of completing an advanced degree
Tracking - poor children seen as less able

19. Social Problems Linked to Poverty
Crime and Punishment
Due to the focus on street crime, the poor are more likely to face arrest, trial, conviction, and prison
The poor depend more on public defenders and court-appointed attorneys, most of whom are underpaid and overworked

20. 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.

21. 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

22. Responding to Poverty: The Welfare System
Large government-run welfare programs have three characteristics:
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.

23. Social welfare has a long and controversial history in the U.S.
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 (with its soaring immigration and the 1929 Great Depression, and Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”)

24. Recent Welfare Reform
Changes in the welfare system began to occur 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

25. 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.

26. Structural Functional Analysis: Some Poverty is Inevitable
Social pathology theories
focus on personal deficiency
Social disorganization theory
Focuses idea of too much change
Recent functional theory
Davis and Moore – inequality actually helps society function efficiently
Herbert Gans – poverty exists because many people benefit from it

27. 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 and how these views lead to particular understandings of who or what is responsible for poverty

28. 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

29. 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

30. Criticisms of the Respective Theories
Criticism of structural-functionalism:
poverty is not necessarily something people bring on themselves
Criticism of symbolic-interactionism:
although this approach points to society as the cause of poverty, it says little about how society makes some people poor
Criticism of social-conflict theory:
Capitalism has improved living standards
Doesn’t reflect choices people make nor talents of individuals
Opportunities for women and minorities have improved

31. 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

32. 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 as little more than a Band-Aid applied to the body of a person with an incurable disease
Replace capitalism with more humane system