1. THE AMERICAN DREAM Land of opportunity Rags to Riches
We can do anything as long as we try!
Land of opportunity
Rags to Riches
Anyone can become rich and powerful!
Work hard, and you’ll make a better life for yourself and your family!
Meritocracy: skill + effort = reward

2. Austrian immigrant – governor of California
Grew up poor – richest women in America
Lived in his car – billion-dollar food empire
Russian immigrant – fashion billionaire

3. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

4. SOCIAL MOBILITY
DEFINITION: the movement of families up and down the economic ladder STATISTICS: 40% of incomes stay the same. Only 37 of America’s 400 wealthiest people inherited their money from their family.

5. 86% think they are doing the same as or better than their parents
20% about the same
27% somewhat better
39% much better
86% think they are doing the same as or better than their parents
58% agree in 1983
80% agree in 2005
more and more people think that you can start poor and become rich

6. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
DEFINITION: the study of systematic inequality between groups of people. IN TERMS OF:
Class
Race
Gender

7. SOCIAL CLASS
DEFINITION: the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies. KEY FEATURES:
Wealth: income, savings, investments, property
Power: the ability to do what you desire, even if others oppose
Prestige: respect and deference for a valued position

8. SOCIAL CLASS: THE UPPER CLASS
0.5% of Americans belong to the upper class.
Wealth: VERY HIGH
Power: HIGH
Prestige: HIGH
Wealth: Top 1% owns 33% of all net worth in the United States.
Their incomes come mostly from investments such as stocks and bonds—so they keep making more and more money.
Power: Their resources give them a lot of buying power.
Their wealth also gives them a lot of political power.
Prestige: Family names =“rich and powerful.”
Examples—Rockefeller, Carnegie, Gates.

9. SOCIAL CLASS: THE CORPORATE CLASS
0.5% of Americans belong to the corporate class.
Wealth: HIGH
Power: HIGH
Prestige: HIGH
Wealth: They are not as wealthy, but still earns a lot of money.
The median salary of a CEO is $10.8 million.
Power: They tend to be heads of companies or in the government.
They have a lot of power over the people they direct and in society.
Prestige: They are in positions where they have a lot of influence.
They tend to be considered high-status.

10. SOCIAL CLASS: THE MIDDLE CLASS
43% of Americans belong to the middle class.
Wealth: MEDIUM
Power: MEDIUM
Prestige: MEDIUM
Wealth: They have some wealth, but less property and lower incomes.
The median salary is $34,000 for a teacher, $58,000 for an engineer.
Power: They tend to work for other people and they have fewer resources.
They tend to have less power than the upper or corporate classes.
Prestige: They tend to work white-collar jobs.
This gives them respect and some status.

11. SOCIAL CLASS: THE WORKING CLASS
43% of Americans are in the working class.
Wealth: MEDIUM TO LOW
Power: LOW
Prestige: LOW
Wealth: They own and earn very little.
The median salary is $24,000 for a factory worker, $23,000 for a machine operator.
Power: They have few resources and work in low positions.
Sometimes, they can form unions to get some power.
Prestige: They tend to work in blue-collar jobs.
These jobs usually get less respect.

12. SOCIAL CLASS: THE LOWER CLASS
13% of Americans belong to the lower class
Wealth: LOW TO NONE
Power: VERY LOW
Prestige: VERY LOW
Wealth: They usually own nothing and work in very low-paying jobs.
They tend to be very poor, but only about 33% of them get
welfare.
Power: They have few or no resources to help them bargain for power.
They tend to be excluded from political processes.
Prestige: They are often jobless or working menial jobs.
They get little respect.

13. CLASS DIFFERENCES Not everyone is mobile. Upper class
Who lives longer?
Who goes to elite colleges and universities?
Upper class
Lower class
Who lives in worse neighborhoods?
Not everyone is mobile.
Intergenerational transmission of advantages and disadvantages

14. LIMITED MOBILITY
Least movement on the top and on the bottom

15. RACIAL INEQUALITY: INCOME
Whites and Asians have higher incomes than Blacks and Hispanics.
These RACIAL GAPS are substantial.
Median household income:
Whites vs. Blacks: +$15,417
Whites vs. Hispanics: +$12,319

16. RACIAL INEQUALITY: LABOR MARKET
Another racial gap: how many in each racial group are unemployed?
RACE
% unemployed in 2000
White
4.3%
Asian
5.1%
Black
11.8%
Hispanic/Latino
9.3%
American Indian
12.4%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
10.9%

17. RACIAL INEQUALITY: HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE
All groups are improving, BUT…
Fewer Blacks and Hispanics are high school graduates.

18. RACIAL INEQUALITY: COLLEGE DEGREE
Smaller improvements, AND…
Fewer Blacks and Hispanics are college graduates.

19. GENDER INEQUALITY: INCOME
Thinking about men and women who work full-time…
Median income
Male: $29,458
Female: $18,957
Difference: $10,501
For every dollar men make, women make only 64 cents

20. GENDER INEQUALITY: LABOR MARKET
Are differences because of…
Education?
Hours of work?
Occupation?
Both college graduates, women < men
Both full-time, women < men
Same occupation, women < men

21. GENDER INEQUALITY: POVERTY
Families headed by women are much more likely to be poor.

22. THE AMERICAN DREAM? Land of opportunity? Rags to Riches?
There is SOME mobility, but it is LIMITED.
Land of opportunity?
Rags to Riches?
The really rich get richer, the really poor get poorer.
Some groups—by race, by gender—still get less even if they work just as hard.
Meritocracy: skill + effort = reward?