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Social Class In The United States: Stratification in a Modern Society
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2. In Promises I Can Keep, Why Poor Women Are Putting Motherhood Before Marriage, Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas interviewed women from poor neighborhoods in Philadelphia to find out why unmarried women choose to have children.

3. Social Stratification
Social Stratification is the ranking of people and the rewards they receive based on objective criteria, often including wealth, power and/or prestige
All societies have some form of social stratification or ranking but it can vary a great deal

4. Social Stratification
Social stratification in the U.S. includes income and wealth
Income is the money you take in
Wealth is all of your material possessions, including income

5. Social Stratification
Income distribution relates to how income is arranged, sociologists often look at quintiles of the population
The poorest 20% of the U.S. population earns 3.4 percent of all income
The top 20 percent earned 50 percent of income
The top 5 percent receives 6 times as much income

6. Income Distribution in the United States

7. Social Stratification
Wealth distribution includes stocks, bonds, and many other items
The wealth distribution is more unequal than the income distribution
The top one percent of the population holds more wealth than the bottom 90%
Wealth inequality has increased over time
Wealth Inequality in America

8. Millionaires in the United States in 2006
Source: The Geography of American Poverty, U.S. Census Bureau, February 7, 2008.

9. Poverty Sociologists have several definitions of poverty
Transitional poverty is a temporary state of poverty that occurs when someone loses a job for a short time

10. Poverty Sociologists have several definitions of poverty
Marginal poverty is a state of poverty that occurs when a person lacks stable employment
Residual poverty is chronic and multigenerational poverty
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11. Poverty Sociologists also distinguish between
Absolute poverty is poverty so severe that one lacks resources to survive
Relative poverty is a state of poverty that occurs when we compare ourselves to those around us
Near poor are people who live above the poverty level, but close to it

12. Components of Social Stratification
Power is the ability to carry out your will
Delegated power means given or assigned responsibilities and power
Power elite is a small group who hold immense power
Military leaders, high ranking political officials, and corporate leaders
Prestige refers to the level of esteem associated with our social standing

13. Class Structure in the U.S.
Sociologists commonly talk about 6 major classes
Upper/Elite class is a class very small in number that possesses significant wealth
This class makes up about 1 percent of the population.
Elite class members attend expensive boarding schools and hold exclusive club memberships

14. Class Structure in the U.S.
Social classes in the U.S. include the
Upper Middle class which is a social class that consists of high-income members of society who are well educated but do not belong to the elite membership of the super wealthy
This group makes up about 15 percent of the population and is made up of highly educated professionals and owners of businesses

15. Class Structure in the U.S.
The largest class is the
Middle class is a social class that consists of those who have moderate incomes
About 34 percent of Americans belong to the middle class
They include white collar workers –teachers, nurses, and some well paid blue-collar occupations such as factory foremen

16. Class Structure in the U.S.
Another large class is the
Working class which is a social class generally made up of people with high school diplomas and lesser levels of education
The working class makes up about 30% of the U.S. workers.
Most working class individuals are paid on an hourly basis and usually do manual labor or pink collar jobs

17. Class Structure in the U.S.
The bottom class is the
Lower Class which often feels the affects of poverty
Members of the lower class often live paycheck to paycheck
The lower class are among the 37 million who live in poverty in the U.S.
Blacks and Hispanics disproportionately live in poverty

18. Social Structure in the U.S,
Finally part of the lower class is
The Urban Underclass which encompasses the homeless and chronically unemployed
Many in this class make up what sociologists call the urban underclass
This group tends to have few opportunities, poor schools and weak social structures
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19. Poverty in 2008 by Race and Age

20. Poverty in 2008 by Race and Age

21. Poverty in 2008 by Race and Age
Source: Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Cheryle Hill Lee, “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008,” Current Population Reports, U.S. Census Bureau.

22. Other Factors Influencing Social Stratification
Neighborhoods and Social Class
Children who grow up in poor neighborhoods are more likely to be involved in crime and at increased risk for poorer health, lower educational attainment
Education and Social Class
Education is very unequal in the U.S.
Urban and rural schools have fewer resources than suburban schools

23. Social Mobility
Social mobility is the ability to change social classes
Horizontal mobility refers to moving within the same status category
Vertical mobility involves moving from one social class to another

24. Social Mobility Other types of social mobility
Intragenerational mobility occurs when an individual changes social standing, especially in the workforce
Intergenerational mobility refers to the change that family members make from one social class to the next through generations

25. Social Mobility
Social mobility relates to the structure of U.S. society
Structural mobility occurs when social changes affect large numbers of individuals (economic booms, recessions)
Exchange mobility is a concept suggesting that, within the U.S. each social class contains a relatively fixed numbers of people

26. Functionalism and Social Stratification
Functionalists believe that systems find equilibrium or balance so stratification must be the result of some kind of functional balance
Davis and Moore assume that stratification is inevitable and aids in the functioning of society

27. Functionalism and Social Stratification
Functionalists believe that systems find equilibrium or balance so stratification must be the result of some kind of functional balance
They believe in the meritocracy argument which states that those who get ahead do so based on their own merit

28. Functionalism and Social Stratification
Functionalists believe that systems find equilibrium or balance so stratification must be the result of some kind of functional balance
Davis and Moore assume that each society has important positions that must be filled
The more important the position, the more we reward those who choose to pursue it (for example, doctors)

29. Functionalism and Social Stratification
Functionalists believe that systems find equilibrium or balance so stratification must be the result of some kind of functional balance
In order to get someone to fill the position, society rewards individuals to fulfill the position
The rarer the skill the longer the education and the greater the reward 9:00/10:30

30. Top 5 Reasons My Students Think People Get Ahead in the United States

31. Conflict Theory and Social Stratification
Conflict theorists focus on the struggle for limited resources
Tumin provides a critique of the functionalists Davis and Moore – for Tumin social inequality is rooted in a system that is more likely to reward those who come from the higher classes and who have the resources to obtain better jobs

32. Conflict Theory and Social Stratification
Tumin also suggests that
The societal importance of the job does not seem to be the only basis for financial rewards – police officer vs. professional athlete – why does the athlete make so much more money
Groups with power will try to maintain or increase their power
The wealthy try to maintain the status quo so training remains in their hands

33. Symbolic Interactionism and Social Stratification
Symbolic interactionists are interested in how people perceive poverty and wealth
The higher our socioeconomic status (SES) the less we believe that social class matters
Individuals from the working class tend to have lower expectations about future earnings and job opportunities than higher classes

34. Social Policy: Welfare for the Poor
For many years, welfare was an entitlement program – a program offering assistance to which a person who met certain standards.
This changed in 1996 when Bill Clinton signed the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program into law.

35. Social Policy: Welfare for the Poor
TANF Highlights.
Time limits for receiving benefits
Two years at a time, Five years in a life time.
Limitation of payments to teen mothers with more than one child.
Teen mothers must remain in school to receive assistance.
Attending job training is required to receive benefits.

36. Social Policy: Welfare for the Poor
Disadvantages of TANF
Many mothers who receive TANF still live below the poverty level
Payment limits may be hurting children
Short duration of TANF prevents people from receiving long-term training like college
The program prevents people from improving their economic position by training them for low wage jobs

37. Social Policy: Taxes and Social Insurance
The US has two types of taxes
Progressive – taxes increase as incomes rise
Traditionally this would be income taxes
Regressive – taxes that fall more heavily on the poor
Sales taxes
What are the justifications for both these taxation schemes

38. Social Policy: Taxes and Social Insurance
The US has two primary types of social insurance.
Social security – income for the elderly and disabled. Created during the great depression.
Medicare – health insurance for the elderly and disabled.
You must pay into social insurance to be eligible for benefits.