1. CHAPTER 4 Social Class and Families Prepared by Cathie Robertson, Grossmont College McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 1

2. THE AMERICAN DREAM  http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/05/07/us/1194840031120/ defining-the-american-dream.html http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/05/07/us/1194840031120/ defining-the-american-dream.html  Land of Opportunity  Rags to Riches  Anyone can become rich, famous, powerful  Jobs & education available to all

3. Liz Murray  Born in the Bronx, to HIV-infected, drug-addicted parents  Age 16, her mother died of AIDS  Went to high school, but often sleeping in subways, park benches, or at a friend’s home.  Graduated in two years and attended Harvard  An inspirational speaker  No matter how hard life is, you have to move on and continue to work your way through the battles

4. Ozzy Osbourne Born: Aston, Birmingham, U.K. Father a toolmaker 15, dropped out of school Construction laborer, Plumber, Toolmaker, Slaughterhouse worker, and Car factory worker Created band: Black Sabbath

5. Oprah Winfrey  Raised by grandmother in poor rural Mississippi  Became a millionaire at age 32 when her talk show went national  Age 41, Winfrey had a net worth of $340 million

6. J.K. Rowling  Yate, Gloucestershire, England  Moved from village to village  Went to Portugal to teach English  Completed first Harry Potter novel writing in cafés  Today worth about $1.1 billion  Sold over 400 million books

7. “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” (DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE)

8. 10/3 Families and the Economy  Technological changes  Different types of jobs and skills  Workers replaced with machines  Loss of skilled and semi-skilled jobs to developing countries 8

9. Families and the Economy (cont.) The Growing Importance of Education  Factory jobs once the norm  Now without college:  Low paying service and unskilled manual labor jobs  Bachelor’s degree needed for jobs in better- paying sector  How much education? 9

10. Families and the Economy (cont.)  College educated people:  More likely to stay married  Have two parent household  Growth of higher education  A major social development of 20 th century America 10

11. Adjusted Family of Four Median Incomes 1950-2000 11

12. Families and the Economy (cont.) Trends in Poverty  Poverty line: a federally defined income limit  Defined as the cost of an “economy” diet for a family, multiplied by three 12

13. Percentage of families with children under 18 Incomes below the poverty line 13

14. Social Class  Social class: Ordering of persons in society by:  Economic resources  Prestige  Privilege (power) 14

15. Social Class  Life chances:  Resources and opportunities  To provide themselves with  Material goods and  Favorable living conditions

16. Social Class  Status group: Group of people sharing a common lifestyle and identifying with each other Prestige: Honor and status in society Privilege: Advantage or benefits  Income, education, and occupation correlates with status and social class

17. Social Mobility  Core of “American Dream”  Movement of families up and down economic ladder  In 1990s, 40% of incomes stayed at about same level  60% of incomes increased or decreased significantly

18. Social Mobility

22. Key features of Social Class  WEALTH Valued possessions:  Cash  Land  Buildings  Property  Wealth tends to be passed generation to generation

23. Key features of Social Class  Income: Money received during a period of time  In exchange for labor or services  Sale of goods or property  Profit from financial investments

24. Key features of Social Class  POWER  Ability to carry out one’s will, even if opposed by others  PRESTIGE  Respect given to people with valued positions or resources

25. Measuring Prestige (Harris Poll 2011)

26. People Like US http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU5MtVM_zFs

27. Upper Class Facts Q.What % of Americans belong to the upper class?  0.5% Q. Extent of wealth? – Top 1% owns more than one third of ALL net worth in the U.S. – 50% stocks, 60% bonds; corporations, property, inheritances; – Investments not employment Q. Source of power? – Ownership of resources - money makes money – Economic power and political power intertwined Q. Source of prestige? – Family name & resources – (old: Rockefeller, Carnegie, Walton, Getty; new: Gates)

28. Corporate Class Facts Q.What % of Americans?  0.5% Q. Extent of wealth? – A lot, but not as much as the upper class – Usually not major owners of companies – Median CEO salary $10.8 million – President of the U.S. $400,000 Q.Source of power?  Heads of companies, government Q.Source of prestige?  Position of influence

29. Middle Class The Cosby Show America’s first black middle class TV family

30. Distribution of Wealth

31. Middle Class Facts Q.What % of Americans?  43% Q. Extent of wealth?  Ownership—own home  Income—mid to high income Engineer, $58,000 Teacher, $34,000 WU Professor, ?? Q. Source of power? - Limited within context of occupation Q. Source of prestige?  White collar job

32. Working Class

33. Working Class Facts Q.What % of Americans?  43% Q.Extent of wealth?  Very little  Ownership—little or no property  Income—mid to low Factory worker, $24,000 Machine operator, $23,000 Q.Source of power?  Limited, sometimes collective power through unions Q.Source of prestige?  Very little, Blue collar jobs

34. Lower Class Homeless People

35. Lower Class Facts Q.What % of Americans?  13% Q.Extent of wealth?  Very little, usually none  Ownership: none  Income: low Poverty rate in 2011: 15.1% Family of four with annual earnings of less than $22,314 Q.Source of power?  Limited to none Q.Source of prestige?  Limited to none

36. Inequality Based on Class  Health—Higher class live longer (79.2 years vs. 74.7 years).  Crime—impoverished areas tend to have higher crime rates  Education—despite continued increases in financial aid, the proportion of higher class students at elite schools is increasing.  Families—higher class are more likely to have children while within marriage and at older ages.

37. Wealth

38. TAXES

39. Median Household Income by Region

40. Gender gaps in the labor market

41. Why does the gender gap exist?  Education?  Women-Over 50% of students in college  Men work more hours?  Women in full-time work earn less than men with same educational qualification  Traditional Gender Roles?  Child-care responsibilities  Lack of family friendly work policies

42. Why does the gender gap exist?

43. Gender Pay Gap

44. Poverty rates and Gender

45. Revisiting the American Dream  Land of Opportunity?  “Rags to riches” or “the rich get richer?”  Classes tend to reproduce themselves  Occupational & Wealth inheritance  Legacy admission to universities  Are all jobs open and equal for everyone?  Clearly not

46. The American Dream  Is Social class achieved or ascribed?  40% to 60% of parental income-advantage passed to children  A meritocracy?  Barriers to upward mobility  Education  Role models / Mentors /Network  Discrimination

47. How to Marry the Rich http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvibi2Cph- E&feature=related Untold Wealth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puiiaNJuyMA&feature=related Mc Cain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB_rEeO3Ccs&feature=related

48. America: A Tale of Two Cities “Shining city on a hill”? Ronald Reagan