1. Chapter 8 Section 3 Poverty

2.  13 % of American live below the poverty live (37 million)  Poverty is defined as the standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by society.  Poverty is a relative measure (it changes from nation to nation)  American poverty is measured by the minimum income a family needs to survive ( poverty level )  Most poverty levels are given for a family of four (cost of diet/eating times 3 for each person)  This system was developed in the 1960s but spending/eating habits have changed greatly.

3. American Poverty  Characteristics such as age, sex, and race/ethnicity affect risk of being poor  Children under 18 are 25% of the population but make up 33% of those living in poverty  Poverty among Hispanic and African-American children is more than twice the level among white children  57% of those in poverty are women. Women also head about ½ of all poor families.  40 % of households headed by African-American and Hispanic women live in poverty; only 25% for families headed by white women

4. Effects of Poverty  Life Chances refer to the likelihood of individuals to share in the opportunities and benefits of society  Life chances include such things as health, length of life, housing, and education.  Poor Americans are at a serious disadvantage in two areas-health and life expectancy -the number of years a person born in a particular year can be expected to live  Poor nutrition and limited access to healthcare  The poor also have limited educational opportunities

5. Effects of Poverty  Patterns of Behavior  Divorce rates are higher among low-income families  The poor are also more likely to be arrested, convicted, and sent to prison  Bad circumstances often cause the poor to commit the types of crimes that are pursued more aggressively by police like burglary and theft  The poor are also more likely to be the victims of crime

6. Government Responses  1964-President Johnson declared a “war on poverty” to end inequality-results have been mixed  The poverty rate is still about the same as in the early 1970s  Some changes have been made –the elderly used to make up a significant part of the poor population- that rate today is lower than for the whole country due to increased Social Security and Medicaid  The government also tries to reduce inequality through social welfare programs

7. Government Responses  Welfare programs use one of two methods:  Transfer payments to redistribute money within society by funneling a percentage of tax revenues to groups that need public assistance  These programs include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)  The other programs are based on subsidies or the transfer of goods and services rather than cash  The Food Stamp program is the best example of government subsidy  Subsidies also include housing, school lunches, and Medicaid

8. Government Responses  Beginning in the 1980s, calls for reforms to these programs grew louder  Critics charged that the system had created a new “welfare class” who chose to live off the government assistance rather than work  1996-gov’t. passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act  Limits welfare payments to 5 years instead of indefinitely  Recipients must work after 2 years in the program  States took control of some parts of the program

9. Homework  Pg. 201 #1-5