Ch.2 Poverty and Economic Inequality Flashcards
What are the 2 types of Poverty?
- Absolute Poverty: poverty is a lack of basic needs + resources leading to physical deprivation. Market Basket Measures (MBM). Poverty is an inability to buy necessities.
- Relative Poverty: poverty = one group having substantially less relative to others in society. Low income cutoff (LICO)–> in comparison to the average Canadian, the poor spend 20% more of their pre-tax income on basic needs. Median–> low-income measures (LIM) = the poor’s household income is less than 50 % of the national median (EU, US).
Critiques about the different measures:
- LICO + LIM measure inequality rather than poverty.
- Scirio argues poverty doesn’t really exist in Canada.
- Poverty can only be dealt with at the individual level.
- Social programs to alleviate poverty are bad since they allow individuals to keep making bad choices.
What is the Davis Moore Thesis?
- Inequality is functional (it allows the system to work).
- Without unequal rewards, individuals wouldn’t work hard or invest time in education.
- Society is a Meritocracy: a hierarchy of positions and rewards based on an individual’s abilities and credentials.
What are some individual solutions to inequality?
- Education is often upheld as THE solution to poverty and inequality.
- If individuals make the right choices and go to school they will escape poverty.
- “Education allows a meritocracy to emerge.”
What kind of problem is poverty?
It’s a Structural Problem
What do politicians suggest that will help eradicate poverty?
They say that creating more jobs is a solution, but mere job creation is not enough.
What does the group called “the working poor” is all about?
The working poor are individuals who participate in the labor market but remain below or near the poverty line due to low wages, lack of benefits, precarious employment, or systemic barriers to economic mobility.
To address poverty we need to fix…?
The structure of society
What does GAI stands for?
Guaranteed Annual Income: every Canadians citizens would be guaranteed a certain amount of income each year.
E.g: Ontario Basic Pilot Project
With GAI, would people stop working?
- Mothers with infants and teenagers who supplement their families’ incomes did work less.
- High school graduation, test scores, and the number of adults in continuing education all went up.
- Health wise, people were better with a GAI.
What is Global Inequality?
Global Inequality is rooted in the history of colonialists and the transatlantic slave trade whereby millions of African people were enslaved in various regions, including North America and the Caribbean.
Theoretical perspective on Poverty: Structural Functionalism
According to them, economic inequality is functional for society bc it motivates individuals to work hard and move up the economic ladder.
Theoretical perspective on Poverty: Conflict Theory
The conflict theory of poverty and inequality relies heavily on ideas developed by Karl Marx and focuses on the exploitation of the working class under capitalism.
Poverty and inequality as the result of power struggles btw different social groups.
What do they argue (Conflict theorists)?
They argue that society is structured in a way that benefits the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the poor and marginalized.
The ruling class (bourgeoisie) control resources, capital, and political power, ensuring that wealth remains concentrated in their hands.
The working class (proletariat) is exploited for labour but receives minimal compensation, keeping them in poverty.
Why has the conflict theory been criticized?
It has been critiqued for overlooking inequalities based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and other social factors.
Theoretical Perspectives on Poverty: Symbolic Interactionism
It focuses on the ways that inequalities get reinforced and created in micro-level interactions.
Why are the critiques surrounding symbolic interactionism?
Unlike other theoretical perspectives, symbolic interactionism has been criticized for not explaining why we have economic inequality in the first place. The theory doesn’t pay enough attention to the social structures that constrain people and as a result tends to blame individuals for the poverty and economic inequality they experience.
What’s the Housing Crisis?
- It is the lack of affordable housing, social housing, and accessible housing for Canadians.
- Lack of accessible rental accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
What is Homelessness?
It describes the condition of individuals and families who do not have access to safe and permanent housing.
What is Hidden Homelessness?
It refers to individuals and families who do not have housing and rely on others for temporary accommodation.
What’s Unsheltered Homelessness?
It refers to individuals who do not have the ability to temporarily live with friends, family, or others.
Some causes of homelessness?
The causes for homelessness are complex and include structural factors, such as a lack of affordable housing and social housing and a lack of support for mental health and addiction.
Poverty and low income are the main predictors of homelessness.
What is food insecurity?
Not having physical or economic access to food that can support health and well-being.
What is intersectional analysis?
Framework for understanding how different social identities intersect + overlap in ways that create unique forms of privilege or oppression.
