Economic Inequality

Question 1

socio-economic status

Answer 1

• Combine multiple measures of a person’s well‐being
• Economics (wealth, income) is primary, but education and social standing matter

Question 2

prestige/honor

Answer 2

a nonfinancial reward
ex. well paid garbage collector seen as “dirty”

Question 3

key changes in occupations in U.S.

Answer 3

PAST
mainly blue with little white & service
NOW
mainly white & service with little blue

Question 4

income vs. wealth

Answer 4

INCOME : money coming in
WEALTH : network, assets, total amount of money

Question 5

distribution of income

Answer 5

TOP FIFTH: 52.0%
▪ Top 5% 23.1%
▪ SECOND FIFTH: 22.6%
▪ MIDDLE/THIRD FIFTH: 14.1%
▪ FOURTH FIFTH: 8.3%
▪ BOTTOM/FIFTH FIFTH: 3.1%

Question 6

distribution of wealth

Answer 6

▪ Top 10%: 71% (Top 1%: 37%)
▪ Next 40%: 28.2%
▪ Bottom 50%: 0.9%

Question 7

poverty

Answer 7

3 x an “austere” food budget
▪ @$27,750 for a family of four in 2022

Question 8

Why is the definition of poverty problematic?

Answer 8

• cut off isn’t accurate
• food is no longer main expense, housing is

Question 9

absolute vs. relative poverty

Answer 9

ABSOLUTE: lack of resources to meet basic needs
RELATIVE: an individual/household’s status compared to society (ex. not having an iPhone or nice car)

Question 10

relative deprivation

Answer 10

experience of feeling deprived or disadvantaged when comparing oneself to others

Question 11

impacts of poverty

Answer 11

• health problems & shorter life span
• food insecurity
• lower educational outcomes
• more crime victimization
• higher divorce rate

Question 12

ACES

Answer 12

Adverse Childhood Experience
abuse
household challenges
neglect

Question 13

Who is more likely to be affected by ACES?

Answer 13

at or below 150% of poverty

Question 14

Who is more and less likely to be poor based on AGE?

Answer 14

• 11.5% of all people
• 8.8% of all families
• 15% of all children

Question 15

Who is more and less likely to be poor based on FAMILY TYPE?

Answer 15

• Married with Kids: 5.0%
• Single‐Father Households: 11.5%
• Single‐Mother Households: 23%

Question 16

Who is more and less likely to be poor based on ETHNICITY/RACE?

Answer 16

MOST POOR ARE WHITE

black/Latino households =60-70% of white family income

White not Hispanic: 8.6%
African American: 17.1%
Hispanic or Latino (various races): 16.9%
Native American: 25%
Asian American : 8.6%

Question 17

intergenerational mobility

Answer 17

movement up/down a social stratification hierarchy from one generation to another

Question 18

social reproduction

Answer 18

how social inequalities and class structures are reproduced over time, often through education, family, and social networks

Question 19

Economic mobility in the U.S.

Answer 19

“considerable drops in upward
social mobility”

WHY?
Relationship between “permeability” and class position varies by class position

Question 20

The Opportunity Atlas

Answer 20

maps the long-term outcomes of children in the United States based on the neighborhoods where they grew up

Question 21

Cultural Focus

Answer 21

General Position: Parent’s culture affects parenting style
- Culture varies by class

Question 22

Culture of Poverty theory

Answer 22

maladaptive traits among the poor keep the poor poor
- limited aspirations
- lower effort in school
- instant gratification
- social skills challenge

Question 23

Concerns for Culture Theory

Answer 23

• it’s a proximate theory - adherents fail to address deeper causes
• leads to victim blaming - seeing poor as villains

Question 24

Bordieu on CULTURAL CAPITAL

Answer 24

culture as asset or not
- can mean inclusion or discrimination
- matter during job search, promotion, universities

Question 25

Ideology to prevent dissent

Answer 25

• ideas that serve as legitimating rationales
• everyone’s seen as responsible for their own fate

Question 26

Culture Industries

Answer 26

pacify or distract to prevent dissent
(ex netflix, tiktok)

Question 27

Structuralist - Davis-Moore Theory

Answer 27

Class‐based inequality is a
feature of the existing structure/capitalist society
if a feature persists then it is beneficial to society

Question 28

Davis-Moore Theory

Answer 28

• Is society actually “meritocratic”?
  – Do actual incomes clearly match
  the difficulty and usefulness of
  jobs?

Question 29

Conflict Thinkers/Marxism

Answer 29

• Existing inequality produces
  differences in opportunity
• Structure squanders talent

Question 30

Labor Theory of Value

Answer 30

All value comes from labor
* If you pay workers for all of the value they
create, you make no profit