Exam 1

Question 1

What is the average length of time a poor person spends below the poverty line?

Answer 1

The length of time spent below the poverty line for most poor individuals is 1 to 2 years

Question 2

∷ How many U.S. workers are employed in minimum wage jobs?

Answer 2

1.5 million

Question 3

∷ Why is it thought that poverty is a bigger problem in the U.S. compared to other nations?

Answer 3

-

Question 4

∷ When was the “War on Poverty” declared?

Answer 4

-• January 8th 1964 president Lyndon Johnson declares a “War on poverty” in his State of The Union Address

Question 5

∷ Generally, how is poverty defined?

Answer 5

-Webster dictionary: state of being poor/ lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions

Lack of:
Food, education, cars, home

Question 6

Describe Adam Smiths conceptualization of poverty and how does the current poverty measure align with such a view

Answer 6

-not being able to keep up with the necessities of the times (someone not having a cell phone, or a telephone)

Question 7

∷ What are the obstacles Professor Rank identifies to properly addressing poverty in the United States?

Answer 7

-– Our individualistic culture works against our sense of community and responsibilities to others

– Our cultural emphasis on self-reliance causes us to see individuals as solely responsiblefor their well-being and for pulling themselves out of poverty

-– The strong belief that our society is one that provides ample opportunity for those willing to put forth the effort

▪ And, when minorities are disproportionately represented amongst the poor this cause members of the majority to feel less empathy for the plight of the poor

Question 9

∷ How have median weekly earnings changes for males and females for the period 1979 to 2010?

Answer 9

From 1979 to 2010 median weekly earnings for those 24-29 years of age fell 17% for male and increased 7% for females

Question 10

**What was the median income for the United States in 2013

and what does that figure represent?

Answer 10

$51,939

Question 12

∷ What are the most common sources of someone pulling above the poverty line?

Answer 12

 Movement above the poverty line is commonly associated with:  Job gains
 Pay raises
 Changes in household structure (to a two-parent household)
Educational advancement / achievement

Question 13

∷ What was the minimum income for the top ten percent of U.S. households?

Answer 13

$12,401

Question 14

∷ Know the general characteristics of the poor?

Answer 14

-

Question 15

∷ What are the three experiences that Professor Rank identifies as capturing the essence of poverty in
the United States?

Answer 15

• stunted growth
• stress
• doing without

Question 16

∷ In 2013, what was the median hourly wage?

Answer 16

13.23

Question 17

∷ How are the poor seen as different from the general public in the United States?

 Why are such perceptions so commonly accepted?

Answer 17

-only looking to have a good time

• they deserve their plight
• they want too be on welfare
• less intelligent
• unfit and abusive parents

We accept these perceptions because it takes the pressure off of us to do anything to help the unfortunate out.

We look at it as the individual as own conflict to deal with

Question 20

∷ How do the frequencies for single-headed households vary across race?

Answer 20

 2013
 35% of all children living in single parent family
 25% for Whites
 42% for Hispanics
 67% for Blacks
 16% for Asians

Question 21

∷ What is the likelihood of a person who escapes poverty experiencing it again?

Answer 21

Nearly 50% of those that get out of poverty will fall below again within 5 years

Question 22

∷ What is the metric used to establish the poverty threshold in the United States?

 What are the concerns raised with this measure?

Answer 22

• annual food cost for adequate diet of a particular household size
• multiple the figure by 3 (that gives you the poverty line)

Because people spend 1/3 of their money on food items

Question 24

∷ How do other nations typically measure poverty?

Answer 24

-they take the median house hold income and those making below 50% are considered poor

Question 25

∷ What is the distinction between absolute and relative poverty?

Answer 25

Absolute: measured by comparing a persons total income against the total cost of a specific ‘basket’ of essential goods and services

Relative: compares a persons total income and spending patterns with those of the general population

Question 25

∷ In opinion surveys, what does the general public see as the major cause of poverty?

Answer 25

• people not doing enough

- beyond control

Question 26

∷ What is TANF and what is the average monthly benefit distributes to families?

Answer 26

TANF = Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

Average: 392

Question 27

∷ Characterize the disturbing contrasts that Professor Rank speaks of

Answer 27

• the considerable amount of wealth that is produced in this country
• abundant resources, skills / poverty levels

Question 27

∷ Since 1967 what has been the trend in inequality for the United States?

Answer 27

• we place poverty as a problem for the individual.
• not doing enough

Lack of understanding

Question 28

∷ Who was Molly Orshansky?

Answer 28

-• M(1915-2006)
Devised our current measure of poverty using smiths conceptualization of poverty being tHat failure to secure (thur $ purchase) the basic basket of foods and services that allow for mini mildly decent existence
By whose or what standards

Question 29

∷ The top 20% of households control what percent of all household income generated in the United States

Answer 29

51%

Question 29

∷ How does Professor Rank explain the absence of any general unrest despite so many Americans experiencing poverty?

Answer 29

-

Question 30

∷ What are the most common sources of someone falling below the poverty line?

Answer 30

 Movement below the poverty line is most commonly associated with reductions or loss of work (56%)

• illness
• divorce/separation

Question 32

∷ How do U.S. poverty rates compare internationally?

Answer 32

-Poverty in the USA is substantially higher in other developed nations
To make such comparisons a standard measurement is needed
- households making below 50% of that Nations median household income

Much of this is attributed to differences in our social safety net policies

***How we measure poverty:
Food budgets multiple that figure by three

Other developed nations are much more generous to people in poverty.

Question 32

∷ Be able to identify a minimum of four programs started under the “War on Poverty” program?

-How were these programs designed to eliminate poverty?

Answer 32

-food stamps

Head starts

Question 32

∷ How do Liberals and Conservatives see the legacy of the “War on Poverty” “differently?

Answer 32

Liberals claim: not enough money has been spent for the programs to be adaptively successful

Conservative: argue that that welfare locks people into a cycle of poverty

Question 32

∷ Who are the underclass?

- Who is most vulnerable to such status?

Answer 32

-long term poor
 A class of individuals defined by chronic joblessness, due to a lack of marketable skills, minimal education, and/or significant work disabilities
 Female headed households with many children, inner city residents, and minorities are most vulnerable

Question 33

∷ What was the poverty rate for 2013?

-How many Americans were considered “poor” in 2013?

Answer 33

14. 5%

45. 3 million

Question 34

∷ Know the different patterns in poverty rates for the young and the elderly over the last five decades

 What are the factors that Professor Rank identifies as the sources for these reversals in trends?

 What was the source of this failure
 The decline in social welfare spending for children lost ground to inflation

Answer 34

-poverty rates for the elderly have lowered, while poverty rates for children remain low

The reduction in elderly poverty is considered a major social policy achievement
 Social Security program
 w/o it is estimate elderly poverty would be at 50%  Indexing benefits to inflation begins in the 1960s

 The increased problem of childhood poverty is considered a major social policy failure