Poverty and Economic Disparity Flashcards
The US is the most technologically and economically advanced country in the world but one must have enough economic resources to take advantages of the conveniences available.
true
This uses a dollar amount that is firmly set, anyone who earns less than that amount is officially categorized as poor.
Absolute Poverty
- Uses Comparisons to determine who is poor and who is not
- Begins with agreement about the level of economic resources that the average person should have, then compares against that standard
Relative Poverty
The definition of poverty used by the government is
Absolute Poverty
Personal and social values play a large role in defining
who is poor
According to the US census how many people were living in poverty in 2003?
35.9 million or 12.5%
People living in poverty are more likely to be…
Children and living with an adult single female
The tendency for children to be over represented in poverty statistics is.
Juvenilization of poverty
The tendency of women to be poor more frequently than men
The femenization of poverty
The Causes of Poverty
- the theory of a ‘culture of poverty’ states that people learn to be poor from growing up in impoverished areas
- the theory of ‘functional poverty’ states that poverty plays an important role in economic structure, providing a pool of low-wage workers.
Values and Blaming the Victim
- Discussions of poverty in the US have for a long time blamed the victim for their problems
- If poverty is the victims fault, society does not have to struggle with the situation of many in society not having enough
Employment and Income Levels
- Staying out of poverty requires adequate employment and income, not merely having a job.
- The way income is distributed across the population affects poverty
Jobs
-Americans expect adults to work, and work is a key component of participation in society, helping define who people are
Jobs in July 2005
-In july of 2005, 5% of adults ( about 7.5 million people) were counted as unemployed, meaning they were physically able to work but could not find employment
Jobs Adequate Employment
-for people in poverty, achieving adequate employment is a struggle for an adequate income and an identity in society
Underemployed and Working Poor
Many people fall into this category
- These are people who do not work enough hours or earn enough money to support themselves and their families.
- Most jobs are covered by the minimum wage
Federal Minimum Wage
$5.15 per hour
$10,712 per year, below the poverty threshold for a family of two
The Income Gap
- Those in the top 20% of the income scale earn almost half of all the household income in the US
- In 1980 the top 20% of all income earners had earned 10X more income than the bottom one fifth
- By 2000 that had grown to 14X more
When tax cuts are provided for those at the top often there is a corresponding ___ __________ for those at the bottom
Assistance Cut
Race and Governmental Assistance
- Race is one of the most significant factors affecting income wealth in the US
- Families of color earn less and have higher unemployment rates than white families
The Cost of Poverty
- Poverty has personal and societal costs
- Children growing up have lower educational achievement and sense of self
- In adults, poverty contributes to depression, anger and low self esteem
Homelessness and Housing
- Since the 1980s the Numbers of, and especially the children and the families who are homeless, have increased.
- Lack of affordable housing contributes to this problem
Effects of “Urban Renewal”
Decreased affordable housing
increased homelessness
Overcoming Homelessness
in a national study of homeless families, at least 40% returned to shelters 2 or more times, and many who leave cannot secure a permanent residence.
Barriers faced by homeless
- Homeless often have no clothing or showers for interviews to help overcome circumstances
- No phone number, or address for contact
Personal Costs of Poverty
-Intervening to alleviate the problems due to poverty is one of the greatest challenges of social work practice
Poverty is related to
- Inadequate health
- Substandard Housing
- Low Educational Achievement
- Drug Use
- Dangerous Living Situations
Consequences of poverty
- Shortened Life
- Inferior education
- Poor health
- Hunger
- Lack of Opportunity
Two major programs in which the poor have been assisted
SSI and TANF
Individual assistance for the poor
-Focuses on treatment of psychosocial conditions
Local Assistance for the poor
Termed Grassroots Movements
-have been effective
SSI
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides cash assistance for people who are poor and over 65, blind or disabled
- -the max payment for a person without any other kind of income is approximately $552 per month
- in 2002, 9 million people received federal payments through SSI
TANF
- Temporary AID to Needy Families (TANF) is the version of AFDC that came out of welfare reform act of 1996
- Allows poor families to get cash assistance for no more than 24 consecutive months and a lifetime total of 5 years
- All adult participants must spend 20 hours a week in a job or job-related activity
- TANF is a federal block grant program, meaning the states get a set amount of funding for the program and when it runs out, no more benefits will be paid until the next year
- *THERE IS GREAT VARIABILITY BETWEEN THE STATES**
Food Stamp Program
- Provides coupons for the poor that can be redeemed for goods at commercial grocery stores
- Eligibility is set by the federal government and is standard across the nation, but benefits vary by state
Psychosocial Interventions
- Living in poverty is stressful, and social workers can intervene with a variety of approaches
- Strength-based perspectives can be applied at the individual, group and community levels
- Individual-level work may involve solution-focused interventions that emphasized solutions rather than problem analysis
- Social workers can help people improve their employability
Advocacy
-Advocacy work with the poor is most effective when the community organizes from within, and natural leaders come forward to take a role in variety of activities encouraging economic development and other types of political advocacy.
