Soc 125 Final Exam Flashcards
positive v normative
Positive: how things are
Normative: how things ought to be
what has happened to income growth in the us?
until 2014, poor and middle class saw largest income growth now its very affluent
who saw an increase in income (elephant chart)
rising incomes in china and india
booming global elites
who saw an increase in income (elephant chart)
poorest are out of all growth
developed world middle class
what is a liberal democracy?
- government power transferred by voters
- citizens have rights to protect from government intrusion
what does the law of supply and demand state?
supply and demand will converge at a given price point
Pareto optimality
society is efficient and resources cannot be allocated to make someone better off without making someone else worse off
what does a classical liberal believe states should do?
- security
- infrastructure, education, and sanitation
- ensure competition and limit negative externalities
classical liberal views on what a state should not do
- create anti-poverty programs
- fund higher education
- set employer contracts
free market ideal
perfect information
costs reflected in prices
no transaction costs
no state interference
motivated by maximizing personal wealth
negative vs positive freedom
freedom from
- market is good at this
freedom to
- generates great inequalities
moral argument
market capitalism promotes freedom
pragmatic argument
market capitalism promotes social efficiency and wealth creation
Market failures
allocation of goods is not efficient; market cannot produce optimal outcomes
Market imperfections
real-world markets deviate from market ideals
- lack of information
- monopoly
positive externality
consumption or production of a good benefits more than just them
negative externality
production or consumption of a good impacts more than one group
short time horizon
firms only care about profit maximization now causing harm to future generations
sucker pentality
difference between your outcome depending on what the other person picks
conditional altruism
people are not selfish they just economically rationalize personal gain
opportunity cost
what you lost by doing something else
discount rate
rate which economic significance declines over time
what is the moral hazard problem?
there is no incentive to worry about cost because the bill is paid for
Glass Steagall Act
after GD:
- seperated investment banking from commercial banking
- FDIC creation
gramm-leach-biley
repealed glass stegal to allow for great efficiency and competitiveness
iron law of urban decay
cities will deteriorate overtime
- middle class flees and the tax base erodes causing poverty concentrations
What gini coefficient value corresponds with perfect equality of income distribution?
0
What economic class percentage has the most wealth?
top 20%; bottom 40% has so little wealth they do not show up on the chart
when is an inequality unjust?
unfair and something can be done to fix it
what are the argument types of rhetoric of reaction?
futility- wont have any impact
perversity- will make things worse
jeopardy- will threaten something else of value
what are the misleading plans for reform?
synergy- elements will work positively together
imminent danger- we must do something to prevent catastrope
right side of history- progress is baked into social forces
Fair play vs fair share
Fair play: equal playing field
Directed towards future
not past
Fair share: resources equally reallocated
normative arguements for inequality
fairness
pragmatic argument for unjust inequality
greater the inequality, people work harder and benefit from it
oppression vs exploitation
oppression: inverse interdependency and inequality exclusion
Exploitation:
appropriation principle
inverse interdependent welfare
material well-being of one group is inversely related to material deprivations of another
inequality exclusion principle
excluding a disadvantaged group from resources controlled by advantaged group
appropriation principle
advantaged groups control of the labor effort and wealth generated by the disadvantaged group
what is the poverty level?
3x cost of minimal diet
how is poverty defined elsewhere?
less than 50% of median income
poverty gap
% difference between mean income of the poor and poverty line
how did TANF impact families recieving welfare benefits
decreased the number recieving
What are the two forms of welfare spending?
Direct government spending: ie food stamps
Tax expenditures:
mortgage deductions, tax deductions
what is the difference between means tested and universal programs
means tested: person only benefits if they fall below a level of income
universal programs: everyone benefits regardless of income
pragmatic arguments against BIG
too many people will stop working for pay
taxes to pay for big will be to high so no incentive to work
Second class citizenship
giving different categories of people different rights on the basis of an undesired attribute
semi-free labor
labor market which non-citizens are not given rights and protections
13th amendment
abolished slavery
14th amendment
all citizens have equal rights
15th amendment
allowed voting
when did US incarceration rates increase?
1980
how have white and black wealth increases differed?
since 1960 black wealth has almost not changed where as white wealth has dramatically increased
how has black and white wealth gap changed?
roughly the same from 1968
how have black americans median income changed
decreased from 200
how has black homeownership changed?
beginning to retreat
how many black adults are currently employed
fewer than half
how much parental leave do people receive in the US?
0
what is womens first and second choice for family dynamic?
First: egalitarian
Second: self-reliant
what is mens first and second choice for family dynamic?
First: egalitarian
Second: neo-traditional
what are status inequalities
inequalities due to personal attributes
capitalist free market economy
prices set by supply and demand,
pragmatic argument for inequality
poor people will be worse off because wealthy people invest and stimulate the economy
pragmatic argument against inequality
materials are concentrated to the rich
erodes sense of community and trust
what happened to union density in 1950
decreased
