The Distributions of Poverty, Wealth and Income

Question 1

wealth

Answer 1

.propert in the form of assets which can be sold and turned into cash for the benfit of the owner

Question 2

marketable wealth

Answer 2

.assets to be bought or sold and turned into cash for the owners benefit

Question 3

non-marketable wealth

Answer 3

.wealth that cant be bought or sold e.g. occupational pensions and state

Question 4

productive property

Answer 4

.wealth which provides and unearned income for its owner e.g. rent on houses

Question 5

consumption property

Answer 5

.wealth for use by the owner e.g. consumer goods

Question 6

what are the flaws in the measurements of wealth

Answer 6

.tax evasion hides wealth - reck suggests it adds up to abt 20%
.black market and hidden econ. not included
.people under report their wealth on surveys

Question 7

income

Answer 7

.refers to the flow of money which ppl obtain from work, welfare benefits or from rent/interests on saving (investments in productive properties)

Question 8

disposable income

Answer 8

.what a person has after paying taxes

Question 9

discretionary income

Answer 9

.what is left after taxes and all necessary household bills - what is left for ppl to spend as they choose

Question 10

earned income

Answer 10

.recieved from payed employment

Question 11

unearned income

Answer 11

.recieved from productive property e.g. rent - rich mainly have this

Question 12

what is wealth and income like in br. and what does it create

Answer 12

.v unequally distributed in contemporary br. - consequence of it is widespread pov.
.inequalities create inequalities in life changes w not all social groups have the same chances of accumulating/inheriting wealth and achieving high incomes

Question 13

what contributes to wider inequalities

Answer 13

.those from poorer background receive little or nothing from family inheritance of wealth or other financial help
.contributes to wider inequalities of life chances - poorer groups fall father behind and inequalities will widen

Question 14

what is wealth and income like overall

Answer 14

.income more evenly distributed than wealth and although it increased a lot in 80s and 90s, doesnt mean that there’s equality
.top 10% of income earners have over 10x more than bottom 10% - those from richest groups benefit from substantial inheritances from wealthy parents and other relatives - those from better off families benefit from financial help
.social and cultural benefits also arise from mc backgrounds

Question 15

the rich of the uk

Answer 15

.traditional aristocracy - major landowners who inherit lots of wealth and land
.owners of industries and commerce - the corporate rich of the business world
.stars of entertainment, sport and the media e.g. David beckham

Question 16

inherited wealth

Answer 16

.around 33% of all uk wealth inherited w those inheriting doing nothing to earn their wealth - most rich and self made rich live on unearned income from investments rather than employment

Question 17

how to redistribute wealth and income

Answer 17

.mass inequalities existed over the last century and inequality in life chances have caused/provoked various measures to redistribute wealth and income more equally
.in/direct taxes, cash benefits, benefits in kind

Question 18

direct taxes

Answer 18

.tend to progressive and taken from someones earning - have been sig. reduced in last 50 years

Question 19

indirect taxes

Answer 19

.includes taxes e.g. VAT. tend to be regressive as they hit poorer ppl harder - have increased over last 20/30 years

Question 20

cash benefits

Answer 20

.paid by govs to lower earners

Question 21

benefits in kind

Answer 21

.services provided by the state which are freely available e.g. schools, nhs

Question 22

inheritance tax

Answer 22

.payable when ppl give gifts of wealth before/after death - intended to limit inheritance of vast quantities of wealth from one gen to the next

Question 23

capital gains tax

Answer 23

.payable when selling stocks and shares - intended to reduce profits or shares and is payable whenever they are sold

Question 24

social welfare benefits

Answer 24

.from state, generally seen as attempts to divert the resources obtained through taxation to the needy sections of society

Question 25

has redistribution occurred

Answer 25

.little real redistribution has occurred w there being a large divide between the v rich and the lesser rich
.tax relief avoidance and tax havens exist

Question 26

poverty and social classes

Answer 26

.doesnt affect social classes equally - what unites all these groups that experience pov is that if they’re born in wc family then there’s no savings, no family to fall back on while other classes have savings, no pension so no safety net
.major group being in pov suggests that its not due to ind. ‘inadequacies’ but by social circumstances,stances beyond the control of the poor

Question 27

which groups are more likely to be in relative poverty

Answer 27

.low income workers/don’t work
.low paid - self-employed, full time, part time
.pensioners - many depend on state pensions of support, inadequate for maintaining anything other than a basic standard of living
.lone parents - often prevented from getting full time work due to lack of affordable childcare facilities, may only be able to take up part time pay
.children - will be affected by lone parenthood, unemployed/part time parents and larger families - young kids more likely due to high cost of childcare - difficult to take uo full-time payed empl.
.meg - 2/3 living in pov
.disabled - poorer employment. opportunities, lower pay and dependancy on state benefits

Question 28

tax relief

Answer 28

.state allows it, money normally used to pay income tax on wide variety of things e.g. school fees - means they pay a smaller proportion of their income in tax than a poorer person who doesnt have to pay these taxes

Question 29

tax avoidance

Answer 29

.legal and often thought up by financial advisors and accountants to find loopholes in tax laws to beat the tax system by saving the rich from paying some tax e.g. living outside of br. for most of heir life

Question 30

tax evasion

Answer 30

.illegal and involves ppl not declaring wealth and income to HM, revenue and custom (HMRC) - suspected common practice among rich

Question 31

ethnicity and poverty

Answer 31

.kenwall and palmer - ethnic minorities on average more likely to be in pov.
.almost 1/2 of ethnic min. kids live in low income households
.bangladeshis and Pakistanis most likely to be in poverty

Question 32

reasons why ethnic minorities are more likely to be in. poverty

Answer 32

.low pay - many women not in paid work, particularly Pakistani and Bangladeshi households
.unemployment - higher among Pakistanis and Bangladeshis
.family type - p and b families tend to be larger, need to provide for more ppl, doesnt help when combined with low pay levels
.racism - often unable to obtain best payed jobs and often resort to low pay un/employment
.underachievement in ed. - often lack qualifications needed for employment, particularly for skilled better payed jobs

Question 33

what do the functionalists argue abt pov and ethnicity

Answer 33

.pov amongst these groups is functional bcs it makes these groups feel motivated to take on jobs that wh. br. don’t want - have little alternative

Question 34

what do weberians argue abt pov and ethnicity

Answer 34

.ethnic minorities have weaker market situation bcs of underachievement in schools so are less able t get better jobs

Question 35

what do marxists argue abt pov and ethnicity

Answer 35

.racism and low pay contributes to divisions in wc - separating poor and non-poor and dividing wh. and bl. workers
.prevents develop. of class consciousness and wc unity
.conflict caused by wc not fighting against cap. system

Question 36

what does the new right argue abt pov and ethnicity

Answer 36

.blames members from group as part of the underclass, having a dependancy culture and are work shy
.marxists argue that this may itself be a response to racial disadv. in ed. and employment w social exclusion being a consequence

Question 37

age and pov - elderly

Answer 37

.pensioners now less likely to be living in low income household than adults of working age - still 18% classes as in pov.
.abt 900,000 classed as living in ‘severe’ pov. - cant afford decent food, heat home or live independent life

Question 38

what contributes to the risk of elderly being in pov

Answer 38

.poor in later life means that they probs earned least in working life
.elderly women - more likely to to qualify for a full pension - have to work and contribute t national insurance for 30 yrs - many take time out to raise kids
.retires women in pov less likely to claim benefits due to stigma surrounding it

Question 39

what are the successes in pensioner poverty

Answer 39

.lansley and mack - reduction in pensioner pov are one of only success stories relaying to pov - focus on free bus passes, winter fuel allowance and better pensions lift many out of pov
.however - rapid ageing population will inverse pensioner pov. and more ppl will be forced to work much longer as they cant afford to retire - won’t be able to access a pension that will fir their life style to have a comfortable standard of living

Question 40

age and poverty - children

Answer 40

.kids more likely to live in low income households - rely on resources from parents as cannot work - 4.2 million kids live live in pov

Question 41

what does Hirsch argue as factors that affect child pov

Answer 41

.lone parenthood
.lack of work and low paid workers
.diability - undermines parents ability to find employment (1 in 4 kids has at least 1 disabled parent
.inadequate help through tax and benefits system
.inadequate policies supporting childcare and flexible workings - difficult to work and support kids

Question 42

why is child poverty a serious issue

Answer 42

.educational achievement likely to be affected - other problems cause more schoolmate be missed due to health issues
.hirsch - pov alos causes material and social hardships of kids, affects achievement - kids also suffer due to them being unable to afford everyday items that friends take for granted
.have greater risks of being in pov as an adult - can also generate wider social problems e.g. crime and antisocial beh.

Question 43

disability and pov

Answer 43

.palmer - pov rates for disabled adults around double of non-disabled , 33% of disabled adults living in pov and households that have disabled members are more likely to be in pov

Question 44

main reason for pov with disability

Answer 44

.inability to undertake paid employment - only 60% in employment
.unemployment - 4x more likely than non-disabled w similar qualifications
.low pay - lower pensions
.employer discrimination - more likely to be in low pa and unemployment
.inadequate welfare benefits

Question 45

what two trends are noted abt disability and poverty

Answer 45

.mack and lansley - those in love more likely to become long term sick and disabled - vicious cycle of poverty as poorer health as cant afford it, ill health and disability lead to pov - disabled ppl often have higher outgoings and were badly hit by cuts to gov spending - declared fit to work

Question 46

gender and poverty

Answer 46

.women more likely than men to experience pov. - single female pensioners and ethnic minority women have more pov than men of the same group

Question 47

how are the higher rates of pov in women. explained

Answer 47

.more likely to be in low paid/part time work as have major responsibility for childcare and housework - miss out on work-related welfare benefits, forced to combine paid employment w childcare which weakens pos. in lab. market
.women maj. of homeowners and often tied to home bcs of caring responsibilities for children/elderly - often do piecework (low-paid and carries no employment rights)
.more likely to sacrifice their won standards of living to provide for kids
.more likely to take career breaks to raise kids so have lower pension

Question 48

why is discussions of pov often misleading

Answer 48

.is a risk, not a state - misleading as gives impression that group of ppl who live this way al their lives - may be true for small minority but for maj. ppl move in and out of pov
.depends on circumstances, econ. factors, family circumstance and gov decisions

Question 49

what do all groups face

Answer 49

.inter-generational pov
.stigma and blame - increasing tendency to blame in. - anti-work ethic, unrealistic expectations rather than lack of good jobs, many view pov as shameful

Question 50

functionalist

Answer 50

.davis and Moore - inequality in wealth and income necessary to maintain soc. - some pos. in soc. functionally important than others in maintaining soc. - require specialist skills not everyone has talent and ability to do so
.those who have ability must be encouraged and motivated to undertake lengthy training requires w promise of future high rewards in terms of income and wealth
.unequal rewards make most ‘able’ to get into most important roles

Question 51

functionalism - how is pov. important for soc.

Answer 51

.gans - imp functions that contribute to maintenance of soc.

Question 52

examples of pov being functional to soc.

Answer 52

.creates range of occupations e.g. social work
.threat of pov. provides incentives and motivation even when rewards are low - will be better than nothing, exist. of poor provides living example to non poor what not to be
.existence fo low pay keeps industries running - hospitals, catering

Question 53

criticisms of functionalism

Answer 53

.no way of deciding which positions in soc. more important - often rests on persons value judgements, many poorly rewarded occupations which can be seen as vital in maintaining society
.some have higher level of wealth due to inheritance
.material rewards not only motivation

Question 54

how might pov not be functional

Answer 54

.may not be functional in maintaining soc. through providing incentives and motivation for ppl to take most undesirable jobs - may cause conflict where poor, whilst they have little alternative, feel resentful at having to work at low pay - may threaten social stability and create conflict

Question 55

Weberian explanations

Answer 55

.inequalities in wealth and income partly arise from market situations (diff skills ppl have and diff rewards attached to them when they sell their labour in job market)
.those who get higher incomes do so bcs they have rare skills and qualifications that are in demand (may also be social values)

Question 56

poverty and market situation

Answer 56

.perspective adopted by Townsend - ppl in pov have weak market situations - lack ed./skills that might bring them higher rewards, makes them marginalised, only have commonly acquired skills
.demand for unskilled jobs declining

Question 57

Weberian view of role of state

Answer 57

.neutral mediator and involves sate intervention tackle pov
.loks at structural causes of pov rather than blaming in.

Question 58

issue w weberian

Answer 58

.doesnt explain position of those that inherit wealth and those that rely on unearned wealth
.solution of state intervention criticised by marxists - state is used to cement ruling class wealth and power

Question 59

marxist viewpoint

Answer 59

.milliband - main reasoner ineq. in wealth and income is private means of production - key resources that are necessary to produce society’s goods concentrated in hands of small upper class
.small uc basis of inequality, generates similarly high levels of income inequality through unearned income on investments

Question 60

marxist theory -general ideas

Answer 60

.we. and inc. concentrated in hands of ruling class - generates class ineq. - pov inevitable result of cap, low paid workers provide source of profits for ruling class
.threat of pov via unemp. motivates workers - provides cheaply. for cap class
.divides wc - separates poor from non-poor, stops development of wc unity and class consciousness that would threaten stability of cap. system

Question 61

marxist - what does existence of pov and ineq. in wealth and inc. stem from

Answer 61

.private ownership of means of production - underpin whole pattern of inequality and class structure of cap. systems