The Experience of Poverty

Question 1

official poverty measure (OPM)

Answer 1

an assessment of economic disadvantage based on household income and the cost of basic necessities, as determined by an absolute standard of living. It does not take into account non-cash government benefits, non discretionary spending, or variation in the cost of living across regions.

Question 2

supplemental poverty measure (SPM)

Answer 2

an assessment of economic disadvantage that takes into account household income, non-cash government benefits (like food stamps and the EITC), non discretionary expenses (healthcare, childcare, work related expenses), and regional differences in the cost of living.

Question 3

War on Poverty

Answer 3

A set of government social programs (including Heart Start, Food Stamps, Pell Grants, Medicare, Medicaid) established under the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson to relieve and prevent poverty by expanding government’s role in education and healthcare

Question 4

Head Start

Answer 4

A federal program that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.

Question 5

SNAP

Answer 5

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal nutrition program formerly known as food stamps that provides benefits to low income families to subsidize the purchase of food at grocery stores, convenience stores and some farmers’ markets and co-ops.

Question 6

Pell Grants

Answer 6

Federal grants supporting an undergraduate education based on financial need

Question 7

Medicaid

Answer 7

A means-tested health insurance program funded and administrated by US federal and state government for people of all ages whose income and resources are insufficient to pay for health care, with eligibility criteria varying across states

Question 8

Medicare

Answer 8

A national health insurance program administrated by the US federal government for Americans 65 and older who have worked and paid into the system (and also younger people with certain kinds of disabilities and illnesses)

Question 9

Market income

Answer 9

the pre-tax sum of money earned or lost through the market (so does not include government assistance)

Question 10

disposable after-tax income

Answer 10

the combined sum of market income and government assistance available for consumption after taxes

Question 11

globalization

Answer 11

the process of increasing international integration arising from the exchange of worldviews, products, and ideas, catalyzed by technology facilitating international communication and interaction

Question 12

outsourcing

Answer 12

the act of contracting out a business process to another party

Question 13

minimum wage

Answer 13

the lowest price employers can legally pay workers for their labor

Question 14

right-to-work laws

Answer 14

a law that prohibits union security agreements, or an agreement between labor unions and employers that governs that extent to which a union can require employee membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment. Generally, this makes it more difficult for unions to operate.

Question 15

ADFC

Answer 15

Aid to Families with Dependent Children was a program administered and funded by Federal and State governments to provide financial assistance to low income families with dependent children, in effect from 1935-1996, when it was replaced by TANF

Question 16

TANF

Answer 16

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is the federal financial assistance program that replaced AFDC in 1996 and provides up to 60 months of cash assistance to low income families with dependent children. According to federal rules, parents are required to begin some kind of employment within 24 months of receiving assistance, but program rules vary widely by state.

Question 17

EITC

Answer 17

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a refundable federal tax credit for low to moderate income working individuals or couples, especially those with children. The benefit amount depends on a household’s income and number of children.

Question 18

extreme poverty

Answer 18

the level of poverty defined by $2 of earnings per person per day

Question 19

high poverty neighborhood

Answer 19

neighborhood where at least 30% of households live in poverty

Question 20

broken windows theory

Answer 20

a theory in criminology that argues that increased signs of neighborhood disorder, such as vandalism and other small crimes, act as a cue to criminals indicating lawlessness and apathy, thereby producing higher levels of serious crime

Question 21

disorder

Answer 21

visual signs of neighborhood lawlessness and indifference, such as vandalism, litter, public drinking and drug use, other small crimes

Question 22

clique

Answer 22

a sub-set of a network in which actors are more closely tied to each other than others in the larger network

Question 23

collective efficacy

Answer 23

the sense that residents trust each other and believe that their neighbors will take action if there is a problem

Question 24

communities of disadvantage

Answer 24

neighborhoods where multiple social problems are clustered (such as poverty, unemployment, crime, incarceration, single parenthood and racial segregation)

Question 25

gentrification

Answer 25

a process of urban renewal in which an increasing share of wealthier residents and/or businesses move into a neighborhood and raise property values

Question 26

white flight

Answer 26

the departure of racial whites from neighborhoods (or schools) increasingly or predominantly populated by racial minorities)

Question 27

social class

Answer 27

a group of people in a hierarchy of classes sharing the same social, economic and educational status

Question 28

cultural logic

Answer 28

a way of understanding a process or practice that is socially and culturally defined

Question 29

concerted cultivation

Answer 29

the cultural logic as child rearing prevalent among the American middle class, as conceptualized by Annette Lareau. According to his logic, children’s skills must be developed and honed through various organized activities. Children spend much of their free time in these activities in which they often negotiate and interact with adults while focusing on improving their individual performance.

Question 30

accomplishment of natural growth

Answer 30

The cultural logic of child rearing prevalent among the American working class and poor, as conceptualized by Annette Lareau. According to this logic, parents and guardians must provide children with love, food, safety, and other basic needs, and children will thrive. Children have more free time, autonomy, and deeper relationships with extended family members than children in typical middle class families.

Question 31

emerging sense of entitlement

Answer 31

a socialized way of interacting with institutions common among the American middle class that is active, confident, aggressive and self-promoting as conceptualized by Annette Lareau

Question 32

emerging sense of constraint

Answer 32

a socialized way on interacting with institutions common among the American working class and poor that is generally deferential and outwardly accepting with some distrust and occasional resistance, conceptualized by Annette Lareau

Question 33

affordable housing

Answer 33

housing at a cost that allows families with a median income to sustainable afford basic necessities

Question 34

housing assistance

Answer 34

a set of policies that increases access to affordable housing for low income households, including public housing and Section 8 housing vouchers

Question 35

public housing

Answer 35

a form of housing owned by a government authority and rented with the goal of providing affordable housing to low-income families

Question 36

eviction

Answer 36

the forcible removal of a tenant from a rental property by the landlord