Week 10: Class, Poverty, and Economic Inequality Flashcards
Known as the smallest amount of money a person or a family needs to live on; to buy what is needed
Poverty Line
How many Americans were technically living in poverty in 2010?
15.1%
What two principle factors is the poverty rate measured by?
It’s based on the size of the family, and a minimal food budget
This measure takes into account the many family expenses in addition to food;
it also takes into account geographic differences in the cost of living, taxes paid and tax credits received, and the provision of food stamps, Medicaid, and certain other kinds of government aid
Supplemental Poverty Measure
Most poor people in the US come from which racial background?
White/ caucasian (42.4%), followed by Latino (28.7%0, and African-American (32.1%).
In America, which between men/women is more likely to be poor?
Women, at 16.2%, while men are at 14%.
What percentage of children (under 18) in the US are poor?
22%
Which region of the US is the poorest of the four?
The “South”, followed by the “West”
How does family structure influence the likelihood of poverty?
Of all families headed by just a woman, 31.6 percent live in poverty, compared to only 15.8 percent of families headed by just a man.
In contrast, only 6.2 percent of families headed by a married couple live in poverty
What does government data in the US suggest about the working status of those living in poverty?
It shows that most poor people are in fact working, looking for work, or unable to work due to health or age.
is there any truth in the belief that poor people lack the motivation to work?
It’s entirely a myth. It’s been statistically proven by Labour force participation data
Rankings of people based on wealth and other resources that a society values
Social Stratification
This view argues that stratification is necessary to induce people with special intelligence, knowledge, and skills to enter the most important occupations. For this reason, stratification is necessary and inevitable.
Functionalist perspective
This view claims that stratification results from lack of opportunity and from discrimination and prejudice against the poor, women, and people of colour. It is neither necessary nor inevitable.
Conflict Theory
Argues that stratification affects people’s beliefs, lifestyles, daily interaction, and conceptions of themselves.
Symbolic Interactionism
What are the four major assumptions of the functionalist theory of social stratification?
- Some jobs are more important than others
- Some jobs require more skill and knowledge than others
- Relatively few people have the ability or opportunity to acquire or learn the skills needed for the high-end, important jobs
- To encourage those to do the actual highly skilled/important jobs, society must reward them with higher incomes or other rewards
What are the two major explanations of poverty (not social stratification?)
Individualistic
Structural
Argues that poverty results from the fact that poor people lack the motivation to work and have certain beliefs and values that contribute to their poverty
Individualistic perspective
Argues that poverty results from problems in society that lead to a lack of opportunity and a lack of jobs
Structural perspective
Poor children are more like to become poor adults, as well as _________…
being at greater risk for antisocial behavior when young, as well as unemployment, and criminal behavior.
What is the most distinct disadvantaging result of children being raised in poverty or in a poor household?
Their education and cognitive abilities are hindered, which affects their learning ability and behavior.
The main issue is stress. Kids that experience stressful childhoods (divorcing parents/fighting/drug use/family problems,etc) can resultantly have high blood-pressure and increased levels of cortisol in their systems.
Memory and language-development skills can be affected
The US has more than twice as many people living in poverty than other Western nations. What are the main reasons for this?
- Lower minimum wage
- The US spends significantly less of it’s GDP on social expenditures (child care, housing support, medical, etc.)
- The US simply spends less in helping the poor than the other nations do
How many people on earth live on less than $2/day?
2 billion
How are nations generally classified in terms of wealth?
Wealthy
Middle-income
Poor
What geographical factor is strongly related to determining if a nation is poor or not?
The continent the country is in
Refers to a significant probability that people who are not officially poor will become poor within the next year
Vulnerability to poverty
This theory argues that rich nations became wealthy because early on they were able to develop the “correct” beliefs, values, and practices
—in short, the correct culture—for trade, industrialization, and rapid economic growth to occur.
Modernization Theory
This theory blames global stratification on the exploitation of these nations by wealthy nations.
According to this view, poor nations never got the chance to pursue economic growth because early on they were conquered and colonized by European ones
Dependency Theory
Poor nations are the least _______ and the most ______ of all the world’s countries
Industrialized Agricultural
Which two continents house the most poor people?
Africa and parts of Asia
How many children in poor nations die before the age of 5? Known as “child mortality”
13.4% or 134/1000
How much of the population of poor nations are malnourished?
1/5th or 20%
What does dependency theory argue?
That poor nations have ben exploited by rich nations and multinational corporations
Why do sociologists believe the US neglects it’s poor?
Many citizens and politicians think the poor are poor because of their own failings.
As summarized by sociologist Mark R. Rank (Rank, 2011), these failings include “not working hard enough, failure to acquire sufficient skills, or just making bad decisions.”
What does sociologist Joe Soss believe is the key to improving poverty in the US?
Political representation, protest, and activity.
He thinks nothing will change unless a new wave of political activity by and on behalf of the poor arises
Who introduced the notion of “social class” in the 19th century?
Karl Marx
Known as a deficiency in material and economic resources compared with some other population
Relative poverty
What is the World Bank’s figure of the “global poverty line”
$1.90/day
A measure used the UN development program to monitor social and economic progress in three specific areas
What is this measure called, and what are the three areas it looks at?
Human Development Index
- Life expectancy at time of birth
- Literacy
- GDP
Where are the majority of Canada’s people that live in poverty?
Ontario, BC, and Québec
Affordable housing is defined as _________
Monthly rent or mortgage payments not consuming more than one-third of pre-tax household income
How much faster is Canada’s homeless population growing than the overall population?
Six times faster
Roughly how many homeless people live in Canada?
200,000
What does the “Feminization of poverty” argue or refer to in Canada?
- That women are more likely than men to live below the poverty line
- That there is a gender-based wage inequality in Canada
In most countries, which age demographics are the most vulnerable to poverty?
The very young, and the very old
