WPW - Topic 2 (CAGED) Flashcards
What are five ways in which the government attempted to redistribute wealth?
- Income Tax
- Mansion Tax
- Social welfare benefits
- Inheritance tax
- Capital gains tax
What are the factors that fail the distribution of wealth?
Although the government have provided many ways to distribute wealth ‘equally’, some argue that the government needs to do more.
— Therefore the following factors suggest why there is a failure in the distribution of wealth.
> TAX EVASION
+ An illegal strategy that involves not declaring tax / wealth to Income Revenue
> FAILURE TO CLAIM BENEFITS
+ Applications being too difficult / complicated to complete
> TAX RELIEF
+ Relief on paying tax for school fees, private pension etc.
> TAX AVOIDANCE SCHEMES
+ A legal strategy used by accountants / financial advisers (living abroad for a year, spreading wealth within the family, investing it within the British Isles).
What is marketable wealth?
Assets that people have for their potential sale value, such as stocks, shares, or a second house.
What is non-marketable wealth?
Assets that have no personal use and cannot be sold (so no value)
— eg. shares of a private company
What is productive property?
Productive assets are tangible or intangible assets that generate income or appreciate in value, distinguishing them from assets that do not produce financial gain.
— eg. house, cars, appliances
What is consumption property?
Property that is produced and used for personal use
— eg. fridge
What are some of the sociological explanations for the income inequality gap?
> FAILURE TO CLAIM BENEFITS:
— Stigma
— Lack of awareness of entitlement to benefits
> DECLINE IN TRADE UNIONS:
— Late 1970s: 13 million members
— 2010: 6.5million
> JOB INSECURITY:
— Outsourcing
— Competition
— University retention rates
— Brexit
> GROWTH IN LONE PARENT FAMILIES:
— Increase in one parent households
— Increase in two-earner cohabiting households
> GLOBALISATION:
— Technology
— The ability to connect worldwide
What are the sociological explanations for class and poverty?
Those who are working class are more susceptible to poverty.
— This argument is based on where social-economic classes fall against the Poverty Line.
> Eight reasons why the working class are more likely to be at risk of poverty:
- Living wage vs cost of living
- Zero hour contracts
- Stigma
- Ability to claim benefits
- Long term unemployment
- Psychological effects / powerlessness
- Job market / competition
- Loan sharks / pay day loans
How are zero hour contracts more likely to cause poverty for working-class individuals?
Zero hour contracts are a type of contract between an employer and a worker, where the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum working hours, while the worker is not obliged to accept any work offered.
These contracts are usually applied in youth clubs/ play centres, bus drivers, cover staff and any form of agency work.
> Shifts tend to be inconsistent, meaning that individuals may not receive guaranteed stream of income.
These roles are limited, in regards to job progression therefore, more hours and low pay required to keep up with bills and finances
May prevent individuals from receiving adequate welfare support due to being in work (eg. Universal Credit).
EVALUATION: Zero hour contracts
> FUNCTIONALISTS:
— They are necessary. These jobs tend to be menial roles / casual jobs.
— This is beneficial as it provides jobs for those who many struggle with entering the job market.
> MARXISTS:
— Created by the elite/ bourgeoisie to create surplus value.
— A method to continue to exploit the working class, while reinforcing the false class consciousness of meritocracy and social mobility.
> NEW RIGHT:
— Zero hour contracts should not confine a working class individual.
— Individuals should use these contracts to work their way through the industry.
— Individuals who receive these contracts tend to lack qualifications and appropriate skill set.
> FEMINISTS:
— Women are more likely to accept zero hour contracts due to the dual / triple burden, childcare commitments and sex discrimination / unequal pay.
— This forces women into these roles to avoid experiencing absolute poverty.
> SOCIAL DEMOCRATS:
— Such contracts lead to a poverty trap, which will impact the underclass the most.
— This is due to exploiting on their lack of qualifications/ larger families/ discrimination in other sectors/ fields.
What are the sociological explanations for age and poverty?
When discussing age and poverty, it is especially important to emphasise on children and the elderly.
— This is because out of all the age groups, those are the two who are most at risk.
Explain why elderly people may be more at risk to poverty.
> THE ELDERLY:
+ Elderly/ retired women are most at risk due to living longer and receiving less pension in comparison to their male counterparts.
+ Despite the introduction of triple lock, fuel poverty is still the greatest cause of the elderly being at risk
+ Over 25% of elderly people are now single meaning less supporty with the household
+ Mainly applicable to retired, working class individuals due to retirement schemes, generous pension schemes and savings most likely owned by middle class individuals.
Mack and Lansley:
— Despite the fact that poverty rates for the elderly have decreased in the last 30 years, this is only applicable to certain periods in time.
— Due to the dependency ratio, people are living longer, meaning society has more dependents.
— This will put a strain on the economy and impact the workforce
— Mack and Lansley suggest this will cause more zero hour contracts, delayed retirement and less benefit schemes.
Explain why children may be more at risk to poverty.
> CHILDREN:
+ As children are also dependents, this puts them most at risk of poverty.
+ Cost of childcare and raising children increases yearly. This is also based on the standards of living for that year.
+ Larger families are more prone to being at risk of poverty due to the amount of money spent on each individual.
+ Larger families with young children are less likely to benefit from deals or benefit schemes as they usually benefit the nuclear family.
+ Child Poverty Act (2010) introduced to tackle the amount of hardship children face, based on research suggesting that 17% are below breadline.
Townsend and Walker: Dependency Theory
— Suggests that children (and elderly) are most likely to be in poverty due to being dependent on parents / adults.
— Children cannot work, therefore they are unable to support themselves.
Peter Townsend: Structural Dependency
— Townsend goes further to suggest that this is done purposefully.
— As it is in the law that children are to be in full time education or training up until the age of 18, this keeps children in poverty for longer, in comparison to 40 years ago.
Hirsch:
— Lone parenthood
— Lack of work or low pay of parents
— Disability undermines parents’ ability to find employment (around 1/4 poor children have at least one disabled parent)
— Inadequate policies supporting childcare and flexible working, making it difficult for lone parents and couples who both want to work to support their children.
EVALUATION: Age and Poverty
What are the sociological explanations for gender and poverty?
Women are more likely to experience poverty in comparison to men.
— However, when evaluating, we can acknowledge how men may find it difficult as well.