Lecture 11 Global Stratification Land of Opportunity 02 28 2014 GLOBALIZATION recent phenomenon of the relocation of manufacturing jobs from places like the US and Europe to poorer countries like China and India which increases the stratification in the US This can be one of the reasons for diminishing middle class This is critical for understanding stratification in the US Labor is cheaper in poorer countries so it does not help building the middle class They don t have unions like that of in the US for minimum wage whereas the top 1 has been increasing steadily middle and lower class has flat lined Global income inequality is rising o Between country inequality international inequality Rich US China Japan Poor African countries Harvard University s 37 billion is more than the sum of the annual GDP of the poorest 50 countries Due to colonial history exploitation of resources with the exception of US and Australia o Global inequality inequality between individuals around the world Pulling people out of poverty is not the same as reducing inequality because the distance between the rich and poor remains the same The poor and rich gets richer Statistics The world s wealthiest 3 individuals own total wealth which is MORE than the combined GDP of the poorest 48 countries in the world The amount of money that the richest percent of the world s people makes each year equals the poorest 57 percent makes 1 2 billion 20 of the world population now lives on less than 1 day another 1 8 billion 30 lives on less than 2 day 800 million go to bend hungry every day and 30 000 60 000 die each day from hunger alone 20 of the people in developed nations consume 86 of the world s goods 12 of the world s population uses 85 of its water 4 of the 225 richest men s wealth could provide for the entire globe basic education basic health care adequate food clean water and safe sewers for a year SOCIAL MOBILITY people moving in and out of classes Movement between different positions within a system of social stratification in any given society tends to mean income Horizontal vs vertical mobility o Horizontal got a new job but not necessarily move up o Vertical lose my job downward mobility promotion upward mobility Lecture 11 Global Stratification Land of Opportunity 02 28 2014 Upward Mobility Poll asked is it still possible to start out poor in this country work hard and become rich The vast majority of Americans think that it is still possible The idea of upward mobility from poverty to a wealthier category which taps into the American Dream Structural mobility structure of the economy itself changes that leads to horizontal or vertical mobility In American history structure changed from farming to industrial based economy Economy structure is staying the same but people are coming in and out of existing jobs when groups of people essentially trade positions Exchange mobility STATUS ATTAINMENT STUDIES these seek to explain social mobility E g how much more education would it take for people to gain upward mobility How much does IQ change an individuals income discusses ontological inequality and President Obama s Inauguration Speech UPWARD MOBILITY references upward mobility For we the people understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrining do very well and a growing many barely make it We believe that America s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulder we are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else because she is an American she is free and she is equal not just in the eyes of God but also in our own NOT TRUE o Parent s income and status still matter 42 of children born to parents in the bottom remain in the bottom 39 born to parents in top remain in top only 6 of children born to parents with family income at the bottom move to the very top 2 3 of American s don not go above their parent s income 1 3 of Americans are downwardly mobile o Inequality in opportunity has increased in the past decades Historical trend most compilations of data suggest that the opportunity gap is now increasing Inequality has increased in the past decades o The US has less equality of opportunity than most advance industrial countries 40 of Denmark move from bottom to the top 12 in Britain and 6 in America Canada Australia Finland Germany etc Barely on par with Italy and France in upward mobility Certain groups in the US experience more struggle minority who have been discriminated against Latinos women and African Americans There is still a glass ceiling for women Policy suggesting for enhancing equality of opportunity o Increased financial assistance to the poor Lecture 11 Global Stratification Land of Opportunity 02 28 2014 A family with children gets allowance in Canada Policy in America require families to have income tax returns but most of them do not have jobs to get an ITR Whereas the US spends more on military defense 900 billion than education and medical care estimated at 12 billion o Facilitate easier to access Early Education A mere 3 000 given to a family with a young child increase income in 20 in their adulthood During summer vacation the cognitive abilities of low income families regress Richer families send their children to summer camps that they cannot afford Public schools have subsidized lunches however during the summer kids do not have lunch Nordic countries have maternity leave free child care centers etc o Facilitate access to higher education Individuals from poorer families that get college degrees have more upward mobility However the average public university tuition exceeds 8 000 but in Nordic countries they are free The likelihood for getting college degree is only 30 whereas it is 60 in Nordic countries A more educated population yields greater innovation a robust economy and higher incomes which means a higher tax base Those benefits are why we ve long been committed to free public education through 12th grade but while a 12th grade education might have sufficed a century ago it doesn t today Yet we haven t adjusted our system to contemporary realities Joseph Stiglitz Nobel Prize Winner economist