Poverty and Wealth Inequality Rethinking American poverty by Mark Rank The problem of poverty is often seen through a lens of individual pathology o US has viewed impoverishment as largely the result of individual inadequacies and failings Since individuals are perceived as having brought poverty onto themselves therefore our collective and societal obligations are seen as limited This perspective reflects and reinforces the myth That there are equal economic opportunities for all Poverty affects us all according to Rank o We spend considerably more money than needed on social problems associated with poverty health problems family problems o The number of Americans who experience poverty during adulthood is exceedingly high Types of Poverty poor Transitional Poverty temporary state temporary jobless broke but not Residual Poverty chronic and multigenerational Absolute Poverty People that are so poor they don t have the resources necessary to survive The Poverty Line National standard of what is considered living in poverty o 1 person in household less than 10 830 annual income o 2 people in household less than 14 570 annual income o 3 people in household less than 18 310 annual income The poverty line determines who qualifies for certain assistance o So if a single mom with one child makes 15 000 annually she would considered being above the poverty line for a two person household 14 570 Wealth Distribution in the U S Wealth includes income and assets o Assets could include things like home stock etc Social Mobility Social mobility The ability to change social classes o Horizontal Mobility Moving with the same status Move to a different job with the same pay move to a different neighborhood that is similar to yours being a professor and switching from one university to another o Vertical Mobility Moving from one social status to another A paralegal becomes a lawyer results in more income more respect Perception about social mobility o In the U S we tend to think that there is a lot of social mobility in our country A sociological view of economic inequality While person attributes education motivation do play some part in ones chances of economic success we cant ignore how the structure of society shapes our life chances Why are economic disparities so much worse within some countries Additionally sociologists often ask compared to others The Compassion Gap What does Mazid mean when he says we have a compassion gap o There is a deep divide between our moral commitments and how we actually treat those in poverty The compassion gap has been greatly increase by the revival of the very old theory that the real source of poverty is bad behavior o Example Use stories of welfare cheaters to increase public concerns about people getting something for nothing Understanding Myths About Public Assistance We often believe that those who are on welfare have more children than the average family even though there is no difference in family size between the two We commonly believe that only certain groups of people benefit from government entitlement program even though that s not the case The Compassion Gap It is easy to believe that those in poverty are responsible for their own problems and that ignoring their needs is the best thing for them It absolves those of us who are better off from the responsibility of caring for others The reason the American Dream is now beyond reach for so many families is that the price of four critical services has risen much more sharply than wages and the rate of inflation health care higher education high quality child care and housing What sorts of solutions to poverty are there Individual level o Build houses for people o Offer a meal Structural Level o Change how our society views those in poverty o Advocate for access to good schools regardless of family wealth The income gap in recent decades Has the income gap between the rich and poor gotten better worse or did it stay the same over the past few decades o Income gap has widened in the past few decades the poorest earn less of the total us Income and the richest 1 5th has had increase shares of the total U S income Why the income gap has gotten worse The feminization of poverty Deindustrialization we don t make things in factories anymore the decline of American industry has led to the loss of many jobs Technological advances new jobs are being created in high tech areas such as IT many Americans did not receive the training necessary to shift from industry to high tech work Political climate a variety of political decisions help explain the increase in income inequality such as laws passed that perpetuate inequality tax breaks for the richest Americans the defunding of public programs The feminization of poverty those living in poverty are increasingly more likely to be woman than men o Varies by race Blacks and Latino woman are more than twice as likely to be poor than are white woman Why is this occurring o Woman have lower average earnings than men even when they have the same work o They re more likely to be fully responsible for children o Woman have longer lifespans than men increasing the likelihood that older woman will be living on their own Poverty is a problem for woman not only in the use but it s a global problem According to a UN report about 70 of the woman in the world are poor French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu observed that the rich justified their economic advantage over others not only by pointing to their bank accounts but by distinguishing themselves from others by their good tastes The consumption of certain music clothing for etc accords a higher position than does consumption of other kinds of thing Those in higher classes use these cultural markers to distinguish themselves from others They have not only financial capital but cultural capital non financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means o Knowing how to play gold will get you much farther in the corporate would than knowing how to bowl Consumption and Social Stratification Issues in Gender and Sexuality Part 1 The Sociological Approach to Gender Sex Gender Sociologists distinguish the terms sex from gender Sex is the categories male and female it is biologically assigned reproductive genitals and organs of reproduction However from ancient Greece until the mid eighteenth century the body was viewed as just one as a male body with the female its inversion Gender is the culturally learned