26 02 2015 15 40 00 LECTURES What is sociological imagination and why is it important Vivid awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society Capacity to shift from one perspective to another o Shift from personal troubles to public concerns o Detach from assumptions get critical distance o Empathy Seek solutions to social problems by changing structure of society not changing problem people o Important in solving issues with poverty o Looking at structure of opportunities as a reason for widespread unemployment o If only 1 is unemployed in a town we look at their personal flaws but when it becomes widespread we look at society Why is it in our self interest to care about inequality Risk of poverty over life course Risk of welfare use over life course Spending on health education crime What is the risk of poverty and welfare use over the life course By age 75 these groups have spent at least 1 year in poverty o 59 of Americans 68 just above poverty line o 75 with less than high school education o 45 with high school education o 59 of women o 55 of men o 91 of black Americans By age 28 black Americans experience the same risk of poverty that white Americans face by age 75 o 52 of white Americans 66 of Americans have received at least 1 year of welfare by the age of 65 o With 40 of Americans using welfare assistance at 5 different times in their life How is inequality reflected in core American values Principles are undermined by existence of poverty Liberty o Poverty constrains people s choices power ability to act Justice Equality Democracy o Is the condition of poverty fair or deserved o Poverty constrains equal access to opportunity o Poverty impacts the poor s ability to fully participate in democratic process Judeo Christian ethic o Direct imperative to help the poor in old new testaments 2 o Mercy generosity urgency in helping the poor o Virtually all major religions around the world express deep concern urgency regarding plight of the poor o This ethic serves as a blueprint for organizing just compassionate society How does citizenship compel us to care about inequality Demands reciprocity o Reaping rewards of a society as well as bearing responsibility to maintain common good Considering how one becomes poor o Individual responsibility as actors vs shared responsibility as citizens Wise stewardship come o Considering how increasing inequality shapes generations to Be able to contrast the culture of poverty theory with the structural theory of poverty What makes families wealthy or poor according to each of these theories Relate culture and structure to Fire in the Ashes and to examples in lectures Culture of poverty theory o The poor develop a unique subculture as an adaptation to structural barriers o Culture defined This subculture inadvertently perpetuates poverty A framework that guides bounds life The encompassing expression of a person s life o What makes the wealthy wealthy American dream Lift yourself up by your bootstraps 3 Work hard make something of yourself o What makes the poor poor Bad character attitude Lack of work ethic lack of integrity Wrong values o Assumption characteristics of people lead to wealth resources or lack thereof Structural theory of poverty o Poverty results from economic or social imbalances within our social structure that restrict opportunities for some not others The way that society is organized perpetuates poverty sets patterns for in out of poverty and affluence o Social structure defined The social institutions organizations groups statuses roles values norms that exist in our culture o Structure defined Society wide systems Laws policies Social systems Schools Healthcare Local national global economies o 3 themes of this perspective A concern with capitalism Poverty is an inherent feature of capitalism 4 Wealth begets wealth Exploitive labor relationships A focus on changing economy Growth of low paying service sector jobs Deindustrialization Job relocation A concern that the welfare system exacerbates poverty Trapping people into poverty welfare dependency instead of helping them escape Is this a result of too many or too few benefits Is this a result of the lack of living wage jobs o Making decisions affecting poverty and affluence Jump make decisions to pursue opportunities that seem more advantageous A high school student drops out thinks he has a better opportunity in working for his father school does not seem to provide means of advancement cannot meet current needs Push make decisions to cope with negative circumstances A high school student leaves because he was failing wanted to avoid it happening again the school is dangerous May be pushed into jumping not always one or the other o Behaviors of individuals cannot be understood apart from the circumstances in which they exist o Think of the person within the structure the decisions they make under difficult circumstances Culture structure Consider trends in poverty and affluence Poverty rates by age and race ethnicity 5 o Children are more likely to experience poverty than those older than them o Blacks Latinos have over twice the rate of poverty as compared to whites o Ratio of poor whites to blacks 2 to 1 Greater number of poor whites but there is a greater percentage of poor blacks Ratio is different than rate Changes in family household income o Recession income dropped unemployment climbed o Income inequality is the largest contributor to poverty starting in the mid 1970s there was a decoupling of economic growth falling poverty Difference between income and wealth o Wealth assets investments everything you own Distribution of wealth o 1 of America has 40 of the nation s wealth Dynamics of poverty over lifetime or year to year o 15 of individuals in the US lived below the official poverty threshold in 2012 Status of working poor o 80 leave poverty within 2 years but remain vulnerable o USA has highest working poor as compared to other developed Identify three ways to measure poverty and how we define the official countries poverty threshold in the US Subjective poverty o Considering yourself poor 6 Relative poverty o Half of average income o Around 50 000 in US o Stretches according to how big the inequality gap is o Every developed country uses this measure EXCEPT the US If we measured it this way the poverty rate would be a lot higher Absolute poverty o Used by the US o Oshansky economy food plan 1964 Minimum adequate diet times 3