Lectures Sociological imagination o Is a shift from personal troubles to public concerns o It is a detach from assumption and get critical distance o Viewing the word from perspective of others o Seeking a solution to social problems by changing the structure not the specific people Problems are not with the people but with the structure and to fix this it must be goal to fix the structure Self interest to care about inequality o It affects our economy and rules Moneyed interests dismantle legislative and regulatory processes Power to insulate themselves from competitive forces to win tax treatment and market share to restrict competition and no control political decisions Inequality leading to volatilly and crises in economy to retarding growth and undermined productivity Inequality leading to inadequate school housing neighborhoods Inequality leads to lower growth and less efficiency Lack of opportunity means that its most valuable asset its people is not being fully used Many at the bottom or even in the middle are not living up to their potential because the rich needing few public services and worried that a strong government might redistribute income use their political influence to cut taxes and curtail government spending This leads to underinvestment in infrastructure education and technology impeding the engines of growth Stiglitz The Price of Inequality 2012 o Risk sharing o Most Americans think it will never happen to them o Risks to our economy o Public spending because poverty Education hunger and under nutrition health problems lack of resources stressful home and neighborhood Health care higher premiums premature infants lead poisoning room visits Crime most crime is to obtain property What is risk of poverty and welfare use over the life course o Over half 59 of Americans will experience poverty by the age of 75 o Higher risk for those with less than high school or just high school education o More women than men o More blacks than whites o 66 of Americans receive at least 12 months of welfare by age 65 How is inequality reflected in core American values o Core values of the American Dream o Of coming up from nothing o Only those with power are able to achieve this and build a better life o The dreams are unattainable for the poor o Our values religious o Principles are undermined by existence of poverty o Liberty poverty constraints people s choices power and ability to act o Justice is condition of poverty fair or deserved o Equality poverty constrains equal access to opportunity o Democracy poverty impacts the poor s ability to full participate in democratic process o Most importantly America s inequality is undermining its values and identity With inequality reaching such extremes it is not surprising that its effects are manifest in every public decision from the conduct of monetary policy to budgetary allocations America has become a country not with justice for all but rather with favoritism for the rich and justice for those who can afford it so evident in the foreclosure crisis in which the big banks believed that they were too big not only to fail but also to be held accountable Stiglitz The Price of Inequality 2012 How does citizen ship compel us to care o It is our obligations as a wider community to care about those who are not being treated as equals o Demands reciprocity reaping rewards of society as well as bearing responsibility to remain common good o How does one become poor Individual responsibility as actors is it the person s fault Shared responsibility as citizens is becoming poor beyond their control o Wise stewardship how does increasing inequality shape generations to come Culture vs Structure Culture o It s difficult to be aware of out culture its all our surroundings o A framework that guides and bounds life o The encompassing expression of a person s life o Cultural Theory Characteristics of people lead to weather and resources American dream Lift yourself up by your boot straps Work hard and make something of yourself Structure economy poverty influences o Society wide systems laws policies social systems school healthcare local national and global o The way society is organized perpetuates poverty it sets patterns for dynamics in and out of o Economic conditions political conditions create the conditions for poverty never ending cycle o Geographically situated enclaves of impoverished groups Poor people live in the same areas surrounded by poor and hard to get out of o Policies shape poverty tax cuts for the wealthy reducing budgets for healthcare school and o The way that society is organized creates patterns of dynamics as people move in and out of housing poverty and affluences o Consider the environmental and social factors on a wide scale o Economic and social factors determine levels and patterns of poverty in the US o Social stratification System evolve over time within societies Forced vs natural Culture or structure JUMP factor or PUSH factor o Behaviors of individual cannot be understood apart from circumstances in which they exist Trends Thought that blacks are majority of poor o Ratio is 2 1 poor whites to poor blacks o But higher rates among the black community of poverty There are less black people so higher percentage of people in poverty but there are more white people so more actual poor people o Blacks and Latinos have over twice the rate of poverty compared to whites o People with some college credit have twice the rate of poverty than those who graduate o People who did not graduate high school have twice the rate of poverty than those who do o One third of those who did not graduate high school live in poverty o The gap between richest and poorest held steady for time but began to grow in 1979 o 80s 90s the gap between rich and poor became pronounced o US is second in inequality ranking only below Singapore o Denmark Norway and Sweden have the most equally distributed income o The top wealthiest 20 control 93 of the countries wealth o 80 of people leave poverty within two years but remain vulnerable o 65 or more percent of families who are poor have at least one member whose employed o Poverty is concentrated in southwest Appalachia and the south o North east has the wealthiest o California has some wealth o Alaska has some wealth Education Gap Income Moving out Working Poor and place Recession o Income dropped o Unemployment rose New poverty o Economic inequality is increasing o Status of young men