Poverty - Gender, Race, and Class
jeguiris87
socialclasspoverty-1.pdf
Social Class/Poverty
A social class is a category of people who have similar standing or rank in a soceity based on wealth, education, power, prestige, and other
valued resources.
Social Class/Poverty
● Social Stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierachy.
! ● Systems of Stratification 1) Slavery 2) Caste system http://www.csuchico.edu/
~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/spring98/india.htm 3) Class system
Social Classes in the U.S.
• 9 classes: • Upper – upper, middle, lower • Middle – upper, middle, lower • Lower – upper, middle, lower • Upper - $250K+ • Middle - $25K - $250K • Lower – Below $25K
Mean Household Income
Distribution of Wealth in the US
Social Class/Poverty
What is life like for those living in each social class?
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Homes, School, Leisure, Religion, Politics? !
See Domhoff site: http://www2.ucsc.edu/ whorulesamerica/
Social Class/Poverty
Poverty: A standard of living below the minimum needed for the maintenance of adequate diet, health, and shelter.
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Relative poverty: not able to meet the average standard of living.
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Absolute poverty: not able to meet the basic necessities of life.
Absolute vs. Relative Poverty
• Absolute poverty - cannot meet your basic needs • Relative poverty - can meet your basic needs but nothing else ! http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/opinion/
sunday/young-and-homeless.html
50 States Contrast in Income
Social Class/Poverty
● Who is to blame for poverty? !
Blame the victim? Or Blame Society
Social Class/Poverty http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/17/
AR2009051702053.html?sid=ST2009051801162 What is the poverty line ? ! The minimal number of income that the federal government considered
necessary for basic survival. !
In 2010, the poverty threshold was $22,113 for a family of 4. How hard is it to for a family to live off 22,113?
Poverty Line/Threshold
• http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11poverty.shtml
Who are the poor?
• Children (1/3) • Women (2/3) • Ethinic and Racial Minorities
Who are the poor?
Indian Reservation - Arizona
Social Class/Poverty
Why are women more likely to be poor then men?
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Feminization of Povertyhttp://money.cnn.com/ video/news/2010/08/03/ n_working_homeless_shelter.cnnmoney/
Social Class/Poverty
The feminization of poverty refers to the trend in which more women are represented to be living in poverty.
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*Women earn 70-80% of what men earn. *The rate of Single mother has tripled in the last 30
years. *Women are not able to obtain regular, full time work.
Women work in the service sector. *lack of adequate, affordable daycare
Jane Addams • “Over-accumulation at one end of society
produces poverty at the other end…”
How US Poverty Compares
Social Class and Poverty
Why is poverty growing in the US? !
What do you think?
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What can we do? How can we build a better future?
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The Story of Broke http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-
broke/
Structural causes of poverty 1) Lack of jobs that pay a living wage 2) Lack of affordable housing 3) Deindustrialization of the U.S. 4) Jobs have been deskilled due to technology 5) Companies have moved to the outskirts of cities
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What is the future of poverty? !
Will inequality in the US increase, decrease, or stay the same?
