Sociology Per. 4 April 9th 2014End Time: 10:53Unit: Social Inequality

Warm-Up: In your IN (p. 74), respond to the prompt:

Who is responsible for solving the problems of economic inequality? (the government, businesses, individuals, etc.)

Explain why they are responsible.

HW: Prepare notes for quiz game tomorrow. Winning team will get extra points.

Social Class**2008 Statistics % of Population

Yearly Income

Upper 1% $1 Million +

Upper Middle 14% $100K +

Lower Middle 30% $35-100K

Working Class 30% $16-34 K

Working Poor 22% $less than 15K

Underclass 3%

Socioeconomic Status

- Income

- Occupational Prestige

- Level of Education

Sheldon Adelson

Social Mobility

A person’s movement over time from one class to another

Types of Social Mobility

Upward – moving to a higher class

Downward – moving to a lower class

Intragenerational – change in social position during a person’s lifetime- a well-paid athlete starting out in the working class

Intergenerational – upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents

- the daughter of working-class parents is in the middle class

Horizontal – changing jobs but remaining within the same class- a doctor becomes a lawyer

Money vs. WealthIncome

- Earnings from work of investments

- Next paycheck

Wealth

- The total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts

-Savings- Investment- Possessions- House

Poverty- According to the government, 40 million people are poor

- 13.2% of the population

- Roughly 49% of the poor are young people - Under the age of 24

- About 70% of the poor are white, but in relation to their population, African Americans and Latinos are more likely to be poor

PovertyExplanations of Poverty

Blame Individuals – The “culture of poverty” thesis states that poverty is caused by shortcomings in the poor themselves

- Oscar Lewis

- In 1996, Congress changed welfare to address “culture of poverty”- Before, there was Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) - Changed to Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF)

- In most cases, benefits stop after two years on welfare- The change is designed to force people to be self-supporting

PovertyExplanations of Poverty

Blame Society – Poverty is caused by society’s unequal distribution of wealth and lack of good jobs

- William Julius Wilson

- Blaming individuals is blaming the victim- Government should fund jobs and provide affordable child-care- Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the income tax in 1935

- Introduced social security, welfare, and jobs program- The original income tax was 94% after $25,000- The highest income tax now is 35-39%

- $55 million in taxpayer money

- Going to DePaul University- For basketball arena in the

South Loop

PovertyRelative Poverty – the lack of resources of some people in relation to those who have more

Absolute Poverty – a lack of resources that is life-threatening

Feminization of Poverty – the trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor

PovertyFeminization of Poverty- The trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor

- In 1960, 25% of poor households were headed by women - In 2008, 48% of poor households were headed by single women

1. Women are paid less2. Occupational Segregation – jobs that women are socialized for, pay less3. Welfare has changed

- TANF replaced AFDC- Harder for single-parent families to receive aid

4. Divorce- 90% of women take care of children – support costs money- Only 50% of fathers pay court-ordered child-support- Child support doesn’t cover daycare