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59 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Social Class
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A large group of people who rank closely to one another in wealth, power, & prestige.
These three elements separate people into different lifestyles give them different chances in life & provide them w/distinct ways of looking at themselves & the world. |
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Power:
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the ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others.
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Prestige:
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respect or regard
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Wealth:
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the value of a person’s property (real estate, buildings, land, animals, machinery, cars, stocks, bonds, businesses, and bank accounts).
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Income:
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Money received from a business, wages, rent, interest, or royalties.
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6 social classes in America:
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Upper class/Capitalist = 1%
Upper Middle = 15% Lower Middle = 34% Working class = 30% Working Poor = 16% Underclass = 4% |
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Capitalist society-the percentage needed of population to be unemployed and why
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In a capitalist society you need about 5% of the population to be unemployed for the system to function most efficiently. This is because there will always be labor shortages. With it being extraordinarily hard, if not impossible, to predict these shortages or how long they will last, you then have people to fill these positions temporarily that can be pushed out when the shortage is over.
Thus the labor market runs more smoothly. |
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Percentage of Americans that recieve all of income in the US
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The top 20% of Americans receive ½ (50.4%) of all income in the U.S. The bottom 20% of Americans receive 3.4% of the nations income.
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Percentages of wealth
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Of the wealth, money & land resources available for private ownership by private citizens (the government has the most or the majority) 70% of all the wealth, money, & land resources are owned by 10% of the population.
25% of the population has no wealth at all (they don’t own a home, car, or have any accumulated wealth). The remaining 30% of wealth, money & land resources are owned by 65% of the population. |
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How much are Americans in the entire country worth?
Who and what percentage is worth the most? How much more are the worth than the rest of the population? |
Together Americans in the entire country are worth about 41 trillion.
The top wealthiest 1% of Americans, the power elite or ruling class, is worth more than the bottom 90% of the country. |
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Power Elite
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The people who make the big decisions in U.S. society.
The most important matters in the U.S. are not decided by lobbyists or even congress. The decisions that have the greatest impact on the lives of Americans, and people across the globe are made by the power elite. They are the ones who wield the power to make the decisions that direct the country and determine the country’s overarching policies. They determine the economic and political conditions under which the rest of the country operates. |
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How do power elite do this?
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By having the right connections
The power elite consists of the top leaders of the largest corporations, the most powerful generals and admirals of the armed forced, certain elite politicians such as the president, his cabinet, and select senior members of congress who chair the major committees. |
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Power elite-affects on people we vote into office
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We think we vote people into offices that represent us.
This makes us feel we have a say in the choices, policies, & laws affecting us. This is a myth. We see TV commercial for the handful of candidates whose campaigns can afford to have their candidate on TV. The power elite also print articles on the candidate they favor, which make the front page. The candidate they do not favor only makes front-page news if it is in an unfavorable light. Thus the candidates voted in are the ones who could afford, & have the connections to get into the media. |
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Power elite continued: who they know and what they control
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These people go to school together, have know each other since grammar school or college days, have worked with each other for years and belong to the same exclusive clubs.
These people have a lot of power to get laws & policies passed in our society. In addition they own the major newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations. They can persuade, manipulate & report what they want the general public to know. They also control the board of directors of our most influential colleges and universities. |
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3 things needed to be in power elite:
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Not only based on money, it is also based on status/prestige, & power.
You need all three of these things to get into the upper classes special, private clubs, and schools. The more generations of wealth, the more prestige & power is attached to your name |
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The term old money is used to describe...
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people who come from families that have been wealthy for generations and inherited their wealth.
The longer the wealth has been in the family the more prestige is attached the family name. |
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old money have access to...
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elite private organizations and schools and are in their city's social register,
which is the white pages of the super rich, listing the top 1/10 of 1% of the U.S. population, which affords them special privileges. (Rockefeller’s, Ford’s, Kennedy’s, Johnson’s |
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Top schools for elite’s in the USA and how you get in
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the East Coast
You can only get in if you are second generation of wealth, you have the right connections, your family is registered in its city's social register, & you are very rich or powerful. |
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Top 3 schools for elite
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The top 3 are
Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, Groton School in Massachusetts, and Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. |
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Noveau Riche
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new money, is used to describe people who made their own money in their own lifetime, and are the first generations of that money
(Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Warren Buffet, Hilton family). |
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Why are "new money"outsiders in the upper class?
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They are outsiders to the upper class because they have not attended the right schools and they lack the influential social networks that come with old money.
They are not allowed to become members of the private clubs and schools of the old money, or be registered in their city's social register, their children will be eligible though, once the money is inherited and they have attended the right schools. |
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What happens to those who have lost their fortunes?
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Since wealth, power, & status/prestige are connected to being considered upper class, people who have lost their fortunes are still accepted to private clubs & schools & given “scholarships”, because their family name still carries them.
They will probably intermarry with someone from a family that has not lost their wealth, thus everyone is again wealthy. |
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How do ruling elite’s maintain their power?
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By controlling ideas & information, & passing power from one generation to the next w/in the same families.
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Power elite and the Media
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They own/control the media (newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations).
Stories are printed & reported from the point of view they wish to portray, and messages are put in that they wish to invoke. We in turn only receive the information & side of the story they wish for us to know. We also never receive information on topics they deem as irrelevant or dangerous or do not want the public to know. Information is released selectively and what they don’t want us to know is withheld. |
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How power elite maintains wealth in their family
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Because of private property and inheritance laws families can keep their wealth by passing it down from one generation to the next. In addition most wealthy elite intermarry other wealthy elite, thus keeping the wealth within the same set of families and social circle.
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Power elite: Candidates for office
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They support campaigns of candidates who will represent and pass their ideas.
This is why the Democratic and Republican parties almost always receive 90-95% of the vote. These two parties’ campaigns are highly funded by the ruling elite. A third party almost never has a chance to win. Once a candidate is in office they vote the way the power elite, who funded their campaign, want them to. They have to or the power elite will make sure someone else is voted in next time, and they will lose their office. |
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Access to the power elite
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They do not allow themselves to be studied. They are socialized to be recluse.
Ignorance is bliss. What you don’t know won’t hurt you. They do not want us to know anything about them, & it is common knowledge & practice for the elite to not allow their guard down w/ anyone outside of their group. Outsiders have limited or no access to them. |
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Studies done on them limited
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There are only a handful of studies ever done on the elite because they do not allow themselves to be studied.
They are virtually off limits without them giving access. Two famous books from elite’s, two famous documentaries & one study by a sociologist are the most famous. They have to be taken at face value b/c there is no way to check their accuracy, or know what areas of their lives were not given access or covered up. This means we still do not know if even these studies are only eluding to things they want us to know, or how much has been left out. |
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Names of studies conducted
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1)Proper Bostonian” & “Philadelphia Gentleman”
2)Ostrander’s 1984 study of elite women 3)Jamie Johnson’s documentary “Born Rich” & “The One Percent” |
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Kansas City’s Power Elite
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In K.C. there is a private club called The River Club. It is a 1
story building in Quality Hill overlooking the old Municipal Airport. It is an exclusive club of the cities male elite’s. They all have keys & have lunch brought in and there is a bar. They meet for lunch and after work to discuss the important things in K.C. & projects they will be investing their money & support to. Very discreet, not flashy, you would never even notice it or think twice about this building. |
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Where KC elite belong
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The Kansas City Country Club is where they belong. This club is not exclusive to them, but this is the one they belong to because Kansas City’s elite does not have their own.
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civic counsels
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All major metropolitan cities have these.
Made up of the top leaders of the major corporations in the city. They can commit resources and speak on behalf of these corporations. This group or counsel decides what the major issues or needs are in their city and what resources and money can be used to help their city. Kansas City’s civic counsel has 90-100 people, depending on what year you do a census. |
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KC social register
How you know who runs the city |
There are about 50 families in K.C. social register. The Hunt, Kemper, Kaufman, Bloch, and Hall family are the well known recognizable ones. When you look to the contributors of the city ballet, opera house, orchestra or symphony, recognizable city charities & foundations, hospital boards, CEO’s, presidents, & board members of the most successful companies in town and colleges or universities, the same names pop up as contributors or members. This is how you know who the power elite are in a city.
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Status awareness of the elite
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The upper class, unlike the other classes below them, are very aware of status differences b/t themselves & others.
They recognize that their great wealth is an advantage. |
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Mentality maintained by lower classes
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Pull yourself up from your bootstraps is the ideology most other classes are taught. They do this by highlighting exceptions to the rule, which did break through barriers, which serves as a sort of pep talk to encourage us to do the same. This gives us hope & makes us believe we can achieve the same if we work hard enough.
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Likelyhood of rags to riches
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The problem is that these are simply exception that got lucky.
Statistically we can’t obtain upper class status with hard work. The reality for most of us born into other classes is that hard work is not the key determinant of obtaining upper-class status; it is luck or a fluke. 90-95% of Americans die in the same social class they were born into or one above or below. These huge leaps from rags to riches are unobtainable to most. |
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Why is this ideology viewed as satisfactory?
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This ideology is functional for society though b/c it blames the victim instead of the social institutions set up to perpetuate it.
This takes the pressure off the system to make social change b/c the real problem is covered up, so the current system is viewed as satisfactory |
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What is correlated to a person "making it"?
What is the result on the average person who doesn't |
The fact is that an individuals probability of “making it” in the world is directly correlated to the income of their family. The US’s commitment to the idea that hard work pays off, while at the same time experiencing a life that began & will most likely end in economic struggle is a contradiction that often results in individuals viewing themselves as failures & blaming themselves for it.
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Horatio Alger Myth
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The myth that due to limitless possibilities anyone can get ahead if he or she tries hard enough
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Horatio Alger Myth continues
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Even though it is a statistical impossibility, most Americans believe that all, even the working poor and minorities, have a better than average chance of getting ahead in society.
Does not take into account that our economic system would go bankrupt if all hard workers did make it or get ahead and that the American dollar would not be a stable, valuable source of currency if everyone could obtain it. Does not take into account the unequal playing field or the different opportunities or starts in life. |
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Rubins study on working-class families
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They have jobs not careers, which require little commitment of themselves & little self-expression.
They have a high risk of being laid off or injured at work. They have little control over their work; as a result work causes bitterness, alienation, resignation, & boredom. Work & economics pervade every aspect of their lives. Most of these people are realistic about their situation & do not expect their children to move up economically or plan on sending their children to college. |
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Outlook Differences:
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The upper class teaches their children to take risks, gamble w/ their money in the stock market, acquisitions & property. They are taught “you have to spend $ to make $”, “nothing ventured nothing gained”.
The middle & lower class teach their children to save their $ & not spend it, “Save a penny for a rainy day”. They are to be responsible & careful w/ $. Do not take risks. “Being frugal is a virtue”, “Better safe than sorry”. |
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Consequences of social class
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Divorce
Education Religion Politics Physical Health Child Bearing Mental Health |
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Consequences of social class
Divorce: |
the more difficult life of the lower social classes leads to higher marital friction.
The less money a couple has the greater likelihood of divorce and the more money a couple has the less likelihood of divorce. The lower class is dissatisfied w/life & this dissatisfaction carries over into all aspect of their life including marital satisfaction. In addition, the wealthy have more at stake if 2 people divorce; b/c 2 families have been linked economically w/ marriage. It is sort of viewed as a business acquisition & social network, & if 2 people get divorced it affects their entire family, not just them. |
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Consequences of social class
Education |
the higher your social class, the more years of education you are likely to have.
You are more likely to attend private vs. public schools. The public schools in wealthy areas offer higher, college preparatory curriculum & challenge the students cognitively. They also have better quality classroom tools, up to date textbooks and maps, and can offer salaries, which afford them the luxury of hiring the most qualified teachers. |
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Social class:
Diff in SAT and ACT classrooms |
When exiting high school they average better on SAT & ACT tests and are more successful at completing college.
Public schools that serve lower class populations spend the majority of class time disciplining & keeping order. There are much lower standards of school work & expectations of these students. The textbooks and computers are usually out dated, and their teachers usually have a Bachelors degree, with or without certification. Their quality of education is much different. |
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Consequences of social class
Education: Parental expectations |
In addition parental & family expectations about education are different.
Middle & upper classes expect their children to go to college. In the upper classes it is not even discussed, they know they are going, so it’s not an issue. Working & lower class families do not discuss it much either, b/c they know they are most likely not going. |
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Consequences of social class
Religion |
Episcopalians and Judaism are most likely to recruit from the middle & upper classes.
Baptists draw heavily from lower classes & Methodists from the middle classes. In addition, the lower your social class the more likely you are to be religious & attend church regularly, the higher your social class the less likely you are to be religious and attend church regularly. |
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Consequences of social class
Politics |
The higher a person’s wealth the more likely they are to vote Republican, The lower a person’s wealth the more likely they are to vote Democratic
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Consequences of social class
Physical Health |
the lower your income the more likely a person will be sick b/c they can’t afford proper nutrition, medicine, & preventative measures.
In addition they are more likely to live or work in polluted & dirty areas. They also can’t afford to take off work economically (loss of wages or fired) so their bodies take longer to heal. Also they have the least education on getting physicals, exercising, and proper nutrition. The lower your social class the lower your life expectancy. |
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Consequences of socail class
Child bearing |
The higher your social class the fewer children you are likely to have, the lower your social class the more children.
Lower classes, b/c of health or violence, do not expect as many of their children to survive to adulthood. In addition poor people need their children to take care of them financially when they get older b/c they are unable to accumulate savings or pensions. The more children they have, the better their chances are of having someone to take care of them. Lower classes also have less education & access to, and money to spend on birth control. |
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Consequences of socail class
Mental Health |
b/c of the tension, anxiety & stress of lower class existence the mental health of the lower class is worse than that of higher classes.
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Feminization of Poverty
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What is the largest determinant of whether a person is or is not in poverty, race, age or sex? Sex.
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Our modern society was founded on the principle that a woman...
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will always be attached to a male wage, her fathers until marriage, and then her husbands. In modern society with people choosing to remain single & high divorce rate this has a tremendous effect on women.
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“The Family Wage”.
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In the 1800’s male American labor unions came up with the concept of this.
This meant that since the man was supposed to provide for his family while the woman stayed home he should get a wage that could support his family so that his wife did not have to work. Even if she did work her income was supposed to be supplemental so he was paid “A Family Wage”, while she was paid less for work. This is one of the reasons why women still make less than men do for doing the same work; it has carried over into our modern economic system of payment & women’s wages have not caught up yet. |
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Causes of Fem. Of Pov
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Divorce, births to single women, lower wages & less advancement in the work place of women, & widowhood.
After divorce the majority of men are eventually better off financially or the same, but women are much worse off & stay there unless they remarry b/c a woman’s economic status is dependent on being attached to a male wage. Once this is gone she only has her own wages, which are probably less than the men in her same career field & she most likely has a career that pay’s less anyway. Traditionally female jobs or careers continue to make the least amount of money. It’s not the job but who holds it that makes it deemed less important, thus less monetarily reimbursed. When men do the typical female jobs they tend to get paid more. |
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How much a woman makes compared to a man
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Women on average earn .65- .76 for every $1.00 a man makes for having the same qualifications and doing the same job.
(So if a women & a man have the same job, job qualifications, & work at the same company where he makes $40,000 a year she should make b/t $26,000-30,400). |
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Widowhood women
Social security |
Women receive custody of their children 92% of the time, but only about half of all divorced fathers pay child support.
Women have a life expectancy of about 8 more years than men. In addition women tend to marry someone older than them. The average widowhood, of women, is 13 years. Social security, although not intended to be, has become a major source of income for the elderly. When a spouse dies you receive 82% of their payment or all of yours, which ever is larger. Since women tend to be the primary care givers of children and the aged they spend less time in the economically reimbursed work force, pay less into social security, and thus have much lower payment. |
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Ex in diff of men and women in social security
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So if a husband and wife are receiving $1000 a month from social security from his benefits, and $670 dollars from hers (2/3 of his payment amount which is the average a woman receives) they get 1670 dollars from social security to live on. If he dies she gets $820 a month to live on (82% of his), but he gets $1000.
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