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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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poor people in 2005
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-37million
-12.6% |
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Gap between have and have nots...
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- growing wider in the last 25 years
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Income
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- amount of money a person receives a year
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wealth
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- A person's total economic assets
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(2005) Top 20% amount of income pie....
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-over 50% of all income
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(2005) Income pie for poorest...
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3.4% of total income
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1975 vs 2005 changes in income distribution...
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rich 20 ::: 43% => 50%
poor 20 ::: 5% => 3.4% |
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top executives vs average worker wages
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400x's more
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Findings on wealth distribution...
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rich 1 ::: 40%
rich 20 ::: 84 |
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Why is US so high in comparison to other industrial economies...
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- lower government involvement
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Forces Driving Inequality in America
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1) Globalization leading to foreign exploitation and lowering domestic reinvestment
2) Technology reducing the need for high skilled laborers; increase in the low paying service field 3) lowering in taxes on the rich (since 1981) and cutting poor and working class benefits |
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Poverty
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Having insufficient resources to provide a minimum standard of living. Being significantly worse off financially than the average person in one's society
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Absolute Approach
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-most accepted by government agencies
-dividing poor and non poor on some fixed standard of living -poverty line |
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Relative Approach
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-dividing poor and non poor and basis of wealth and income of average person
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1970 to 2004
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-families headed by a single woman 10 => 23%
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Fastest Growing Segment of Poverty Population
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- single woman with children
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Official Poverty Rate of the US (2005)
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-12.6% of the population
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Who are poor?
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-single mothers (3x's likely than traditional family)
- under 18 - largest group with white -Living in Rural Areas |
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Poverty and Race (2005) Percentages of Populations
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white = 10.6%
black = 24.9% latino = 21.8 % |
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Trends in Poverty
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- 1960's 22% => 1970's 11%
- econ prosperity/ gov action -1980's 15% drop then returned to 15% 1990's -11.9% 1999 -12.6% 2005 |
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Extreme Poverty
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-The poorest of the poor
-less than half the poverty line |
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Life of Poverty
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- under educated
- violent crime rate is higher - less likely to vote - higher rate of divorce - dead end jobs - second rate health care |
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The Homeless
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-figures range 228k to 3mil
-grown over recent years -50% black -13% Latino -25% White -Mental hospital population reduction - reduction in government subsidized housing -shitty jobs -increase in rental housing costs |
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The Underclass
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Those in the lower part of the poverty class who are excluded from the economic and cultural mainstream of society
Defined::: extreme poverty/ poor communes/ long term impoverished -raised in poverty - trapped in cycle of poverty |
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The Working Poor
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- full time employment does not free one from poverty ::: low wages
- fastest growing population amongst the poor |
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The Types of Impoverished
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Homeless, Underclass, working poor
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Ideology of Individualism
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The belief each individual is responsible for success or failure
1. work hard/ compete 2. hard work = success 3. failure = laziness Americans favor a dispositional view of the poor and a majority do not want to help |
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Origins of Welfare
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- 1930's Great Depression
- The New Deal new government agencies/ work relief - New Deal => Social Security |
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"Welfare Explosion" of the 1960's
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--ADFC direct financial aid to mothers
-- ended in 1996 had increased 107% |
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1960 Lyndon Johnson War on Poverty
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- work programs
-criticized for male bias -did help reduce poverty |
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1980's Regan Time
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-1981-1985 welfare spending dropped 19%
-cut families from ADFC -cut food stamps -"Studies show that this increase in poverty during the 1980's and early 1990s was largely related to welfare cuts during the Reagan years |
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The Bell Curve
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-Murray and Herrnstein
-poor are biologically inferior |
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Social Security
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-pensions for older Americans
-voting power class and wealthier -largest welfare program |
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AFDC
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-Too complex
-cost ineffective -discouraged mothers from getting jobs -bad example for kids |
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"Welfare Reform Bill"
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- 1996 Billy Clit
-state design own welfare system -more strict on work requirements causing single mothers to enter workplace -2 years on welfare roles 5 years a life time |
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Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
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- a government program that provides financial assistance to poor people who are blind, disabled or elderly
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medicare
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-pays portion of the meidcal expenses over 65
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medicaid
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poor/ blind/ disabled pay for medical care
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The real value of welfare benefits in the US has been ....
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.. falling for the last two decades
...provides less help for the poor than any other industrialized country |
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Explanations For Economic Inequality
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A problem with distributing wealth
1. economic structures 2. political relationships among power groups 3. culture of the poor |
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Economic Explanations
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- too few jobs/ low wages
- "digital divide" -new jobs added to economy paid below poverty line -no account for those who stop looking for work -globalization -inflation -market competition = low wages |
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Political Explanations
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-poor not politically organized
-low wages subsidize wealthy consumption -poverty = low-unpleasant workforce -agencies around the poor depend on poverty for job stability - poverty = middle/upper class comfort |
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Cultural Explanations
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-Oscar Lewis "Culture of Poverty"
-Situationalists |
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Culture of Poverty
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- a theory that holds there is a self-perpetuating subculture among some that helps trap them in poverty
-develops in capitalist minded countries -poor degraded and isolated -personality type |
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Situationalists
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Those who believe that the lifestyle of the poor is the product of their social situation rather than a culture of poverty
-conditions imposed by outside forces rather than internal metal structures |
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Improving Welfare
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-flexible comprehensive measures that include job training, placement and good child care
-keep track of absent fathers -Reduce administrative costs -non-categorical programs = no eligibility requirements |
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Redistribution of Wealth
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-progressive taxes for wealthy individuals
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Organizing the Poor
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-poor need to be politically active and initiate/fight for change through political measures
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Functionalist Perspective on Poverty
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-dysfunction in economic system
-rapid industrialization -disorganized welfare system -stabilize economy and reintegrate underclass |
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Conflict Theorist on Poverty
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-poverty exists because of exploitation of the rich
-charity blunts the need for real structural change -need more political power to influence government action to aid underclass |
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The Feminist on Poverty
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-special attention to the plight of singe mothers
-retribution for dead beat dads -egalitarian pay -less stigma of single mothers |
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The Interactionist on Poverty
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-the culture of poverty is self perpetuating
-poverty traps psychologically, economically and socially -internalize blame - give children of the poor a fair chance and reshape their life view |
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Ethnic Group
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-A group whose members share a sense of togetherness and the conviction that they form a distinct group or people
-shared cultural characteristics -ethnic group is powerful = individual opportunity |
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Ethnic Minority
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-ethnic group that suffers prejudice and discrimination at the hands of a larger dominant group
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Race
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- a group of people thought to have a common set of physical characteristics and a common ancestry
-meanings of characteristics are socially determined -race is an idea constructed by people to organize and categorize society and themselves |
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Ethnocentrism
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- the tendency to view the norms and values of one's own culture as absolute and to use them as a standard against which to measure other cultures
-one's own culture is superior -opposite of Bisby and uncle Ruckus |
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Racism
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- a belief in the superiority of one racial group over another that leads to prejudice and discrimination
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Racism vs Ethnocentrism
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Physical characteristics vs cultural differences
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Domination
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- one group holds power and uses it to keep other groups subordinate
-likely to occur when two groups come into contact with one another => ethnocentrism and competition => one has advantage => domination -must keep subordinate groups weak and divided |
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Segregation vs Integration
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separation vs unification of ethnic groups
- in integration ethnic backgrounds are ignored |
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Pluralism
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-distinct groups that are equal
-likely to occur when two groups come into contact with one another => ethnocentrism and competition => no advantage => pluralism |
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Interationist Perspective on Inequality
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-internalize feelings of inferiority => personal problems/ segregation into ethnic communities
-Can be unlearned -communication between ethnic groups and attacking stereotypes -reduce economic competition -abandon traditional models of ethnic groups and adopt more scientific understanding |
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Feminist Perspective on Inequality
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-Focus on women of color that are doubly disadvantaged
-educate to undo the ignorance spread by socialization |
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The Conflict Theory Perspective on Inequality
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-Institutionalized discrimination is thus a technique for keeping the dominant group in power and protecting it from competitors
-Key to power is organization for political action -Powerful want peace and stability and the oppressed want change |
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The Functionalist Perspective on Inequality
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-North America lacks the unity, consensus, an organization essential to a harmonious society
-unity is ultimate goal whether achieved through domination, pluralism, or integration |
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Affirmative Action
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-1960s Civil Rights Act forbids discrimination
-came along which require effort for diverse employment -minority employment |
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Economic Justice
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Interrelated with problems of ethnic inequality are other social problems such as poverty. Fixing the conditions that effect minorities we can bring forth inequality indirectly.
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Eurocentric
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-A view of the world or an educational curriculum that takes an exclusively European perspective.
-1950s and 1960s presented stereotypes or ignored minorities |
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Multicultural Education
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-includes broader range of ethnic perspectives and experiences
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Civil Rights Movement
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-social movement that brought the end of segregation
-blacks and liberal whites |
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1965 Immigration Act
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-Increased flow of of immigrants from Asia and Latin America
-now 85% come from these countries |
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High Point of Immigration
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-1910 14.7% were foreign born
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Immigration in the Future
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-whites drop from 80% - 40%
-Latinos are largest minority -supply jobs needed -take jobs away from citizens -drive wages down -high concentration in immigrant states |
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Conflict and Competition
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-equal power = equitable solution to problem
-inequal power = taking of resources/ domination -overtime military power turns in political and economic power -stronger ethnic group exploit and pass down wealth to descendants -establish an order based around preservation of dominance; the structured imposed is recognized as the natural way |
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Prejudice
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unsupported negative view of a group/ individual based on group affiliation
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