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13 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Wealth
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'ownership of property, shares, savings and other assets.'
two types: marketable - any asset can be sold eg car non-marketable - something you own but can't sell eg a pension |
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Probs of measuring wealth
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concealment of assets - lie. suspicious. vulgar. off-shore. someone else's name.
fluctuating value of assets - stocks and shares. 'priceless' painting. house prices rise and fall. soc desirability if poor. TIMES RICH LIST - estimates. ever know true extent?? |
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Income
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flow of payment in cash or 'in kind' eg free meals at work. two types
:gross income - earned ie salary; unearned - tax credits :disposable income: gross - tax/insurance deductions |
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defining and measuring wealth and income
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EFS: sent to 7000 homes in UK. info on expenditure on housing, goods and services, food. daily weekly monthly basis. analysed against size and household income over time and geog location. FRS similar way. used by govt est levels income and ineq, identify dep areas.
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distrib of income
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unequal. richest 10% own 90% wealth. 90% richest are male. refer to 'who are the poor.' THATCHER govt 60 > 40. OVERALL MORE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED. income of highest earning 20% households 4X higher than lowest 20%. ineq INCREASING - wealthiest 10% pop experiencing inc of 70% comp to poorest 10% inc of 9%. JOB INSECURITY - less likely get job now far more comp. 2006 - ROWNTREE foundation survey 1/2 men 1/3 women applying for jobseekers allowance had been on same benefit less than 6 months before. employers demand more flexible labour now.
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distribution of income cont
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DYNAMIC NOT STATIC. changes over lifetime. GOVT POLICY - lower taxes on rich. state benefits declined RELATIVE to average earnings for employed. PHAL: inc division bw households - decline in SINGLE EARNER households while both no earner and two earner households increase. fastest growing type fam = one parent. usually woman - childcare > part time or none.
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distribution of wealth
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early theories blame poor - Spencer. FAILED. immoral lazy. state shouldn't help bc set good example to not follow. FUNC - good for soc (agree useful.) just the way society functions. imp jobs must be rewarded more highly, so motivates. DAVIS & MOORE - some principles and stratification. - not rewarded on talent, discrim takes place . - TUMIN: wc have talent too.
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distrib of wealth cont
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Weberians - based on market situ. how valuable or scarce their skills are. high demand = more worth. plumbers in demand. POOR PEOPLE POOR MARKET SITU. movement in wealth bc diff demands at diff times. MARXISTS - C responsible. thrives on ineq bc c needs profit to keep its power. exploitation.
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increasing gap
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gap down in 70s under labour. lots of benefits but tax to rich. 80s Tories - gap widened. tax down so rich kept most earnings. VAT, fuel tax up > econ good > rich people earned more on investments. benefits down. ADONIS & POLLARD: 80s widening gap inc private edu.
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increasing gap cont
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BABB (office national stats report of 2001 consensus) gap cont grow under new labour. inc single parents. less money > stats show poorer households. but more two earner households now. income measured by household, so do better. so stats show increase in rich households.
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RETENTION of wealth (contributes to ineq)
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GLOBALISATION - democratic govts cautious about upsetting very rich bc rich could easily move money out of country - huge impact on econ. TAX SYSTEM IN UK allows a lot of wealth to be passed down. stays in one small group. GOVTS COULD CHANGE TAX SYSTEM, INC BENEFITS for low-income fams, raise min wage so key factor = choice of politicians.
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Theoretical explanations for income and wealth inequalities - FUNC AND MARXISTS
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FUNC - we need ineq to reward the able who undertake most imp soc and econ positions. exists bc needs to. - justification not explanation. social workers contrib more than advertising execs - earn far less.
MARXISTS - C based on ineq rich actively seek to exploit so its INEVITABLE under C. |
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Cont - WEBERIAN.
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soc best seen as various interest groups competing w each other to ensure they benefit the most. WEBER - this means more powerful groups find best ways to obtain highest incomes and maintain their wealth.
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