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Lecture Five

Lecture Five. Poverty and Inequality in the US. Power Elite. Those who occupy positions of power in leading institutions and have the power to make decisions that affect our daily lives Three Spheres of Influence: Upper Class Corporations Policy Institutions.

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Lecture Five

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  1. Lecture Five Poverty and Inequality in the US

  2. Power Elite • Those who occupy positions of power in leading institutions and have the power to make decisions that affect our daily lives • Three Spheres of Influence: • Upper Class • Corporations • Policy Institutions

  3. Polarization of Income and Wealth in 2002 • Income: economic gain from wages (or rent) • Top 20% = 50% of total income • Bottom 20% = 4% of total income • Wealth: value of all economic assets – property, income, income generating property • 0.5% own 35% of nations wealth • 90% at bottom own 28% of national wealth

  4. Share of the Income 2006

  5. We are all richer…

  6. Stratification • Social Stratification: hierarchical classification of society’s members based on: • Resources • Power • Authority • Prestige • Important to understand stratification because: • Determines access to resources and rewards in society • Life experiences and opportunities

  7. US: Mixed-class System • Even though we believe that we are pure class system, we are a mixed class system • both ascribed and achieved characteristics determine class position • Ascribed: race, gender, immigrant status, geography, sexual orientation • Achieved: education, initiative, determination, intelligence

  8. Opportunity Structure Wealth High Income Good Neighborhood Good Schools Good Jobs Access to Health Care → → → → ↑ ↓ → → → →

  9. What does social mobility look like? • http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_01.html

  10. Barriers to Mobility? • Social Exclusion: cut off from mechanisms that allow social mobility in a society • Neighborhood/Residential • Education • Occupation • Culture • Poverty: Official definition of poverty was developed in 1964 and is based on food consumption • Absolute – physical deprivation • Relative – deficiency relative to the population as a whole

  11. Who is most likely to be in Poverty? • Feminization of Poverty: women are disproportionately represented among the poor • 45% of families headed by Latina women in poverty (2004) • Latina women earn $0.54 for every white man’s $1 • Working Poor: work fulltime in jobs that are less secure, low-paying, and deskilled • Over 5% of the population • Non-white and immigrant • Higher rates of poverty among non-whites • When wealth and income are the same, all racial/ethnic groups have similar educational achievements

  12. Poverty: How do we explain it? • “As a culture, The United States is not quite sure about the causes of poverty, and therefore is uncertain about the solutions” • “Culture of Poverty” • Individuals are responsible for their own culture and socializing their children into poverty • “American Anti-Myth” (macro-structural) Poverty is produced by the unequal structures in society • Inequalities in opportunity

  13. Group Activity: • Pick one of the myths presented on pages 16-17 that you have heard regarding the poor in the US. • Where have you heard this myth? • Who/what does it most often refer to? • Do you believe it is a myth or a reality? • Next look at the list of “What Can We Do” on page 18. • Pick at least 4 things on the list that you think we should change in the educational system (or here at Gavilan).

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