Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The United States of America is a classless and
egalitarian society.
Do you agree or disagree with that statement?
How Much Do You Know About Wealth, Poverty, and the American Dream?
True or False? People no longer believe in the American
Dream.
How Much Do You Know About Wealth, Poverty, and the American Dream?
False. The American Dream appears to be alive and
well. U.S. culture places a strong emphasis on the goal of monetary success, and many people use legal or illegal means to attempt to achieve that goal.
Dimension’s of Social Inequality in the United States
How Much Do You Know About Wealth, Poverty, and the American Dream?
True or False? One in three U.S. children will be poor at some
point of their childhood.
How Much Do You Know About Wealth, Poverty, and the American Dream?
True. According to recent data from the Children’s
Defense Fund, one in three U.S. children will live in a family that is below the official poverty line at some point in their childhood.
For some of these children, poverty will be a persistent problem throughout their childhood and youth.
What Is Social Stratification
The hierarchical arrangement of large social groups based on their control over basic resources. Stratification involves patterns of structural
inequality associated with membership in these groups.
Resources are anything valued in a society (money, property, medical care, education).
Life chances refers to the extent to which individuals have access to resources.
Social Mobility – (family tree handout)
The movement of individuals or groups from one level in a stratification system to another.
Intergenerational mobility is the social movement experienced by family members from one generation to the next.
Intragenerational mobility is the social movement of individuals within their own lifetime.
Class System
The class system is a type of stratification based on the ownership and control of resources and on the type of work people do.
What class of people are there in CB?
What are the characteristics that tell you someone’s social class?
People in the US are stratified based on the following:
Income Prestige
Wealth Education
Power
Income
Wages or salaries from work and earnings from investments.
Income
Wages or salaries from work and earnings from investments.Distribution of Income in the US
Top 5th 47%Next 5th 24%Third 5th 16%Fourth 5th 10%Bottom 5th 4%
Distribution of Pretax Income in the United States
Average After-Tax Family Income in the U.S.
Median Income by State
Wealth
Total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts.
Distribution of Wealth in the USTop 5th
Next 5th
Third 5th
Fourth 5th
Bottom 5th
Wealth
Total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts.
Distribution of Wealth in the USTop 5th 80%Next 5th 15%Third 5th 5%Fourth 5th less than 1%Bottom 5th less than 1%
Significance of Wealth ..\..\Chapter Eight- New\Wealthn statistics.docx ..\..\Chapter Eight- New\wealth.pdf
Wealth is the starting line for the next generation- helping finance children's education, helping them through hard times, or helping with the down payment on their own home. Economists estimate 50-80% of one's lifetime wealth accumulation can be traced to this head start. As wealth gets passed down from generation to generation, the legacy of past discrimination accumulates, giving different classes vastly different life chances.
Race and Wealth
Today, the net worth of the average white family is Eight times as much as the average black family.Probably no one statistic better captures the cumulative disadvantage of past discrimination than wealth. Even at the same income levels, whites still have, on average, twice as much wealth as nonwhites.Much of this difference is due to the different rates of home ownership and the different values of homes in white and Black neighborhoods.
Household Income by Race/Ethnicity in the U.S.
Power
The ability to get people to do what you want.
Schooling
Affects both occupation and income.
Prestige
Respect
Primarily based on OccupationWhite CollarBlue CollarPink Collar
Weber’s Multidimensional Approach to Social Stratification
Prestige Ratings for Selected Occupations: 1996 and 1963
Score
Occupation 1996 1963
Physician 86 93
Attorney 75 89
College professor 74 90
Dentist 72 88
Grade school teacher
64 82
Prestige Ratings for Selected Occupations: 1996 and 1963
Score
Occupation 1996 1963
Police Officer 60 72
Mail Carrier 47 66
Garbage collector 28 39
Janitor 22 48
Shoe shiner 9 34
Weber’s model of class
Upper Class - comprised of people who own substantial income-producing assets.
Upper-Middle Class - based on university degrees, authority on the job, and high income.
Middle Class - a minimum of a high school diploma or a community college degree.
Weber’s model of class
Working Class - semiskilled workers, in routine, mechanized jobs, and workers in pink collar occupations.
Working Poor - live just above to just below the poverty line.
Underclass - people who are poor, seldom employed, and caught in long-term deprivation.
Income and Wealth
Income - wages, salaries, government aid, and property
Wealth - value of economic assets, including income and property.
Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to a combined measure that attempts to classify individuals, families, or households in terms of factors such as income, occupation, and education to determine class location.
Stratification Based on Education, Occupation and Income
Defining Poverty
Sociologists distinguish between absolute and relative poverty. Absolute poverty exists when people do not
have the means to secure the most basic necessities of life.
Relative poverty exists when people may be able to afford basic necessities but are still unable to maintain an average standard of living.
Population without Health Insurance: U.S.
% Distribution of Poverty in the U.S.
EducationAll
Races WhiteAfrican
American Hispanic
No diploma 22.3 18.0 32.9 25.0
High School Graduate
9.6 7.4 19.6 14.7
Some college
6.6 5.5 11.0 9.7
College degree
(or more)3.3 2.6 5.3 6.5
% Distribution of Poverty in the U.S.
Age All WhiteAfrican
American Hispanic
Under 18 16.3 9.5 30.2 28.0
18–24 16.3 12.3 26.8 21.0
25-44 9.8 6.7 17.5 17.9
45-64 8.7 6.9 17.2 15.8
65 and above
10.1 8.1 21.9 21.8
Feminization of Poverty
The trend in which women are disproportionately represented among individuals living in poverty.
Women single heads of households bear the major economic and emotional burdens of raising children but earn between 70 and 80 cents for every dollar a male worker earns.
Why do people tend to underestimate stratification in the United States?
In principle, the law gives equal standing to all.Our culture celebrates individual autonomy and achievement.We tend to interact with people like ourselves.The United States is an affluent society with and overall high standard of living.
What does it mean to feel invisible in our society?
How do you explain this school’s fascination with the mullet?
Is there a class issue?
Consider the following question:
To what extent does the United States have a class system and to what extent
does the United States have a caste system?
Classes is the United States
Upper-ClassUpper-UppersLower-UppersMiddle ClassUpper MiddlesAverage MiddlesThe Working ClassThe Lower Class
How should someone’s salary be determined?
Compare the information you researched about CEO
compensation.Compare the FIVE companies you each chose.
What is your reaction to the information presented there?
Do these CEOs deserve their pay?
Executive Pay around the World
According to the Economist, in Japan a typical executive makes 11 times what a typical worker brings home.In Germany, 12 times.In Britain, 22 times. In Mexico, 47 Times.
Executive Pay around the World
In America a typical executive makes 475 times what a typical worker brings home.
Is this an issue for concern?
Executive Pay ..\..\Chapter Eight- New\Executive Compensation.docx
In 1968, the head of General Motors received about $4 million in today's dollars - and that was considered extravagant.
In 2004, Scott Lee Jr., Wal-Mart's chief executive, was paid $17.5 million. That is, every two weeks Mr. Lee was paid about as much as his average employee will earn in a lifetime.
“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Poverty Thresholds in the US for 2001 by Size of Family
One person $ 9,214
Two persons $11,859
Three persons $13,853
Four persons $18,267
Five persons $22,029
Six persons $25,337
Who are the poor?
Age
Race and Ethnicity
Gender and family patterns
Who are the poor?
Age- children are most likely to be poorRace and Ethnicity- 2/3 of poor people are white but minorities are disproportionately more likely to be poor.Gender and family patterns- women and female headed households. Effects of divorce.
Poverty in the United States
About 31.1 million people were poor in 2000.
Blacks (22.1 percent) and female-householder families (24.7 percent) had their lowest measured poverty rates in 2000.
In 1993, the Black poverty rate was 23.2 percentage points higher than that for White non-Hispanics; by 2000 this difference had fallen to 14.6 percentage points.
Poverty in the United States- Children Hunger Facts.doc
America’s children are almost twice as likely to live in poverty as Americans in any other age group.37 percent of American children (27 million children) live in low-income families.16 percent of children (over 11 million children) live in poverty.The United States’ child poverty rate is often two-to-three times higher than that of most other major Western industrialized nations.
The Working Poor in the United States
In 1996 17.1 percent of the heads of poor families labored for fifty or more hours a week.Poor family members in 2000 were more likely to be living with at least one worker than they were at the most recent poverty rate peak in 1993.
Is it more accurate to blame society or blame the poor for
poverty in America?
The United States should initiate a class-based affirmative action program for college admission and company hiring.
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Somewhat Disagree
Somewhat Agree
“When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked why the poor were hungry, they called me a communist.”
- Dom H. Camara
Social Mobility- Myth vs. Reality
Social Mobility, at least among men, has been fairly high.
The long term trend in social mobility has been upward.
Within a single generation, social mobility is usually incremental, not dramatic.
The Short term trend has been stagnation with some polarization.
Is the “American Dream” still a reality?
Is the “American Dream” still a reality?
For many workers, earnings have stalled.Multiple job-holding is up.More jobs offer little income.Young people are remaining at home.
The distribution of income has changed markedly from 1977-99
Race and Ethnicity
Race and Racism
The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour on it, the more it will contract.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
- Edward R. Murrow
Prejudices are what fools use for reason. - Voltaire
What race is this guy?
What race is this guy?
Tiger Woods is one-eighth Native American, one-eighth African-American, one-quarter white, one-quarter Chinese and one-quarter Thai.“So why isn't anyone excited about the first Thai player to win the Masters? And who has said a word about a Native American breaking the boundaries of exclusivity?”
Social Meaning of Race and Ethnicity
Race- category composed of people who share biological traits that members of society deem socially important.
Race is a social construction.
Social Meaning of Race and Ethnicity
Ethnicity- A shared cultural heritage.
Levels of Minority-Majority interaction
Pluralism
Assimilation
Segregation
Genocide
Levels of Minority-Majority interaction
Pluralism- is a state in which racial and ethnic minorities are distinct but have social parity.Assimilation- is the process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominate culture.Segregation- physical and social separation of categories of people.Genocide- systematic annihilation of one category of people by another.
Do you go to a segregated school?
Do you go to a segregated school?
De Jure segregation
De Facto segregation
Do you believe that schools are more segregated today than they
were in 1954?
Look at the study from Harvard University.
Race in the United States (2000)
White 75.1%
Black 12.3%
American Indian 0.9%
Asian 3.6%
Hispanic (of any race)12.5%
Two or more races 2.4%
Stratification in Southeastern PA
Use the census information to compare Bucks and Philadelphia counties.Identify THREE pieces of information
that you find important or interesting.Formulate TWO questions you have
about the data.Create ONE general statement that
summarizes the information.
Poor People in Pennsylvania
Why aren’t we integrated?
and is integration really what people want?
Barriers to integration
Prejudice- rigid and irrational generalizations about an entire category of people.
Discrimination- treating various categories of people differently.
Patterns of Discrimination and Prejudice
Robert MertonActive BigotTimid BigotFair-Weather LiberalAll-Weather Liberal
Patterns of Discrimination and Prejudice
Discriminate
Prejudiced
Yes No
Yes Active Bigot Timid Bigot
No Fair-Weather Liberal
All-Weather Liberal
Patterns of Discrimination and Prejudice
Stereotypes
PrejudiceStereotypes- prejudicial views about a category of people. Since they involve emotions, they are hard to change. Racism- belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another.Theories of Prejudice Scapegoat Theory Authoritarian Personality Theory Cultural Theory Conflict Theory
Discrimination
Examples of Discrimination?
Institutional DiscriminationIs it possible to have an institution
that discriminates even if no one who works in the institution is prejudiced?
Are these “Got Milk?”ads racist?
Institutional Racism?
Studies suggest that 70 percent of African-Americans, 50 percent of Hispanics, and 90 percent of Asians have trouble digesting lactose, while only 15 percent of Caucasians do. In other words, milk makes them sick. Some say that the USDA's indifference to lactose intolerance is reflective of the federal government's lack of concern for the particular health needs of minorities.
White-skin privilege
“The slick thing about whiteness is that you can reap the benefits of a racist society without personally being a racist” -John A. Powell
Legal scholar
Examples of white-skin privilegeBeing able to turn on the television and see people of their race widely and accurately represented. Never being asked to speak on behalf of their entire race. Being able to buy "flesh" colored band-aids which closely match their skin. Being pretty sure that if they go into a business to speak with the “person in charge” they will be facing a person of your race.Others?
Discuss your impressions of the race websites with a partner.
Readings
Evaluate the positions of Tim Wise and Bill Cosby on race in American and decide who has a more effective approach to increasing equality.
What questions do you have about race/racism?
For example, questions about “all black” TV stations, use of the “N” word, interracial relationships, etc.
Consequences of RacismOn the minority or target group:
Low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and physical illness.
Internalized racism (Unquestioned acceptance of the myth of racial inferiority).
Limited access to necessary and desired resources.
Limited freedom and death.
On the majority or dominant group:
Continued ignorance of and isolation from others.
A challenge to humanistic values, creating an impairment of moral development.
Pressure to maintain the status quo.
Perpetuation of group conformity, which limits individual and intellectual growth and undermines authentic relationships.
What can we do to help race relations in the US?
Some Possible Solutions Individual Level:
Individuals holding each other accountable for recognizing and countering racial beliefs and practices. Majority individuals engaging in diversity trainings and joining minority individuals in grass root efforts to combat racism. Individuals engaging in cross-cultural friendships and relationships.
Some Possible SolutionsInstitutional Level:
Insure minorities’ full participation in the political system. Inclusion of ethnically diverse contributions, values, and perspectives into the educational curriculum and practices. The implementation of a laws and strategies that aim to give those who for generations have been and continue to be denied the opportunity of a higher education.
Some Possible Solutions Cultural Level:
A media system that portrays minorities in a realistic rather than stereotypical and negative light.
Celebration, education, and integration of different cultural traditions into society.
Some gender issues
Sexism is the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other.
Gender Stratification refers to a society’s unequal distribution of wealth, power and privilege between men and women.
Use pp 326-333 to complete this graphic organizer:
Men Women
Occupations
Housework
Income and Wealth
Educational attainment
Politics
Use pp 326-333 to complete this graphic organizer:
How do you account for the differences presented on your chart?
Are women a minority?
Women’s websites
How many of the women had you heard of on the “Women Pioneers & Trailblazers” page?What did you learn from the information presented?What is the purpose and audience for the feminist.org/ and oxygen.com websites?What was your impression of all these sites?
Homophobia
An irrational fear of gay people.
Are the elderly a minority?
illustration
Review the information covered in this unit.
Consider the extent and basis of stratification in the United States.
Draw a political cartoon that illustrates the stratification system in the US. Demonstrate understanding of the concepts. Demonstrate a position on the topic. Demonstrate effort in your drawing.
