SOC IAL

discovef sociologY in
action : WHAT
2
general! believed that
the introduction of TANF' people
Before Edin and
oi i# t"t u"ars'
welfare recipients riu"o "u"i"t
*ot"" 'However' desired to
Kefalas round no tign t'ui't;""poi' iltu'll]"t'"*ed
to work to make
-ln*" *"'I* expected to hlye
iiilft '#,',H,::3'ft S*;X?5;",1;ff,il.::iSnassistanceto ,,milk the system"'
*
.n"" n ouon' un. T :::"t'[?lT
e n d s m eer.
N everth er e ss,
p"*"
a
lirt:"i'l';
il;J;. il" o;"sram officiallv
allows
1""1"* a time, Thus, chil-
rit.ti*",,i:iJ,l;1},,1;J;il';"".,
Social PolicY: Welfare i," u""... in"i, But when you
'. Dependent
il Aid to Famiries with
for the Poor probabv have no doubt
you
il:l:i1ffffi:il"J,:ru;;'o* two-tnirosrcf all recipients were
department for help, Children (AFDO)' Furthermore' less than
when you ca* the {ire iatr rven rt tnls tenth time
is the t;il;il;;
"ut'"t'!l'tiJ'i'inattwo'vears'
that thev will immediatelv
#;il;;"'; are entitled never on the program
were continu-ous users
of the system'60
frrel ti"t'nni"" *'u co1'e b^elause vou 15 percent of AFDC '""ip:*nit longer than the
vour house nas caugnt was a lot like on tn" svstem
ro' *unv;;;"; il" u s we-rl^1e-losram
as an tn other words, most #fi#;e'
io tire protection' assistance was treated
oecalse-u.ti-pou"rtv arsues that a iob
the fire department *:ltti:Ii:.-Tti35;'TlJ: "*"Tl,?t or werrare beneji]1ano
entifl ement prosram' o'"n** "n"'is
lff"'[ili"
"'tting Crudelv put' the act
established
" ,J;*5tJH'.i!:i'}1'3'"i"' ou'[n'nn *" should pav more than;,t-u'"
il;"tts' and live on the taxpayers'
I'l'l"oi"? **e
that people srrouto not ""u that even taking food stamps
n$:.*ruffi "ff ;5*ffi;ortunrtv Fami'es .ANRAct'prosram'
ffi
Feconciliation
which
dime. Howeve'' nu*"'JtitL'oi"tprogram
'no* into account' mothers recetv-
personar Responsibirity
o"r,;;;;, i; Needy and other benefits "t
t*
*"n"*
povertv line's
created the Temporary parlicular section u"il'u" well below the
program that targ€ts a ing TANF payments focused on job train-
TANF is an ongoing n*;'"rn";t cash assistance and
child- *"ttu'"
to t"*
1s one of the
""nt'u'''o"l'"0"r'inJ
'"form
dictates that people
need proper
of the population '"""'u"'JtnJo"children in poor families are no longer
tonu"nliJn"ul*'toot
care. Under the new;;;;*' is temporary'
ing for the ooo''
because the program
entitled to poverty O'ot""*n

left manY
Assistance to Ne edy Families FANF) Program
v. The Temporary
FT
V needY People sti ll living in PovertY'
 training in the requisite skills to get good job.
a Unfortunately, the rela_
tively short duration of TANF assistancl
in any kind of long-term training
prevents peopte from engaging Social Poli cy: Taxes and Social
programs don,t accept the pursuit
like college. nOOiitnaff', many
of these
of higher education as an acceptable
lnsurance
way for welfare recipients to spend
their time. The system is designed ln the United States, we have
in two types of taxes that guide our
a way that effectively prevents people tax system:
from improving their economic progressive and regressive
taxes, Progressive taxes increase
situation and ensuring they will continue The income tax structure of the as incornes rise.
to work low_wage jobs for a life_ United States follows a progressive philoso_
time. Welfare reformers might phy The tax structure has people
at the lowest levels palng 1O percent,
argue that low-paying jobs are while
those who earn the most pay
supposed to be a gateway to bet_ 85
percent of their incomes in
taxes.s
ter opportunities. But do low_wage Regressive taxes are those
jobs really grow into more 1. Get to know some of the homeless
and poor in your community.
finan_ that fall more heavily on ihe poor.
Visit or take a tour of a shelter in your lf
cially rewarding ones? Like many community. you consider sales taxes, particu_
2. Check with your state to find out the monthly larly for necessities such as gaso_
other welfare reform ideas, data do ,"",ruru payments
for a mother and two children. Do you line or food, you can see the
not support the answer. The transi_ think you,O be able to live effect
on that? of a regressive tax. The federal gov_
tion from welfare to work usually
3. Create a household budget for two parents ernment adds 1g cents to every
results in a job that does not pay who are both gallon of gas.m Let,s perform
a working minimum-wage jobs. Budget a sim-
living wage,ffi These low_skilled, for rent, utitities, food, ple calculation. A person who
child care, and transportation for a family earns
minimum-wage jobs usually have of four living in your 10 dollars an hour buys a gallon
local area. Don,t make up expenses. of
no opportunity for growth or Research the minimum gas and pays the tax. This is
1.8
wage and prices in your area, and provide percent of his income. lf a
advancement. Although recipients your sources. different
How difficult is it to survive even with person earns 1OO dollars and
technically have jobs, these jobs two incomes? buys
can't support them and their fami_ that same gallon of gas, the tax
burden becomes 0.1 g percent. you
lies. When jobs are not available,
can see that the more you earn, the
both individuars and communities suffer.
w*hout sufficient jobs and train-
rh e s overn m e nt arso takesIn
"ff;H'rff iit::P#:::
ing, how are people supposed to survive?
ance programs such as Medicare and ", Social Security, Currenfly, Jil; r,_
percent of your income.'o That percentag" it is 153
While you might categorize aminimum $106,000 you earn. lf you,re,"fi-.rpf"VlO,l* "or", out of the first
wage employer pays half. Notice however, *U it all; if not, your
job as something limited to teenagers percentage of your income
that ifre ,.i"f.,o Vo, are, the lower the
actualy goes into FrcA.
$100,000 pays $1S,OOO, or approximately 1S percent
s;e;;.-.;;#;
venturing into the worKorce for the while a person who earns gtO,OoO,OOO of his income,
first which is only 0.15 percent of her income,
siltt oi.',n" same 91b,300,

time, only 21.g percent of these workers is supposed to be a social insurance program
il"';;;o" is Socialsecurity @
o
are VJ, p"V in, you get
pullor most working people it amountsio anotnlr ts percent out.
a.
p.
16-24 yearc old. The greatest percentages their incomes. So, is it even more tax on o
of a regressive iax? !)
Maybe reading about wealth anO poierty a
of minimum wage workers (7g.2percent) ,how you might use these ideas in yor,
na.'r"0" you think about a
a
are which you can take action is worxing "u"rio"y-fii..
on. major way in :t
ut ..ir.iunity homeress sherter. o
over 25 years old.6? Students who lend a hand at shelte-rs "
unO .orp kit"hens get firsthand
C
:l
knowledge about the complexities of poverty ;i|
in Rreri"a, o
o"
g)

From Classroom to Com munity Helping 0)

Homeless Children o
a

Kirk decided to seek some extra

credit by volun_ stuffed rabbit. She told me that she,d
kept it
teering to help homeless children
at a school with her no matter where she went.
Her
"Coming from a middle_
designed only for them, The program gives
without homes a place to go to school,
kids mom would get jobs for a short time,
and class background, I never
then they'd move somewhere else in
search thought abour all the
"These kids are rarely of work."
"When I met the girl,s mother, she was things I had growing up
anywhere for very long, really nice, but I could tell that she didn,t and how luclcy I wa"s to
and so rhe people at tf,e have much education. She was working as
Irave a house with a back_
school try rcalli hard to a cleaning person in a hotel, but the hours
yard and toys. \We weren,t
were long and the work was hard. She
*u5". them enjoy learning rich, but compared to this
and discovery while o
told me that the pay barely covered the
costs of her uniforms and transportation to
girl, I had everyrhing. Until
they're fhere," he said. work, so she and her daughter would be
staying at the shelter for as long as they I volunteered at the-
"l can remember meeting this seven_
Vear-old girl whose only real
could, " sglool, Iguesslreally
toy was a
didn't understand poverty.,,
 c HAPTER 121
WHAT IS SOCIAL STRATIFICATION? they receive based on
obiective criteria'

07 the ranking of P eople

often including wealth'
and the rewards
power, and/or P restige

129
BEHIND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION?
WHAT ARE THE THEORIES result of some kind
of functional
f u nction alism;
stratif i cation is the of societY

ffi balance, is inevitable

conflict theorY : social
you based on where
, and aids
inequalitY
You
in the smooth functioning
is rooted
start than based on
in

a person's Particular
a system that is
your abilities
social
more likelY to reward

class affects how he

or she
symbolic interactionism:
general
discusses class in POVERTY? 132
HAVE BEEN CREATED TO EASE
WHAT SOCIAL POLICIES Assistance to NeedY
Families [fANF);
TemPorary
U.S. welfare Program; (AFDC); minimum wage
to Families with DeP endent Child ren
Aid

for the Poor 132

Social PolicY: Welfare
Functionalism 129 and social
States Define
il"iur Pori"v' Taxes
How Does the United Conflict TheorY 130 lnsurance 133
122 130
PovertY? Symbolic lnteractionism
SocialMobilitY 128

Theory status' the less we believe

social
r the higher our socioeconomic
FUNCTIONALISM a129 the social world
class matters
to person's aPify P-:Totiate 13O
. social class is connectedp*'J'i"i"n"'"e influence-a'oerson's
social class
. intelligence' drive' and in social SYMBOLICINTERACTIONISMot it are relative to our
personal
l" t"nse that differences class and o"
F. o all people are different' o social 'noioinoing
class exist
'i*"n"t belief sYstem poor people's
would not 9Y::tion
0)
o . for example, middle-ctass citizens
i"u"[ anout marriage and childbearing
behavior lf they held t'ti'i"'
6
c
CONFLICT THEORY 13O
Jeopre reao^empty lives' so they
o r^ndnV poor women tn'"n'l'nilo]"tt
O
marriage
in a dramatic
;il;;;iJ"al relationship than on
. .o"iuf mobility rarely occurs -Yuy " -' can provide deter-
Jppott'nities they place more emphasis
r generally, on"'' ou'"nttin-o inl
mine social class

intragenerational mobility
128
Key Terms middle class 125 128
Poverty 122 intergenerational mobilitY
social stratification
120 relative working class 125 128
power 123 structural mobilitY
lower class 126 mobility 128
income 121 delegated 123 126 exchange
urban underclass 129
wealth 121 elite 123 meritocracYargument
122 power socialmobilitY 128 132
transitionalPoverty entitlementProgram
prestige 123 horizontalmobitity 128
marginal Poverty 122 124
upper or elite class vertical mobilitY 128
residual PovertY 122 middle class 125
upper
absolute Povelty 122

both personal
card industry generates
MY SEARCH LAB and Public Issues
by George 2. Exprain how the credit
i,,,"'. H"* credit card industry
might the
troubles and public
1. The Credit Card: Private Troubles of the Global
Ritzer, reprinteo uo*
io='*l'*i^oo"' I Cftnue Press' be regulated or changed?
by
Forge the-New lJrban Poor
1995' Copyright by Pine The World of
Credit Card Society' 2. When Work Disappears:
permission'
pp' ,-aO' Reprinted with rS;O' Knopt' pp' 25-50"283-307'
imagination to William Julius Wilson'
Ritzer uses the sociological wilson' published bv Knopf '
ln this selection, George copynghi o 1e96 ot ffi]m:;ts
carol Mann Agency'
*"1'ffi;"::i'iT; societv tend to blame
the individual ror social i"oi'"i"J with permission of the
"
such as indebtedness?
Prott.'nt
 INTRODUCTION 3. Some Principles of Stratification by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E
William Julius Wilson, a professor at Harvard University, argues that Moore, reprinted from American Sociological Review, pp.242-249.
inequality is increasing faster within the black community than in other
racial or ethnic groups. ln this I996 selection from When Work INTRODUCTION
Disappears: The World of the New lJrban poor, Wilson demonstrates Written in 1945, Davis and Moore use a structural functionalist
the plight of the inner-city working poor. perspective to examine the principles and functions of stratification
in society.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What are some probable consequences/concerns for neighbor- DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
hoods when the population drops and the proportion of non- 1. Is stratification inevitable? ls it posslble to have a classless
working adults rises? society?
2. Accordlng to Wilson, how did post-World War ll government 2. Do you agree that stratification is necessary for a fully function-
policies contribute to the decline of inner-city neighborhoods? ing society? Why or why not?

THE THINKSPOT
Are you part of the middle class? about middle-class Americans as you find out what the character-
the How would you know? The stan- istics are,
TH IN
ww.thethinkspot.com
dards for being in the middle
class may have changed since Are we "circling the drain," as ihe late comic George Carlin seemed to
you first heard the term. Check think? ls America headed for economic disaster? Do the people who lead
out the ThinkSpot and read a our country not care about poor people? Go to the ThinkSpot and watch
U.S. News and World Report article called "How to Gauge your several of George Carlin's interview and teievision appearances in which
Middle-Class Status," I bet you'll learn some interesting stailstics he discusses his feelings about poverty, wealth, and social stratification.

Sample Test Questions

These multiple-choice questions are similar to those found in the test bank that accompanies this textbook. (t
c'r

1. People with seasonal jobs most likely experience ESSAY ct)

o
o
a. residual poverly. 1. How does prestige affect one's social standing? o
b. absolute poverty. o
2. How is the mobility of the urban underclass restricted? q)
o
c. marginal poverty, 3. What is the relationship between social class and education? o
5'
d. transitional poverly. 4. In terms of marriage and family, how do the values of the low- J
o
2. Which of the following is not a member of the power elite? income single mothers interviewed by Kathryn Edin and Maria c
Kefalas differ from the values held by most middle-class women?
f.
a. The Secretary of State o
Why do you think this difference exists? o
b. A military general a
c. A corporate CEO 5. How does the concept of exchange mobility conflict with the beliefs 0)
o
of conflict theorists? a
d. A town mayor
3. Which of the following is true of the upper, or elite, class?
a. lvost members are newly wealthy,
WHERE TO START YOUR RESEARCH PAPER
b. They have higher rates of teen pregnancy. For more information on working in homeless shelters, including a com-
c. They make up one percent of the country's population. plete list of shelters, go to
d. They are generally regarded highly for their specialized skills, http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/shelters.html
http://www.hud.gov/
4. A doctor transferring from one hospital to another is an example of
For more information about hunger and poverty in the world, go to
a. intergenerational mobility. http://www. poverty,com/
b. horizontal mobility. For more information about minimum wage laws in the United States,
c. vertical mobility. go to http ://www, dol. gov/esa./m inwag e/america. htm
d. exchange mobility, To view information collected from a /Vevy york Times study of social
5. A high school graduate who works on an assembly line in a manu- class, go to httpt//www.nytirnes,com/pages/national/class/
facturing plant is most likely a member of which social class?
a. Urban underclass
b. Working class
c. Middle class
d. Lower class q's:q t:c I:p'z:c L :suSMsNV